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Tia Maria April 12, 1972 - June 27, 2003 

A Windfields bred Thoroughbred registered as Giddy Cunning with the New York Jockey Club. Her grandfather was the famous racehorse Chop Chop, her father stakes winner Moon Age and her mother stakes winner Celestine. Tia was raised as a racehorse until her third year, when the syndicate which owned her went bankrupt - with Tia unraced.  We always felt that they missed their chance, as Tia was easily the fastest horse we've ever owned or ridden -and she loved to run. At age 16, she was faster than some local Thoroughbreds in training for the track.

At three, she was bought by a western rider, attracted to her speed and extreme agility in performing 180° turns on the haunches, even at a full gallop. He planned to barrel race her, and appropriately called her Breeze, but wasn't able to keep his 200 lb.+ frame in sync with her. He was convinced to sell her to her next owner, a petite woman who was horrified at a big fellow trying to manhandle the dainty sleek mare. This woman had hoped to buy the horse originally from the syndicate but had been too late.

This owner rode renamed her Tia Maria and rode her dressage, for which she was ideally suited, with her long sweeping trot with elegant suspension. Due to a marriage breakup, Tia was sadly sold, at the age of 8 to Heather Spencer as her first horse. Her name was shortened to just Tia. Heather rode her as a pleasure horse, and part-boarded her to Donna Naughton, who did dressage with her at local Ottawa shows in the early 80's. 

At age 10, Tia was bred to the Thoroughbred stallion Young Tim - a  producer for the track and Grand Prix jumper ring.  In May, 1983, she had a beautiful filly, T-Tauri.

At age 19, Tia moved to Raspberry Ridge Farms with the rest of her herd, where she started a new career as a school horse. She taught many small riders how to canter, jump and show. She was very popular as she was always a forward mover and happy to work. A healthy mare, she never suffered from lameness, despite her dainty build.

At age 21, Tia was bred again, to Thoroughbred Coaly Isle- whose foals have been successful in the halter, hunter and dressage rings. The breeding was unsuccessful and was tried the following year. At age 23, Tia gave birth to Coaly's Calypso a very elegant bay colt. Tia's only illness was a mild case of Potomac Fever, suffered as she was four months pregnant with Calypso.

At age 28, Tia's dislike of the summer heat started to effect her weight. Always a bit of a hard keeper, we cut down on her work to occasional lessons with just the smallest riders. She still worked happily, and the exercise kept her agile. Her last lesson was teaching a ten year old girl to canter, in the month that she turned 30. We excused her from camp completely last year and officially retired her. 

In the fall of 2002, we noticed that Tia had more difficulty in getting up, and once wouldn't even try to get up in her box stall. Always fastidious, she didn't want to bump her nose as she got up. Out in the pasture, with buddies Bear and Windy she cantered freely and trotted happily, but had lost a lost of the spring in her step.

In March of 2003, her granddaughter Camilla ( T-Tauri x Rodero) gave birth to Tia's great-grandaughter, Onyx, a black filly from our horse Attucus "Moose". 

On May 20th of 2003, a bay filly was born, Dharma, whose mother rejected her. A lonely little foal alone in her box stall, when we fed the foal every two hours throughout the night, Dharma would whinny upon our arrival at the barn. On day two, Tia began to whinny back. On May 22, we turned them out together, and Tia claimed the foal as her own. This was especially unusual as Tia had been aggressive with any foal not related to her. The only exception to this rule had been Orion's Song, a black colt born to the Selle Francais mare Uly and half brother to Camilla, whom Tia helped raise. That colt and filly were a week apart and their sibling bond gave the colt acceptance. Other youngsters ran in fear of her big teeth. Tia had to be separated from small youngsters as she had several times been known to try to "cull" pony foals from the herd as inferior. (This was serious, as she would pick them up in her teeth and shake them).

