New saddle

I found a Collegiate dressage saddle on consignment today for $200! I didn't think it was going to fit him, but it did! I hope that it continues to fit him when he starts building muscle, but quite honestly, for $200 I don't care. If it doesn't fit him after he gets in shape, I should be able to easily sell it for what I paid and get a new one. I lunged him in the saddle today and he did really well. I am still waiting on the bridle that I ordered to get here, but I really want to ride him so I'm just going to do a little walking and trotting in the round pen with a rope halter tomorrow.

He's home!

Bourbon got home last night a little after 10 pm. He walked off the trailer, looked around a bit, and settled right in. This morning, he was acting like he's lived there his whole life!

I spent about an hour brushing him this morning, and then took him in the round pen and did some ground work.

I absolutely love him. Oh, and I checked out his pedigree. He is actually 6 years old, not 4. Secretariat and Northern Dancer are 4 generations back! How cool is that?

Introducing...

Golden Concerto!

We are going to call him Bourbon. We went to Pure Thoughts Horse Rescue in Loxahatchee, Florida yesterday. The place was amazing. They had so many amazing horses and I just think what they are doing is wonderful. They rescued Bourbon off the track a little over a year ago and rehabbed him and started his training.

Bourbon is 4 years old, 16.2hh and absolutely amazing. I am SO excited to get him home and start spending every day with him! Right now I am waiting for someone to be able to ship him for me. We are shooting for this weekend.

What a waste.

We had an appointment to go look at a 7 year old Appy gelding this morning. We drove two hours one way to get there at 10 am. As we were pulling in, the owner told us she was showing some people another horse and that she would be with us in a moment.

As I am getting out of the car, there are 3 dogs walking around. This huge malnourished Mastiff walked up behind me and bit me on the leg. He then went over to my husband and bit his leg as well. He didn't break the skin, but we both have bruises. This was completely unprovoked. We were not even looking at or touching the dog when he bit us.

We saw the horse we went to see in the pasture and stood at the fence looking at him. He had a club foot and his feet looked like they hadn't been trimmed in 12 weeks. He had a halter on and walked up to us at the fence, so I was able to look at his teeth. He was at LEAST 9 or 10 years old.

40 minutes later she walks over to us and asks if we're ready to meet him. My husband told her we actually needed to leave because he had to get to work. She says, "Well why didn't you tell me you had a time limit?" He says, "We did. That's why we made an appointment for 40 minutes ago. And by the way, your dog bit both of us." She replies, "Did he break the skin? He probably just wanted treats." Not even an apology for being late or her dog biting us.

What a waste of my day.

:'(

I went to look at another gelding today. I liked him, but not enough to buy him.

I had decided that I really wanted Ice, and told the owner I wanted to purchase him as long as he passed a vet check. I couldn't get the vet out there any sooner than next week.

She emails me today telling me that she has been emailing back and forth with some girl about him, and that unless I could pick him up before Sunday afternoon, she was coming with a trailer to pick him up.

:'(

Ice

When my husband and I moved to Florida from Massachusetts almost three years ago, I left my mare Allie behind to live with my mom.

I miss her terribly, but my mom loves her to pieces and I know she is well taken care of.

Two days ago, out of the blue, my husband Dan said "You should get a horse." I looked at him absolutely stunned. We can certainly afford a horse, but I was not expecting my husband to be willing to spend that much on something he really had no interest in. He told me he knew how much I missed Allie and that he knew getting a horse would make me happy. God I love that man.

That day we went and visited two barns. One was about 30 minutes from our house and decent, but not great. The other was a little over 5 miles from our house and I loved it. They have a huge lighted riding ring with barrels and jumps, and really knowledgeable owners. It was a huge plus that it only took us 5 minutes to get there!

Once we decided we were definitely going to board at the closer barn, we started our search for a horse. I searched literally hundreds and hundreds of listings and contacted quite a few people.

Many of them contacted me back, and we have several appointments over the next week.

Yesterday we met Ice.

He is 15hh and roughly 8 years old. I originally wanted something younger than 7, but I absolutely fell in love with him. He was so sweet and mellow, and a little lazy. I rode him bareback and he has the most comfortable trot I've ever ridden. I wanted to pay for him and take him home right then and there, but I know I should at least look at other horses before making a decision.

Today we met a Thoroughbred with awful legs. His pasterns we really long and he looked like he'd be lame after one hard ride. No thanks.