Sophie

Sophie is a 12ish American Saddlebred who was put through the New Holland, PA sale when she could no longer pull her Amish onwer's buggy on the paved roads. She was purchased by the slaughter dealer and was rescued and put up for adoption by Saddlebred Rescue. Per Pat Johnson at Saddlebred Rescue she was "the horse I worried about the most.....this mare out of all of the horses looks like she has been on the road the most and looks the least like a show horse. I am sure now that I have said that no one will want her."

According to Nealia McCracken at SBR, she "is a horse that has been worked hard and not cared for more than likely at all. My heart aches for her as her poor legs have been cut up and knocked up for years. All of this added together makes her not the happiest camper.... (she) has put on weight and her legs have gotten better, and she is pretty sound.... I think (she) has a good heart and with a little work and time she would bond very well and LOVE to have one person who thinks she is the best....I really like (her) and hope someone falls for her as she is not the typey show horse and I do not think she was in a show barn very long before she started pulling a buggy and having a really hard life. (She) deserves a life that she will like and enjoy herself as it is quite apparent that she has done hard time in the past."

I was attracted to this mare from the start, despite her used up legs, she looked like she had a kind heart and a worried, but soft eye. Since coming to Arbordale, Sophie has much less to worry about now. She loves little children and carefully (but quickly) carries them around the arena. She still has a bit to learn (such as how to negotiate corners without a cart attached to her) but she puts on her "happy ears" more and more often. She is very much a favorite in our lesson program.

She may not have the prettiest body or face in the saddlebred world, but her beauty radiates from within. At shows we will show her under the name SBR Sophia Loren in support and thanks to Saddlebred Rescue.