A New Era

Rewind to Early 2018…at a family gathering, my brother said to me “Katie and I want to buy a horse”. How do we go about it? He preceded to to inquire…Craig’s List? My mother started laughing and said to me “Oh, lord…you better help him before he makes a huge mistake”. I laughed it off, As anyone who knows Trace, knows he has had a vast array of interests in prior years ( boats, airplanes, jet skis, an imported car from abroad, Real Estate, etc…). I figured this statement of interest would fade away in a few days so I paid it no mind.

In the following days, I began receiving ads for prospects and the realization that Trace was serious about this conquest, I relentlessly agreed to assist him on this painful journey. Might I add that he was very narrow minded about what he wanted and set a meager budget. I replied by asking “how soon do you expect to have a horse within your given parameters? These parameters started out with one color request and a firm price budget. I stared at him and began to wonder what I had just signed up for…lol.

Now mind you this venture would be different from any of my own ventures to buy a horse. Due to budget restraints, mine would only be under saddle a few weeks at best. As long as their heads and tails were on the right end (and approval of general confirmation and personality), they passed my inspection. Since prospects had not been in work long enough to sustain any hidden issues, I would usually forgo a Pre-purchase exam. In fact, I relied on my instinct in purchasing my last 3 horses and bought each of them sight unseen (other than a single photo and perhaps a video). Although I would not openly recommend this protocol to others, this tactic always worked for me and never once did I regret any of my decisions.

Having said this, I knew this journey would be quite different. Anyone in this sport knows that finding that perfect in-between match (not a baby or a senior with one foot in the grave) can be a costly investment. Once I explained to Trace that a safe, sound, pretty, talented horse that is ride/show ready for a beginner simply does not exist unless you are willing to stretch that frugal budget just a bit…lol.

So the journey exhaustively begins reviewing ads, making phone calls, exchanging e-mails and texts…all the while, I would receive numerous “No’s”, a few “maybe’s” and the rare “yes”. One day I was to look for a grey, the next day it was a palamino. By the time, Spots and Chrome came around…I threw my arms in the air and threatened to abort the mission if the winds contiued to change directions on a daily basis. By the way, who was this horse for anyway…Trace OR Katie? Sensing my frustration, he agreed to open up the possibilities.

I EVENTUALLY came across a cross that I absolutely loved within given guidelines. The most beautiful horse broken to drive AND ride. Price was good, the color was right, young enough for Katie to grow with, large enough for Trace to ride, quiet, safe and no a single blemish…in other words, a horse I would have bought without a second thought! Trace responded by saying “Beautiful and has your name written all over him but I don’t want a Buggy horse…ugh!!! Despite my efforts to convince him to reconsider and the fact the horse can drive is only a bonus for investment purposes, we were back to the drawing board.

This went went on for several weeks/months. I finally found a prospect that I felt my brother would approve of. Trace was all over over it…But…I was not feeling the warm and fuzzy feeling that I felt when buying my horses over the years and that concerned me. At this point we enlisted Allie, barn owner and trainer, to jump on board with with her expertise. She set out to try the horse and preceded with negotiations, etc. Although Trace ultimately decided not to precede with this prospect due to some undisclosed concern…we were making progress.

Fast forward, I finally came across an ad I had seen earlier but did not fit Trace’s initial requirements. By now, the owner had sent the horse for further training. There it was…the undeniable, long forgotten warm and fuzzy feeling! Still slightly more than Trace’s purchase price, I sent him the ad this time around. He actually made an inquiry and sent me photos and videos. Let me just preface the rest of this story by saying I picked up the phone, called Trace, heartbeat pulsing outside of my chest, praying Trace would agree that THIS WAS THE ONE!! When he answered the phone, his demeanor was too relaxed for this historical moment. I thought “oh dear”…I can tell I will never convince him that he would be crazy not to consider this horse. Fortunately, he liked the videos enough to ask Katie her opinion…she not only liked her but she loved her! It would not have been fair to break Katie’s heart including her on every single consideration…so we limited her consult to the few we felt strongly about.

Although it took some creative up-sell on my part, I finally got Trace on board…three for three…we had reached third base without injury to one another!!! We immediatly contacted Allie. She wasted no time in evaluating the bay 6 year old, 16.3 Canadian Warmblood, Cali. The rest is history…

The morales of this story: (1)always keep an open mind (2) never sign up for a partnering journey with Trace and expect to retire sane (3) do not give me money to go into a candy store with instructions to only purchase a bottle of water (4) Trace is now a reformed educated horse buyer (5) Trace has now joined my world of poverty as a horse owner

Now that Cali is in her forever home, I can finally retire for the evening without the anxiety of any incoming late night texts of horse ads. I am 20 minutes into REM when I suddenly arise and much to my dismay find myself uttering the surprising words to myself, “I wonder what the status is on that Beautiful “buggy horse”?….

Author: pegasus8mywings

Full time mother of two teenage girls with a full time job and Noah's Ark on the side. View all posts by pegasus8mywings