Little Anna

This is Anna and Anna is so very special to me- she belongs to Bill's parents and is Poke's eyes. Poke is my 28ish year old Appy, he has a long history much of which I don't even know. I have owned him almost 15 years now, he was my first real horse and is a forever pony. He taught me a lot and is very special to me... When I moved to North Berwick, Poke actually came first. I needed to be sure he had a place, before I was sure I was going to make the move. When we came, it was pretty much the end of the line as far as our riding career was concerned, he has more than earned his retirement!

Anna is his "girlfriend" and constant companion- I am so lucky she is here! Two summers ago Poke had an ulcerated cornea in his left eye... we treated it and were able to get it cleared up with minimal sight loss! Fhewww. Then, this summer he got kicked (I suppose his eyes are sensitive and he must have had his head too far up her butt and she kicked him) over the orbit... again a major blow. And, while we were able to save the eye itself (which was a miracle- it swelled SOOOO big!!) he lost most of the sight there. Sigh. When all of this was said and done and we were addressing his vision the vet checked his right eye and, guess what?! He has major loss in that eye and we didn't even know about it. So, basically that leaves him pretty much blind. She suggests that he sees shadows and movement in the left and not much at all in the right. That's where Anna comes in... this little mare is a blessing to me! She is so tolerant of him; he has always been a paddock bully. As far as he is concerned he is still a BIG guy in his little spotted suit- and wont let on that he is a little slower than he used to be! She lets him "boss" her- and herd her away from the other geldings at the fence line; but also leads him up to the pasture and shows him his hay down here. She helps him, I'm sure, more than I'll ever know. She is his eyes- and for that I am grateful!