Tia became Dharma's fierce protector immediately. Anyone seeing the mare and foal trotting in the field together would think them mother and daughter (and wonder why we bred such an old thin mare). Tia even began lactating, although not to a degree that could feed the foal, it certainly provided comfort. On Dharma's fourth day, she developed septicemia, an often fatal illness in foals. Tia alerted us to the illness early as she pawed at the ground beside the foal in obvious distress at the foal sleeping. Her behavior indicated that this wasn't an ordinary foal nap. Upon close observation, the foal showed some muscle twitching, and the vet was called. Tia's nurturing most certainly kept the foal alive by improving her will to live, while antibiotics fought the bacteria.  Two days later, Tia lay down in the barn and didn't get up. She tried to crawl out the door of her large foaling stall, close to the barn door. We slipped rubber mats out and slip her outside onto a bed of straw. She was exhausted from trial, and heavy-hearted we fed her water by syringe, maple syrup for energy and grass. After a rest, she surprised us by getting up and going to the foal's stall. Her first concern. After eight days on antibiotics, the foal's temperature returned to normal. Tia was also on antibiotics for the friction scrapes she incurred as she lay in her stall. Within two days, the pair were again mobile in a lush pasture with a cozy shelter - no more stalls for Tia.

For the next four weeks, Dharma got stronger under the care of her "mother". She started to eat grass, pellets, and doubled her milk intake. Plus she had Tia's milk for dessert after her bottles of formula. 

Although we had hoped that Tia would live long enough to nurture Dharma through weaning, we knew that there was a strong possibility that she might not. She had already cheated Death twice by getting up. About a week before, we introduced Dharma to Tia's pasture mates before her arrival: FeatherBear -  our 32 year old P.O.A., Windy our 25 year old Welsh mare, and Belle a 14 year old Arabian mare belonging to Len and Sylvia. The horses accepted her as part of the herd, as Tia's foal.

On Wednesday night, Tia went down in the field. It was hot on Thursday and between bucket of water to cool her dark coat, we again fed Tia water and sugar to give her energy. She got up to go across the field to where the other horses including Dharma were grazing.  Nature builds survival,  into each animal, and Dharma had divided her time between Tia and the other horses torn between the safety of the herd and her mother's calls. Tia again lay down next to her little herd. We parked a truck next to her for shade and gave her electrolytes and sugar.  As the evening cooled her, she seemed to regain strength and began eating. She fell into a peaceful sleep. The foal slept next to her. In the morning, Tia was eating and eager to get up. She was at a disadvantage with her hind end downhill from her head, so several volunteers helped us to prop her with straw. At this time, Tia began drinking water very eagerly and we loaded the water with electrolytes and dextrose to give her the best chance possible. Tia was lucky to have a veterinary technician and a nurse at her side.

While it is hard to give up on an animal that wants to live, Tia went from almost getting up to obvious distress. At age 31, she had had a long and happy, healthy life. We had hoped to be able to get her up for Dharma's sake. Tia's last month had been high quality and active. She had put on weight with two months of  lush spring grass. However, even if she got up this time, it seemed likely that she would shortly go down again. Each episode caused some abrasions from which she had to recover. Sadly, we decided that it would be best to put Tia to sleep. Upon her final examination, it was discovered that she had a heart murmur, and her heart could not pump enough blood for her to stay mobile. Her last month had been certainly on borrowed time, and she out it to good use by saving Dharma. For that we certainly cannot find fault with her heart.

Tia is buried on the farm next to Ram and Uly.

On a happy note, Dharma is strong and healthy, and although confused, has decided that Belle, the Arabian mare, is to be her next mother. Belle, while friendly enough, has taken a little convincing on the foal's part, but they have worked out a kind of arrangement. It has only been two days, but the mare and two old ponies stand over the foal while she grazes or sleeps in the field, and Belle brings Dharma into the shelter during the heat of the day or heavy rain.

Tia is also survived by her son Calypso, daughter T-Tauri, granddaughters Camilla, and a five year old part-bred mare now owned by Blue Ridge farm known by the knickname Peanut, and great-granddaughter Onyx.

Sincere thanks to Sylvia Vickery, Len Fardella, Alex and Suzanne Barlow, Susan and Maxine and Mitchell Cotton, Marcia Cory, Annie and Cory Alkenbrack, Lorraine Alderman, John Mills, Mark Rutherford of Rutherford Equine, Sherry of Napanee Veterinary Clinic, and everyone at the barn for your apples, carrots, input, assistance, support and condolences.