Piper

If you’ve spent any time at Gypsy’s Gait, chances are you’ve met Piper. She’s one of our longest term residents, one of our biggest personalities, and without question, one of our greatest blessings.

What many people don’t know is that Piper was actually born right here at Gypsy’s Gait.

We received a call about two mares—a mother and her three-year-old daughter—whose owners could no longer care for them. They were incredibly sweet but underweight, overdue for farrier care, and in need of some TLC. The younger mare quickly found a wonderful home with one of our lesson students, where she continued her education and eventually became a fantastic teacher for young riders.

As Moonshine, the older mare, settled into the barn, gained weight, and received the care she desperately needed, we started noticing the telltale signs that she might be pregnant. When we contacted her previous owners, they casually replied, “Oh yeah… the first filly happened because the neighbor’s stallion bred her over the fence. She could be bred again.”

Panic immediately set in.

Not only had Moonshine received no prenatal care, but she had arrived in poor body condition and had been eating fescue hay while grazing fescue pasture as she regained weight. We also had no idea when she had been bred—or if she was close to foaling.

After our veterinarian examined her, we learned she could deliver at any time.

Moonshine was moved to a private paddock where we could monitor her around the clock.

For mares, grazing endophyte-infected fescue during late pregnancy can cause a condition called fescue toxicosis. The toxins interfere with hormone production, often resulting in prolonged pregnancies, little or no milk production, a thickened placenta, and difficult deliveries. One of the most dangerous complications is a red bag delivery, where the placenta separates too early and surrounds the foal in a thick red membrane instead of breaking open naturally. Because the foal receives oxygen through the placenta until birth, this becomes an emergency. Every minute counts.

The day Piper was born started like so many others.

We checked Moonshine that morning and noticed she seemed a little more uncomfortable than usual, but anyone who’s waited on a mare knows that doesn’t necessarily mean a foal is coming soon. We headed inside for lunch, and as we sat down, we looked out the back window just in time to see labor beginning.

We sprinted outside.

It quickly became obvious that this was no ordinary delivery. The foal was enormous compared to Moonshine, who was exhausted and running out of strength. Worse yet, Piper was trapped inside the thick placental membrane caused by the fescue toxicosis, unable to get the oxygen she desperately needed.

While Mommaru called the veterinarian, begging them to hurry, I immediately reached in to help free the foal. Kylee ran for scissors because the thick membrane wouldn’t tear. Once I was able to get hold of Piper’s shoulders, we finally pulled her free.

But she wasn’t breathing.

She was limp, blue, and completely motionless.

We rubbed her vigorously, cleared her airway, performed chest compressions, and even gave mouth to nose breaths. After everything she had endured, we truly believed we had lost her.

Then…

A tiny shake of her head.

A cough.

And finally, a breath.

It was witnessing a miracle.

Moonshine had suffered significant tearing during the delivery and wasn’t able to care for her newborn right away, but somehow we managed to help Piper stand and nurse before the veterinarian arrived. After stitches, antibiotics, and a thorough examination, both mare and foal were expected to recover.

The veterinarian warned us that Piper might never be quite right after such a traumatic birth.

Only time would tell.

As a foal, Piper looked unlike any horse we’d ever seen. Her dark chocolate coat, pink skin around her eyes, and unusual coloring made her stand out immediately.

She grew up alongside Kylee and quickly decided she was much more dog than horse. Moonshine was perfectly content letting us babysit while Piper followed people everywhere, convinced she belonged in the middle of everything.

Every spring brought another surprise as Piper shed into a different color. Her dark brown baby coat slowly transformed into a light tan, and eventually into the beautiful varnish roan she wears today. Ironically, right before Kylee started riding her, she announced she “never wanted a brown horse.” Apparently Piper heard her and decided to change colors.

Originally, we assumed Piper would simply become a beloved pasture pet.

Instead, she proved to be one of the most willing horses we’ve ever trained.

Starting her under saddle was almost unbelievably easy. Nothing seemed to bother her. She wasn’t spooky, she wasn’t dramatic, and she simply wanted to be included. At three years old she attended her very first horse show and acted like she’d been doing it her entire life.

Around that same time, Kylee had outgrown Kiwi and needed a larger horse.

Without realizing it, God had been preparing Piper for that role from the very beginning.

The two quickly became inseparable.

Piper became Kylee’s heart horse, and together they won countless ribbons, championships, and awards. They spent endless hours on trails, explored fields together, passed Mounted Patrol certification on their first attempt, responded to community call outs, marched in parades, and happily loaded onto any trailer headed toward a new adventure.

In 2017, Piper experienced a severe tying up episode that frightened all of us. Genetic testing confirmed she has PSSM (Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy), a muscle disorder that requires careful management. With a specialized low-sugar diet, regular exercise, and occasional hock injections, she’s continued doing what she loves while remaining happy, healthy, and comfortable.

Today, Piper has become one of the greatest lesson horses we could ever ask for.

She has carried riders to their first blue ribbon, first trot, first canter, first horse show, and even their very first horseback birthday party ride. She has an incredible ability to know exactly how much to challenge each rider. She’ll gently test them just enough to encourage growth. Never to scare them, but to help them discover confidence they didn’t know they had.

She’s patient. She’s forgiving. She’s quirky.

She burns in the sunshine, has to wear a fly mask every day of the year to prevent painful eye ulcers, can’t see well on cloudy days, has limited depth perception, follows a strict sugar-free diet because of her PSSM, and has absolutely no understanding of normal horse social boundaries. She’ll happily walk right into another horse’s personal space without realizing she’s doing anything wrong.

She truly is our wonderfully weird little mare.

People often hear me say I hate foals, and honestly, I still do.

But Piper has always been different.

She is living proof that even the hardest beginnings can become the greatest blessings. God gave her a second chance the day she was born, and ever since then she’s spent her life giving chances to everyone around her.

We simply can’t imagine Gypsy’s Gait without her.

P.S. The thumbnail picture is from Piper and Kylee’s first time at FENCE, where, in her first class of 33, Kylee placed 1st in Green HUS.

I was standing beside my trainer, the person who taught me everything, watching the horse I trained being ridden by the rider I raised. It was such a full circle moment.

Hearing my idol say, “That’s a good horse and a great rider,” meant so much more to me than that blue ribbon ever could.

Piper may not always make it easy on her riders. She is determined to make them smart, capable, and confident, not just pretty. But if you work with her, she will give you everything she has, including those blue ribbons.