Auction to raise money for blind pony
Friends of Scooter are collecting $4,000 for cataract surgery
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Dan Bates / The Herald
Scooter is friendly and especially popular with the students at Lisa Eagley's GrayStone Stables.
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Lisa Eagley talks to her pony, Scooter, who is blind.
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Dan Bates / The Herald
Lisa Eagley's 8-year-old pony, Scooter (left) gets a little anxious if his seeing-eye miniature horse, Milo, gets too far at GrayStone Stables in Snohomish. Eagley rescued the two horses. Scooter has cataracts and is an excellent candidate for corrective surgery.
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Dan Bates / The Herald
Lisa Eagley's eight-year-old pony, Scooter (left), gets a little anxious if his miniature seeing-eye horse, Milo, gets too far at Greystone Stables in Snohomish. Eagley rescued the two horses. Scooter has cataracts, but is an excellent candidate for corrective surgery.
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Dan Bates / The Herald
Scooter's right eye shows some of the whitish cataract, limiting vision to 10 percent. The left eye cataract has dulled and is completely blind. Scooter is a young horse and has a life expectancy of about 30 years, so the $4,000 cataract surgery would provide long-term benefit.
The family, who bought the pony at an auction, wasn't able to care for him properly. Eagley knew she couldn't leave him there.
Now 8 years old, Scooter lives at Eagley's GrayStone Stable and Equestrian Center, where she boards and trains horses and gives riding lessons.
The people who keep their horses and ride at the stable fell in love with Scooter and his gentle, trusting manner, said Heather Andreini, who has two horses at GrayStone.
Less than a month ago, the horse lovers found out that Scooter could get his vision back. A veterinarian at Pilchuck Veterinary Hospital examined the pony and said he can remove the cataracts from Scooter's eyes. The surgery will cost $4,000. Andreini, of Kirkland, decided to put together an auction and rummage sale to raise the money.
The event is planned for Sunday, and there will be something for everyone. Local businesses donated to the cause and many from Scooter's barn family contributed handmade jewelry and other items, Andreini said.
Andreini first came to the stable a year ago after purchasing a discount riding lesson. As a child, she dreamed about having horses.
"I kept a saddle under my bed and saved money," she said.
It took until last year for her dream to come true.
Eagley bought her Snohomish stable in 2003. Her love for horses began at age 9, when her mother bought a farm in Snohomish. The farm's previous owners had left a pony.
She smiles when she talks about horses.
"It's a relationship unlike any other," Eagley said.
Because of the way Scooter picks up his feet up when he walks, Eagley thinks the pony had been trained for pulling carts. Whoever owned him probably realized that Scooter couldn't see and put him up for auction.
When Eagley got Scooter, she put him in a stall with Milo, a miniature horse and another rescued animal. She heard about Milo from her veterinarian after the horse had been injured by a stallion. His owners thought he had a broken leg and wanted to put him down.
Milo became Scooter's guide horse.
"They are like brothers. They don't go anywhere without each other," said Annette Miller, another member of the GrayStone community.
Scooter craves human touch and loves being groomed. Girls from the 4-H team Eagley helps lead love to groom him.
On a recent weekday morning, 13-year-old twins Capucine and Charlotte Zimmerman neatly braided the pony's hair. The Mill Creek twins wore identical T-shirts and skinny jeans, but you could tell them apart by their cowboy boots: Charlotte's were black and blue, Capucine's were black and pink.
The girls will be starting at Glacier Peak High School this fall. They got their own horses for Christmas.
"They have personalities and they always make you feel really special," Charlotte said.
Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452; kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
How to help Scooter
An auction and rummage sale to raise money for Scooter's surgery is from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at GrayStone Stables and Equestrian Center, 15231 State St., Snohomish.
New and used tack and riding clothes and boots, household items, books, CDs and DVDs. Silent auction items include professional pet photography session, framed art, gift certificates to local businesses and hand-blown glass art. Pony rides will be available for kids.
For more information, call Heather at 425-508-4291.
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