Painting For A Cause...

Buddy began life in Florida. He met Jessica when he was only three years old. She worked with the little half-arab pony for a year and when his owners decided to sell him, she bought him to finish his training. Jessica trained Buddy as a hunter. He attended several local schooling shows with Jessica where a young girl would ride him in walk-trot classes and Jessica would ride him in a Baby Greens class. Life was good and Buddy was progressing well. At 5 years of age, Buddy then moved to Tennessee to go to college with Jessica where he participated on the school's equestrian team for a time.

Buddy has been a relatively healthy and happy pony his whole life with the exception of the occassion "accident prone" injury. When he moved to Tennessee, the climate change made him slow to shed out his winter coat. However, after four years of living in Tennessee and still having problems shedding out in the fourth year, Jessica decided to find out what was going on and ordered some blood work to be done. When the test results came back, it was with bad news. Buddy was diagnosed with Cushings Disease at the young age of nine. If it weren't for the slow shedding, no one would have guessed there was anything wrong with him at all.

In November of the same year, Buddy was found in his pasture having trouble moving. A spinal tap was performed and the presence of EPM, a nuerological disease, was confirmed. Buddy is still currently fighting this terrible disease.

At the age of nine, Buddy also learned a new talent. One day Jessica was going through all the art supplies she had and decided that Buddy should learn how to paint. Armed with a pen that clicked to open and close and some treats, Jessica started to teach Buddy to hold things in his mouth. She used a crop at first and Buddy would twirl the crop around in the air for her. He learned quick that he got a treat when he did that. She then got out a paint brush and canvas and let him "paint" with an empty brush on the canvas to see what he would do. Buddy immediately began to make brush strokes on the canvas. After this "experiement," Jessica decided it was time to try real paint and Buddy produced his first painting. He enjoyed the painting and would work himself into it. His technique consists of throwing the brush on the ground, which picks up gravel and dirt, and then painting with it. His paintings are often a "mixed media" as a result. He decides when he is done painting by simply not painting any longer. People began asking to purchase his paintings on a frenzy. Once Buddy was diagnosed with Cushings, however, his paintings became a source to help fund treatment and for his condition. A percentage of the profits of his paintings is also donated to research for Equine Cushings.