I wanted to let my Heavenly Gaits volunteer family know that Louie passed away this morning. I realized early this morning that he was colic and in a matter or a couple hours he was gone. My heart is breaking but his work at HG brought me to come to know all of you, and my life - and his - was better for it.
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The life of Khallouf – “Louie”
Louie began his life in May of 1994. He was bred on an Arabian farm in Kentucky – bred to be a sweepstakes show horse. God must have had other plans for Louie as his confirmation changed those plans. I think the plan was for Louie to come to me and bring joy to my life. I adopted Louie in 1995 from a woman in Morgantown, WV. He was born a chestnut color, as “gray” Arabians often are. When I adopted him at age 1, he was really a funny shade of orange – so cute!
At the time I adopted Louie, I was working in a high pressure job and pursing my master’s degree. Louie was my therapy for stress relief. I would go to barn where he was boarded, sometimes at 9:00 or 10:00 at night to see him. He would entertain me with his antics and I could forgot the stress of the day. So I guess you could say Louie started his “therapy work” at a very young age.
When Louie was three years old, I sent him to Empress Arabians in Pittsburgh to receive basic riding lessons. He was a great student and quickly learned the basic essentials. He did, however, create a bit of havoc at the farm. Occasionally when I would visit, the staff would tell me of something that Louie did to cause mischief. One such incident was when he taught the other horses to – with their teeth – pull the caps off of the vinyl fence posts all around the property. He would also try to “help” the staff mucking his stalls by trying to pick up the future forks and shovels while they were trying to clean.
Louie moved with me around the area as I pursued various jobs. At one point we lived in Murrysville, only 10 minutes from the Monroeville Mall area. We would ride through the neighborhoods around our little farmette. I remember the neighborhood kids running from all directions to greet us as we rode through those neighborhoods. We received some double takes from the cars passing by.
Louie continues his life of mischief. When we moved to Murrysville I needed to do a great deal of work on our barn as it had not had horses in a while. Within the first week of living there, Louie had pulled down the rain gutters, mangled them into a mess, and then drug them into his stall where I found them when I went to feed. I explained to him that was not helpful!
One very funny incident I recall was this. I came home from work one day. Where my barn was located was at the top of a small rise at the end of my driveway. I could see Louie lying in the middle of barn aisle, but something looked strange. As I walked toward the barn, I could see what he had done. He had worked open the latch on the wash bay where the shavings were kept. He had opened 12 full bags of shavings, dumped the bags and was lying on his “mattress” of shavings. It was so funny, I couldn’t even become irritated with him. He looked very comfortable.
Louie moved to Marienville in 2002. He enjoyed an easy life there. His buddy AJ came to live with him a couple years later, and they have been together since. Louie enjoys trail riding and has always been fearless to ride anywhere. He likes attention and is very curious.
When I became aware of the amazing work of Heavenly Gaits, I wondered if Louie might be a good fit there. Monique came to meet Louie in June and thought he might be a fit. I was so incredibly impressed with her and her passion for the work. She prayed about Louie, I prayed about Louie and the decision was made that he looked to be a fit. The decision was truly the definition of bittersweet. While it was incredibly hard to let him go, I knew it was the right thing to do.
I hope that you all love Louie as much as I do. He will get in your heart and make it grow with love. He is curious, sweet, and often mischievous often a character. He has a big personality and will likely earn a reputation as a “character” at Heavenly Gaits. I love that he is doing God’s work through the hands of those at Heavenly Gaits.
Linda Summers
Louie began his life in May of 1994. He was bred on an Arabian farm in Kentucky – bred to be a sweepstakes show horse. God must have had other plans for Louie as his confirmation changed those plans. I think the plan was for Louie to come to me and bring joy to my life. I adopted Louie in 1995 from a woman in Morgantown, WV. He was born a chestnut color, as “gray” Arabians often are. When I adopted him at age 1, he was really a funny shade of orange – so cute!
At the time I adopted Louie, I was working in a high pressure job and pursing my master’s degree. Louie was my therapy for stress relief. I would go to barn where he was boarded, sometimes at 9:00 or 10:00 at night to see him. He would entertain me with his antics and I could forgot the stress of the day. So I guess you could say Louie started his “therapy work” at a very young age.
When Louie was three years old, I sent him to Empress Arabians in Pittsburgh to receive basic riding lessons. He was a great student and quickly learned the basic essentials. He did, however, create a bit of havoc at the farm. Occasionally when I would visit, the staff would tell me of something that Louie did to cause mischief. One such incident was when he taught the other horses to – with their teeth – pull the caps off of the vinyl fence posts all around the property. He would also try to “help” the staff mucking his stalls by trying to pick up the future forks and shovels while they were trying to clean.
Louie moved with me around the area as I pursued various jobs. At one point we lived in Murrysville, only 10 minutes from the Monroeville Mall area. We would ride through the neighborhoods around our little farmette. I remember the neighborhood kids running from all directions to greet us as we rode through those neighborhoods. We received some double takes from the cars passing by.
Louie continues his life of mischief. When we moved to Murrysville I needed to do a great deal of work on our barn as it had not had horses in a while. Within the first week of living there, Louie had pulled down the rain gutters, mangled them into a mess, and then drug them into his stall where I found them when I went to feed. I explained to him that was not helpful!
One very funny incident I recall was this. I came home from work one day. Where my barn was located was at the top of a small rise at the end of my driveway. I could see Louie lying in the middle of barn aisle, but something looked strange. As I walked toward the barn, I could see what he had done. He had worked open the latch on the wash bay where the shavings were kept. He had opened 12 full bags of shavings, dumped the bags and was lying on his “mattress” of shavings. It was so funny, I couldn’t even become irritated with him. He looked very comfortable.
Louie moved to Marienville in 2002. He enjoyed an easy life there. His buddy AJ came to live with him a couple years later, and they have been together since. Louie enjoys trail riding and has always been fearless to ride anywhere. He likes attention and is very curious.
When I became aware of the amazing work of Heavenly Gaits, I wondered if Louie might be a good fit there. Monique came to meet Louie in June and thought he might be a fit. I was so incredibly impressed with her and her passion for the work. She prayed about Louie, I prayed about Louie and the decision was made that he looked to be a fit. The decision was truly the definition of bittersweet. While it was incredibly hard to let him go, I knew it was the right thing to do.
I hope that you all love Louie as much as I do. He will get in your heart and make it grow with love. He is curious, sweet, and often mischievous often a character. He has a big personality and will likely earn a reputation as a “character” at Heavenly Gaits. I love that he is doing God’s work through the hands of those at Heavenly Gaits.
Linda Summers