While Woven Web news is quiet, I figured I might want to write a post to better introduce Dakota for those that may not know about him or our story together.
January 8th 2001 I skipped school for my mom to take me to look at the 6 month old Thoroughbred gelding I had found in the newspaper classifieds the day before.
I knew I was going to buy him before I even got there. I knew it, my Mom knew it but neither of us would say it. After about an hour of drooling over him I handed over the $600 for him and arranged shipping him the 20-30 minutes to Paw Paw.
When I first got him, his name was Spider. Ewww. So a name change was a must and flipping through my StateLine Tack catalog I saw the name Dakota on one of the halter name plates and knew then it would be fitting for him.
So Friday January 12th he arrived at the farm I grew up riding at. It was a temporary place for him to go since they were in process of moving and selling the farm. 6 weeks later he was moved to a different farm, about 15 minutes from my house where he stayed for 2 1/2 years. There, I taught him to lunge and began training him for riding.
In 2004 I moved him to a farm really close to the High School which was super convenient after school. They became my barn family and I think I spent more nights at their house in high school than with my Mom. I continued riding him english but began to ride more toward a dressage aspect.
In 2006 after finishing high school I moved to Lexington KY for nearly the next five years. Naturally Dakota had to go with me! My best friend and I found a farm about 1/2 hour north of Lexington and she was living next door so it was the perfect situation. That of course took a turn for the worse when her and I headed back to Michigan over the holiday's and left the horses with the farm owner in Kentucky. Three weeks later we came back to five severely thin, starved and dehydrated horses. My friends mare was 8 months in foal with a filly we had bred and planned on owning together. She aborted the foal the day after we found her in that condition. Dakota was the second worse in condition. The vet scored him at a 1.5 body scale. When we moved the horses the next day things just kept getting worse. We had freezing rain, the horses were in a small dry lot and the water tank was at the bottom of the 'hill' in the lot. Dakota found himself knee high in freezing mud when he tried to get a drink. He got himself loose and I walked him down the street to yet another neighbor until he was strong enough to get on a trailer to move him to a farm closer to Lexington. Many IV's, long days of worrying and a lot of medication he was able to get on a trailer and moved closer to Lexington. We reported the owner to animal control but we unfortunately didn't have any written agreement of her care for the animals while we were gone so no charges could be made.
After a few other farm switches, in February 2009 I moved him to a farm off of Russell Cave Rd in Lexington. Probably the best move yet since I was able to get there daily and I met great people there including my best friend that found me Woven Web.
In December 2010 I moved home to Michigan to finish college. I left a few days before Dakota but he arrived December 23rd safe and sound back to the farm he was at while I was in high school.
January 8th 2001 I skipped school for my mom to take me to look at the 6 month old Thoroughbred gelding I had found in the newspaper classifieds the day before.
I knew I was going to buy him before I even got there. I knew it, my Mom knew it but neither of us would say it. After about an hour of drooling over him I handed over the $600 for him and arranged shipping him the 20-30 minutes to Paw Paw.
When I first got him, his name was Spider. Ewww. So a name change was a must and flipping through my StateLine Tack catalog I saw the name Dakota on one of the halter name plates and knew then it would be fitting for him.
So Friday January 12th he arrived at the farm I grew up riding at. It was a temporary place for him to go since they were in process of moving and selling the farm. 6 weeks later he was moved to a different farm, about 15 minutes from my house where he stayed for 2 1/2 years. There, I taught him to lunge and began training him for riding.
In 2004 I moved him to a farm really close to the High School which was super convenient after school. They became my barn family and I think I spent more nights at their house in high school than with my Mom. I continued riding him english but began to ride more toward a dressage aspect.
In 2006 after finishing high school I moved to Lexington KY for nearly the next five years. Naturally Dakota had to go with me! My best friend and I found a farm about 1/2 hour north of Lexington and she was living next door so it was the perfect situation. That of course took a turn for the worse when her and I headed back to Michigan over the holiday's and left the horses with the farm owner in Kentucky. Three weeks later we came back to five severely thin, starved and dehydrated horses. My friends mare was 8 months in foal with a filly we had bred and planned on owning together. She aborted the foal the day after we found her in that condition. Dakota was the second worse in condition. The vet scored him at a 1.5 body scale. When we moved the horses the next day things just kept getting worse. We had freezing rain, the horses were in a small dry lot and the water tank was at the bottom of the 'hill' in the lot. Dakota found himself knee high in freezing mud when he tried to get a drink. He got himself loose and I walked him down the street to yet another neighbor until he was strong enough to get on a trailer to move him to a farm closer to Lexington. Many IV's, long days of worrying and a lot of medication he was able to get on a trailer and moved closer to Lexington. We reported the owner to animal control but we unfortunately didn't have any written agreement of her care for the animals while we were gone so no charges could be made.
After a few other farm switches, in February 2009 I moved him to a farm off of Russell Cave Rd in Lexington. Probably the best move yet since I was able to get there daily and I met great people there including my best friend that found me Woven Web.
In December 2010 I moved home to Michigan to finish college. I left a few days before Dakota but he arrived December 23rd safe and sound back to the farm he was at while I was in high school.
15.3 Hands Sire - Paint / AQHA Dam - Thoroughbred Dk Bay
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| 3 Months Old With His Dam |
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| Jan 13 2001 - Day after arrival |
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| Yearling Dakota |
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| My pretty 2yo |
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| First solo ride together |
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| 2006 - First day in Kentucky |
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| Dressage <3 |
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| Love. |
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| Tolerance. |
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| Best Friend. |
Love Dakota - he is such a pet!
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