My Angel Horse: A Journey of Love, Redemption, and Healing

My Angel Horse: A Journey of Love, Redemption, and Healing

Hi there, ladies!

My name is Amber. I reside in central Indiana (though I wish I was in the West) and I have a horse named Roman. I believe he’s a Tennessee Walker/Standardbred cross but I’m not 100% sure. I’d like to tell you a little bit about our story!

I met Roman almost five years ago when we moved our previous horses (my mother and sisters horses) to a new boarding facility. Roman (then named Little Foot) resided there. It was love at first sight for the both of us, but he was a special case. He’d been bought at a local auction by a woman who unfortunately couldn’t find the time or patience for him. She purchased him from a man who claimed to be a “horse trainer” yet his methods involve abuse and aggression.

When I first met Roman, he couldn’t be touched without flinching or running away. I was a beginner and had no idea what I was doing really, but I knew I felt a pull to him. Over the next few years, I got him to the point where he enjoyed being brushed. We were working on halter training, and  he wasn’t fearful of every little thing like he had been. All this time, this previous owner still legally owned him and I was just doing these things because I loved him. She had other “trainers” come out to work with him and one even said that he was, and I quote, “dangerous and would kill somebody one day” while another said “that horse needs to be put down.” Every time someone would attempt to “train” him or the legal owner attempted to “ride” him, it would reset all of the progress I’d made with him. But as she had legal ownership, I had to sit by and just remind him after each hard day that I was there and I loved him.

Two years ago, I got a text from his owner. After three years of me loving this horse and getting him past the abuse and neglect he faced, she told me that she was bringing him back to the sale barn because her boyfriend was forcing her to sell him.

Just months before this, I had lost my childhood best friend to a drug overdose. My entire world was turned upside down. I was twenty at the time and I wasn’t in a financial position to buy a horse. I cried for days, trying to figure out what to do. At the end of that week, my mom told me that I couldn’t let this horse, who was half of my soul, go. He saved me and I saved him. I raised the money I needed and bought him! 

On July 31st of this year, he’ll have been legally mine for two years. We’ve come so incredibly far together. He now loads on trailers, does extremely amazing groundwork, lets little kids play with him, and we’ve even started him under saddle. To some I may be taking it too slow, but all he knew before me was anger and abuse so I’m determined to give him the patience he needs, even if it takes another decade. The first two years of his life he was beaten, the next three he was neglected, and the past five he’s been shown what love and compassion looks like. He’ll be mine for the rest of his life and I can’t wait to see where we go with each other next. I’ve had people tell me that I saved his life and while that might be true, he definitely saved mine as well.


Thank you for reading about me and my heart horse!! I can’t wait for a hat restock so I can buy one and support the Miss Cowboy Club!! They're absolutely amazing and I love this safe space for all of us horse people, beginners and experienced alike.

With love,

Amber and Roman

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2 comments

I love this story. I love the way Amber loves Roman and the way Roman loves Amber. I remember when we first started going to the barn. I was scared of Roman who at the time was called Little Foot… cute she named him Roman because that’s my son‘s name. To be able to walk up to him now and touch him it is amazing. He doesn’t jump, rare, flinch and run away anymore. He knows he’s safe and loved. 💙🩷

Patricia Molden

Love their story ♥️

Constance Sherer

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