Haligonian Mercy Bo Cool, foaled June 21, 1994, AMHR & PtHA registered American Miniature Horse mare (center photo by Jack Haley, Daily Messenger, 09-16-03)
Where do we begin?
We first started working with Mercy after she was purchased. She was still nursing so we felt we should get to know the black pinto filly prior to bringing her home. From the start, Mercy had no intention of being caught - she would watch from the top of the hill when we took her dam inside and she would flip her whiskbroom-like tail at us and take off for the company of her foal friends. Trying to catch her just to groom her usually involved a lengthy chase-and-corner session where she would be just within reach and she would take off and then toss her head and trot away. If she could have laughed, I think she would have!
At weaning time, she arrived at the farm where we were boarding her via our car after a change happened in her shipping plans. Her breeder did not have the keys to her son-in-law's truck, and he was borrowing hers, which had the trailer hook-up. After some discussion, Mercy was put in the cargo area of our Jeep Cherokee and we drove her home in the car.
She was still pretty standoffish and bossy as a baby until she contracted pneumonia and required antibiotics. A change in her personality became evident once she realized we were trying to help and thus began her career as a therapy horse. She was friendly, nothing seemed to upset her and she was smart. She learned a handful of tricks... shaking hands, giving "kisses", shaking her head "yes" and "no" when we asked her a question and she could fetch her feed pan on command.
Our neighbor had asked if we could bring her to a local ambulance corps' Open House in 1995. My husband said, "Sure" and told me we could "rent a trailer." That was a daunting task since most folks did not want to haul her without getting a large sum of money for their time, or they were busy or they were just not interested. One lady I contacted was busy but suggested taking Mercy in the car again, with a few changes.
We hauled the back seat out of the Jeep, tarped it and trained Mercy to ride in the car. She was always well-behaved and she made her appearance at the Open House where she enjoyed drinking apple juice from a cup and eating from her hay bale while kids of all ages pet her. The sirens of fire engines, ambulances and police cars did not phase her in the least. Even a visiting medical helicopter landed and took off near her without her paying any attention to it.
Mercy appears with my oldest son Andrew at right, who helped with the Open House visit in 1998.
This evolved into visiting libraries, group homes, schools, nursing homes, stores and being involved in parades, where everyone wanted to see the "little horse that rides in a car." Her time has been volunteered to groups that would like to have her visit, always free of charge, for the past 10 years.
Mercy started her show career in 1996 when she tackled Halter Obstacle classes with a vengeance. She has multiple championships and reserves under her belt and has taken several youth handlers through the ropes as well. Her crowning achievement was obtaining her AMHR Performance Hall of Fame in Halter Obstacle in 2002 with my son Benjamin. He enjoyed showing her in Hunters and Jumpers as well and added those Hall of Fame titles to Mercy's resume in 2004. He will be driving her in 2006.
Mercy has had a number of foals over the years... Silversong Coup de Grace (1997), Silversong Mahalo (1998), Silversong State of the Art (2000), Silversong Out of the Blue (2001) and Silversong Constellation (1994). Three of the five foals are involved in therapy work as well. Gracie, her first foal, appears in the photo to the left, along with Kris Heuer-Lancaster, my son Benjamin and me.
On November 8-12, 2006, Mercy was one of the Celebrity Horses at the Massachusetts Equine Affaire, along with Blanco (the Lord of the Rings' "Shadowfax"), Rich in Dallas ("Dallas", who played Seabiscuit in the movie with the same name) and Gallo Blue Chip, 2000 Harness Horse of the Year and the top money earning pacer. Mercy was in her glory with all the attention and can strike a pose when a camera is pointed at her! She will be in a TV spot for the holidays with her new friends Kelsey, Celia and Abigail - they did a Happy Holidays spot for "The Saddle Club". Dallas's foster mom even taught her how to paint with her nose!
Mercy has appeared in EQUUS, the Journal (ASPC/AMHR's magazine) and the Miniature Horse Voice magazines, has been a Cosequin Equine Exemplary Service Horse semi-finalist, is in two books (Straight from the Heart II by the editors of EQUUS magazine, Primedia Publishing and The Book of Miniature Horses, by Donna Campbell-Smith) and appeared on Animal Planet's A Pet Story in 2003. Once in a lifetime, a horse comes along that is a good friend, a brave competitor, a good mom and a talented show horse. We have been blessed with such a horse and are most grateful!
Meeting "Blanco", who played Gandalf's horse Shadowfax in