Last summer, Monica Sullivan started, and then quickly tripled, her equine family.
In June, the West Vancouver resident had zero horses and little interest in ever acquiring one. But by October, she was the proud owner of three rescue horses.
It all started with a mare named Connie, whom Sullivan encountered in the Okanagan Valley where she has a summer home.
"The horse was in a lot of medical distress, almost to the point of death, and nobody really had the resources to take her in," she recalls.
Fortunately, Sullivan found a stable in the Summerland area that specializes in high-needs rescue horses and began boarding Connie there.
Next came Gunner, a middle-aged thoroughbred who used to race in the United States.
"Some of these horses, due to very strict confinement, have a lot of health issues and he definitely falls into that category," Sullivan says.
Horses are social animals and Gunner made a perfect companion for Connie.
Sullivan's third four-legged charge came from a large herd of feral horses that live in the area around her Penticton summer home. For many residents, these free-roaming animals are considered a nuisance, but she's never felt that way.
"We've always loved having these horses there," she says.
Two years ago, she spotted a charming little white foal among the group. Then last fall, at a time when measures were being taken to manage the region's feral horse population, she took the opportunity to adopt that foal, whom she named Crazygood.
All three horses now board in the same Summerland stable and Sullivan visits them regularly year-round.
In December, she was inspired to create a calendar to help raise money for other rescue horses. Through that endeavour, she rediscovered a former hobby - painting. Realizing her paintings of horses might translate well into other areas, such as fashion and home décor, she made a few T-shirts and pillows printed with her art.
"The results were actually quite interesting and I got a lot of comments on it from people who encouraged me to take it further," she says.
So she made a website for her creative business, Horse Eye Designs, and held a small art show at a Vancouver gallery. Next up, she and her friend and fellow artist, Kim Aelicks, are hosting a joint show and sale at the North Shore Winter Club on March 23.
"The product line right now consists of paintings, cushions, T-shirts, jewelry, memory boxes," Sullivan says.
Once her images are transferred onto the clothing and accessories, she then further customizes the pieces with paint touch ups or upcycled materials. All the products are inspired by rescue horses - hers and others at the Summerland stable - and, as the name of her business suggests, the items depict the horse's eyes, a feature Sullivan has always been drawn to.
"I find the entire horse beautiful, but there's something magical about their eyes."
Connie, Gunner and Crazygood are not her first horses. Sullivan grew up in a rural area of northern Saskatchewan. Her father had a dairy farm and they owned a couple of large workhorses.
"So that's where the whole love affair with animals began," she says. In recent months, she has been focusing on handling and walking her two youngest rescues, particularly the feral one who had never before worn a halter.
"Really, all I'm doing right now is building trust with the two younger horses and then we're hoping that this week they'll start being trained to get them ready for riding."
Training horses for riding is beyond Sullivan's scope of expertise, so she plans to leave that task up to the professionals. Unfortunately, due to health issues, her eldest horse, Gunner, likely won't ever take a rider again.
"I'll never be able to ride him," Sullivan says. "He's just going to be a companion horse, but he serves that purpose very, very nicely."
Monica Sullivan and Kim Aelicks host a joint art show and sale Wednesday, March 23, 6-9 p.m. in the seniors' lounge at the North Shore Winter Club, 1325 E. Keith Rd., North Vancouver. Visit horseeyedesigns.com for more information.
