Lacey’s Legacy

It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of our sweet therapy horse, Lacey.

On February 4, 2023, Lacey was humanely euthanized due to a severe bout of colic. Our hearts are with Krystal, Lacey’s owner, as well as the countless others whose lives were touched by this wonderful mare.

Through the sadness of the past week, many fond memories and stories of Lacey have been shared amongst the staff, volunteers, and riders at PRDA. And after about 17 years with us, there were a lot! We wanted to put as many of those good times together in one place to honour Lacey and all that she has done for the people who knew her.

Lacey joined the PRDA family when one of our riders, Krystal, purchased her as a personal horse. At first, Lacey was only ridden by Krystal and a select few independent riders (she was a bit of a spunky little mare). Lacey added two BC Summer Games performances to her resume. Together with Krystal, they helped their Zone to achieve Team Gold at both competitions!

As she started to join the therapeutic riding program in a greater capacity, she showed that she could adjust her level of spunk to suit whatever her riders needed at the time. One of Lacey’s first non-independent riders had been partnered with her for over ten years! Lacey helped take this rider from needing assistance at the walk, all the way to trotting independently.

She was always kind, but she was sensitive; and her speed would tell on you if you were kicking or clamping with your legs during a ride. Her sensitivity made her the incorrect choice for riders learning how to canter, but if you were already adept at canter aides, she would reward you with her willingness. And for those who were not ready to canter yet, she was a patient teacher.

Patient and kind, but never unaware! Lacey always kept an eye on things, and if there was anything she found suspicious on the trail she would stand still and make her eyes as big as possible. One of the riders coined it as her “goldfish” look. Yet the instructors were never too worried, because even in her “goldfish” moments, Lacey seemed to want to keep her riders safe.

Lacey also possessed the remarkable ability to do helicopter circles with her tongue out the left side of her mouth. And she never ever bit her tongue while doing it. Hilarious and endearing, but truly alarming the first time you saw it without warning (speaking from personal experience)!

She was a favourite amongst the volunteers! Her ground manners were quite good, but she was known for her shark impressions when it came time to doing up her girth.

Lacey was not interested in walking through puddles on the trail; she would much rather tiptoe her way around them. Though her aversion to puddles did seem to disappear as soon as she made it back to her paddock. When it came to having a good roll in the mud, Lacey never met a puddle she didn’t like.

She also lived life by the motto of “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” and could often be found missing a chunk of mane or with a black mark on her neck from reaching between the fence rails in search of something yummy.

At nearly 27 years old, Lacey was scheduled to retire at the end of June. Unfortunately, we had to say an unplanned goodbye to this sweet girl earlier than any of us had hoped.

The team at PRDA sends our heartfelt gratitude to Krystal for allowing Lacey to be a part of our herd for the better part of two decades. She was an extraordinary mare and touched the lives of so many.

If you would like to share your memories of Lacey, we encourage you to do so in the comments of this post so that we can all celebrate the life of our wonderful friend together. 

A special thank you to all of the people who contributed their stories of Lacey to the creation of this post.