Today I have an exciting announcement to make! A Model Always in Your Heart will be joining the Sweet Manes/This Little Horse team! Now I haven't been able to decide if his name should be Hart or Jimmy. I did have a miniature horse named Jimmy already and he died only six weeks after I got him. He was a dwarf. Even though he was with us only a short time-he left a lasting imprint on our hearts.

I had visited the breeders site many times and sent her a message three years ago that I was looking for an Appaloosa. Each year there was no Appy for me. I had pretty much given up on getting an Appy this year. Actually, my friend Roz bought me the most adorable Appy Build a Bear and she named it Dream because she knew I was dreaming of an appaloosa of my own.

I saw that the breeder had posted the most beautiful Appy on Facebook and decided to send her a message about how beautiful he was and how I hadn't given up on my dreams of having one of her beautiful horses to join our team. Well to my surprise she sent me back a note stating she actually had one born the night before......she hadn't posted him yet. She said he had a heart on his forehead. I couldn't believe it!

I told her the story of my dad dying of liver cancer on Christmas Eve 2012. I told her how when he was giving some of his belongings to me ...I told him it felt like he was saying goodbye and I started to cry. He held me tight with his hands holding the back of my head...just like he held all of the babies....and said that he would always be in my heart. Those words just warm my heart and soul when I am missing my dad. It has become sort of a motto for everything I do in his honor-like visits with miniature horses.

After I told her the story she said she knew that horse was special the minute she saw him....and he could be mine!! I am SO in love. Terri's husband also passed away. He was also a military man. The vVeteran's also have a special place in my heart because my dad was so proud to serve his country. A Model Always in Your Heart will definitely be the guy I bring to veteran's facilities to honor my dad, grandpas, and other family members. I also want to honor Terri's husband and my friend Jeanne Murphy's husband Jim that passed away last year, both veterans and wonderful men that helped their horse loving wives

Always in my heart Pops!!!