A Whole New World

My first introduction to Curly Horses was in a breed book that I had as a child. It was in this book that I learned of the hypoallergenic trait of the American Bashkir Curly. Being so unique, they are not a breed that I could easily forget about, but at the time, I had no idea how important these special horses would become in my life.

My freshman year of college, I did not have a car on campus and had no means of keeping my horse with me at school. My boyfriend, Evan and I had talked about his allergy to horses (among other animals), but it wasn't until a year later when I was able to bring my horse to school with me, that I truly understood the magnitude of the problem. Just walking in the door of our apartment after I had spent an evening at the barn would cause Evan to sneeze uncontrollably. It was so bad that I started bringing a second set of clothes to change into before getting into my car to come back to the apartment, and even then, I would have to shower immediately upon returning home. After a few months of this, however, Evan seemed to be building up a greater tolerance and was even able to ride in the car to the barn as long as he wore a medical mask over his face.

Eventually, Evan was able to stay at the barn as long as he did not touch any of the horses and was not around them while they were being groomed. Evan seemed to enjoy coming with me and learning about horses and Parelli Natural Horsemanship, and I was overjoyed to be able to share my passion with him. As the months went on, Evan began to see how powerful my relationship with my equine partner is, and he started to become sad and discouraged that his allergy was preventing him from having the same relationship with a horse. Enter, the Curly Horse.

Once I knew Evan was serious about getting a horse, I told him about the breed I had read about in my book, the hypoallergenic American Bashkir Curly Horse. We both searched for as much information as we could about these horses, which led us to find Curly Horse Country, and eventually, Silver Storm Farm. After much deliberation, saving money, and searching, in January 2011 we made the trip to Tennessee intent on bringing home a horse. One day later, we were headed home with Evan's new horse, Lilah Rose, a horse that he could touch and play with and not have to worry about not being able to breathe.

We are so grateful to have found an option for Evan that allows him to enjoy the magic of horses, despite his allergies. We are even more grateful to have been introduced to this incredible breed of intelligent, and people loving horses, that have forever stolen our hearts. After being immersed in the curly community and getting to know our own Curly Horse, we knew this was just the begging of a whole new world.