The Story of Mary Jo and Misty
Once upon a time back in the 1950s, a very young and impressionable girl named Mary Jo lived on a farm with her parents and brother in Pennsylvania.
They had a couple of big work horses - the kind that pull plows and stuff like that - and Mary Jo came to love them, learn from them and in a very sensitive way, understand them.
And, as she remembers, communicate with them.
In today's horse terminology they would call her a "Horse Whisperer.
" Some 50 years later that same sensitivity, that understanding, that level of communication lived on.
In June of 1996 we purchased a home on four acres in the Lake Mathews area of Riverside County, California.
Mary Jo wanted to get a couple of horses.
It was a life-long dream that had nurtured for decades and she finally had the opportunity to fulfill that childhood fantasy of owning her own horse.
There was no doubt in her mind - the horse that would be hers, the one horse she would cherish forever, would be an Arabian.
We spent nearly a year investigating horses and went to every show, every event and every auction we could find.
We were on an "Educational" mission.
As a final result, Mary Jo decided exactly what she wanted - it would be an Arabian mare, mature, "dead" broke (that's a term for a horse that just about anyone can ride), and it had to be a grey.
Any other color was not an option - grey it was going to be.
After visiting countless farms and looking at horse after horse we stumbled upon a small ranch in the Norco area that had an older grey mare for sale.
They called her Misty.
There was an instant connection.
I could see it in Mary Jo's eyes.
She took her for a quick ride around the arena and then asked me to do the same.
I knew almost nothing about 'riding' horses at this point but I mounted up and took a spin or two.
She was beautiful, knew much more than I ever would about riding.
She tolerated my ignorance.
After my 'go-around', Mary Jo spent some special time with Misty - stroking her, rubbing her all over and then kind of holding her head to hers.
I swear, it's like they were talking.
After just a few minutes Mary Jo said, "This is the one, this, I know is MY horse.
" That was it, we made arrangements for a vet check and if all was well it would be a done deal.
There was an issue - they didn't have Misty's registration papers, they were selling her for a third party.
It meant little to Mary Jo.
Mary Jo was traveling a lot for her job at the time so I met the vet (which we still use to this day) a couple days later for the check up.
All went well and I called Mary Jo that evening to tell her she was a horse owner.
Mary Jo felt a sense of completeness.
I could hear it in her tone of voice all they way from Philadelphia.
She was excited to say the least.
It wasn't until about three months later that we received the paper work on "Misty.
" That's when we discovered the real connection between Mary Jo and this horse called Misty - They both shared the same birthday - February 19th.
They had a couple of big work horses - the kind that pull plows and stuff like that - and Mary Jo came to love them, learn from them and in a very sensitive way, understand them.
And, as she remembers, communicate with them.
In today's horse terminology they would call her a "Horse Whisperer.
" Some 50 years later that same sensitivity, that understanding, that level of communication lived on.
In June of 1996 we purchased a home on four acres in the Lake Mathews area of Riverside County, California.
Mary Jo wanted to get a couple of horses.
It was a life-long dream that had nurtured for decades and she finally had the opportunity to fulfill that childhood fantasy of owning her own horse.
There was no doubt in her mind - the horse that would be hers, the one horse she would cherish forever, would be an Arabian.
We spent nearly a year investigating horses and went to every show, every event and every auction we could find.
We were on an "Educational" mission.
As a final result, Mary Jo decided exactly what she wanted - it would be an Arabian mare, mature, "dead" broke (that's a term for a horse that just about anyone can ride), and it had to be a grey.
Any other color was not an option - grey it was going to be.
After visiting countless farms and looking at horse after horse we stumbled upon a small ranch in the Norco area that had an older grey mare for sale.
They called her Misty.
There was an instant connection.
I could see it in Mary Jo's eyes.
She took her for a quick ride around the arena and then asked me to do the same.
I knew almost nothing about 'riding' horses at this point but I mounted up and took a spin or two.
She was beautiful, knew much more than I ever would about riding.
She tolerated my ignorance.
After my 'go-around', Mary Jo spent some special time with Misty - stroking her, rubbing her all over and then kind of holding her head to hers.
I swear, it's like they were talking.
After just a few minutes Mary Jo said, "This is the one, this, I know is MY horse.
" That was it, we made arrangements for a vet check and if all was well it would be a done deal.
There was an issue - they didn't have Misty's registration papers, they were selling her for a third party.
It meant little to Mary Jo.
Mary Jo was traveling a lot for her job at the time so I met the vet (which we still use to this day) a couple days later for the check up.
All went well and I called Mary Jo that evening to tell her she was a horse owner.
Mary Jo felt a sense of completeness.
I could hear it in her tone of voice all they way from Philadelphia.
She was excited to say the least.
It wasn't until about three months later that we received the paper work on "Misty.
" That's when we discovered the real connection between Mary Jo and this horse called Misty - They both shared the same birthday - February 19th.
