This is a new feature brought to you by the friendly horses at MVA. Check each month for new stories, interviews and fun with our furry, four legged friends.

This month's featured horse: Wranglers Tequilla

I’m a well known member of the MVA family.  And I should be, I’ve been here for almost 22 years and have earned my place among the best horses here. In those many years I’ve done and seen it all. From wild trail rides into the mountains to fancy show rings all over B.C., I’ve been there.  I take pride in my accomplishments as I do in my ever growing family.  As you can guess from my many spots, I am an Appaloosa.  For those of you new to horses, that’s a special breed known for its color and its stubborn streak.  Now don’t get me wrong, I know I can be a little wilful at times, but I always have my reasons.  You see, I come from a proud line of Appaloosas that have challenged their riders, confronted insurmountable odds and always taken care of those we loved.  For us, our family extends beyond the herd and into the human world.
I was young when my dam (that’s my mom) taught me that good humans had to be cared for properly. She hadn’t always known gentle hands, so she knew the value of a good human.  She never let her riders take her for granted, but she knew which ones were worth hanging on to.  She found a human family who loved her and returned their love tenfold.  I was a spirited filly, but she urged me to pick carefully when it came to human friends.  I found a partner I could bond with, a rare thing with guarded humans, and we went everywhere together.  That girl dragged me every which way; but oh the fun we had.  We climbed to the tops of mountains, through mighty rivers and raced through waving hay fields.  Then she would haul me off to some horse show where we would prance and dance in sparkling outfits and shiny fur. I knew how much these things meant to her so I always tried my best to behave. Nevertheless, as the years passed I was starting to get tired.  Any horse knows they’ve found a good human when they listen to our whispers, and my partner saw that I wanted to be a mom and let me hang up my show time saddle.

Today, I am the proud dam of six beautiful foals and a granddam to many many more.  My human family teaches others to love and respect horses so I decided I would help.  I’ve taught many other humans to ride and know the joy of partnering with a horse.  Maybe I can stop some other horses from knowing the pain my dam knew.  As an Appaloosa, I know my job will always be to remind humans of our worth. For those that learn the lesson well, I will do my best to make their hopes and dreams come true.