Heart Horse Feature: Leigh + Acorn | Bloomington IN Equine Portrait Photographer

Heart Horse is a horse and rider portrait series that features 40 horse women and their heart horses, where they share their history together. At the end of the portrait series, there will be a gala to feature stories like this, their one portrait from their session, and to raise money for Epona Healing with Horses. The date is TBD as this project is still ongoing. If you’d like to participate with your heart horse, you can go here to learn more and sign up. 

Acorn is a 12 year old, 15.3h chestnut thoroughbred mare. Her and her owner, Leigh reside in Bedford, Indiana. Acorn didn't have a lot (if any) experience as a riding horse prior to Leigh owning her. Nonetheless, she took her willingness and elementary knowledge for granted and jumped right into schooling with her and doing walk, trot, canter, and small jumps. 

The idea was that she was going to be Leigh’s low level event horse. “That was a mistake”, says Leigh, “I unwittingly picked away at her confidence, soundness, health and well-being. It was awful.....I finally started to figure it out though, doing lots and lots of research, and I made a ton of changes, including moving to a barn with 24/7 turnout and giving her a full year off where we focused on groundwork, communication and our bond. All that to say that my favorite memory of Acorn was getting back in the saddle and finally going on our first (and presumably her first ever) trail ride.” 

“Acorn absolutely loved it and went straight to the front!! She was so brave, crossing water and going through the woods. It was so amazing to see her confidence blossom after all she had been through.”, Leigh remembers. 

Leigh and Acorn first met in December 2021 after her gelding had died just a few months before due to a catastrophic pasture accident. Leigh was devastated and didn't really know what to do with herself, so, for better or worse, she jumped right into looking for a new horse.

She remembers, “I had taken a trip down to Lexington to visit several barns to see and try out horses. Acorn was one of, I think, 5 horses that I saw that day. But she was the one.... even though she had little to no experience under saddle, I could tell that she was doing her absolute best and had the most beautiful temperament. I immediately made a PPE appointment and started crossing my fingers!”

Leigh knows very little about Acorn's background and nothing about her breeding. She bought her from a sale barn that had only had her for a couple of months. Prior to that, Acorn had been a surrogate broodmare at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital. She had been there for "a number of years" and had at least one foal. She had failed to accept embryos and so R&R moved her along. Leigh says she has no idea how Acorn ended up there in the first place.

Leigh says, “Acorn is the most communicative and expressive horse I've ever known. She is a sensitive girl and will let me know one way or another how she feels about something. After spending over 30 years around horses, she's opened my eyes to so many things that I had never even considered. She lets me know when something isn't right - whether it's by pulling a face, refusing to move forward, shaking her head, throwing a buck, etc. and it's my job to figure it out and to be a better rider/handler. She's made me ten times the horsewoman I ever was before meeting her.”

Acorn LOOOVES Stud Muffins and German Horse Muffins. She also loves Sweet Tart Ropes. She definitely has a sweet tooth, but hasn't figured out how to eat a sugar cube or a peppermint without dropping it.

Leigh is thrilled to have a happy and healthy horse these days.

A little bit more about Leigh in her own words:

“I'm a 38 year old lawyer, and I work for a group of music record labels. I think I came out of the womb obsessed with horses, and the feeling has never gone away! They are still the first and last thing I think about everyday. I grew up in Virginia and started taking English riding lessons at 6 years old. At age 11, I started working at the lesson barn everyday after school - feeding, cleaning stalls, tacking up lesson horses, to pay for my lessons and to eventually pay for pasture board.”

“My first horse was a paint/Arabian, Spanky, that we found in the classified section of the local newspaper. He was a saint for everything I put him through....I continued working at barns throughout college and law school.” 

“At age 35 I bought my gelding Dude, a TB school horse, who was an absolute dream. After competing in and winning our first horse trial together, he had a tragic pasture accident and died at age 11.”

Heart Horse is an ongoing project where 40 horsewomen share their stories and adventures with their heart horse(s). If you’d like to participate, or know a fellow horsewoman, please visit the Heart Horse page and fill out an application. 

---

Bethany Quinn is the photographer behind Bethany Quinn Studios where she helps modern women feel more confident in their own skin through boudoir and equine photography sessions. We encourage you to grab a glass of wine or sparkling cider, hang out for awhile, and check out more that the blog has to offer! 

For more info on booking your own session you can start here.