OMGPONY!

The past two or three months, I’ve been shopping (online and locally) for a horse. I realized that if I cut a couple of non-essentials from my monthly spending, I would be able to afford boarding and the other expenses that will come along with owning a horse. I’ve narrowed down my boarding options to 2 farms, both of which are reasonably priced and have nice facilities – indoor riding arena, great pastures, nice shelters in the fields and nearby trails to ride. Now I just need to find the horse and I’ll be all set!

You’d be suprised at the beasts listed in the for sale ads as “healthy”, “sound”, “beautiful” horses when the accompanying photos clearly show elsewise. Nasty hooves, protruding ribs, dull coats and sad, sad eyes… So I’ve been reading up, researching and scouring every equine-for-sale website I can find; visiting the tack shops and the county fair to try to make some connections and find sale listings; but it’s getting tiring… I just want to find the right one and start building up the relationship between us so we can enjoy each other’s companionship for years to come.

It’s been decades since I’ve been a regular rider – probably since I had my horse as a kid, actually. But I’ve spent a lot of time with horses during my adult life and I’ve learned that horseback riding is much like riding a bike – once you know how to do it you’re fine no matter how long it’s been since you last rode. I’ve had the opportunity to ride recently and was tested by a snarky little mare who did her best to unseat me and disobey my instructions to her. Luckily I was able to set her straight, keep my seat and remind her that she’s not the boss. It felt good to know that I still have it in me, that I haven’t lost the skills I learned so many years ago…

I’m still a bit rusty, of course, so I am thinking about taking some lessons while I am looking for the right horse. I might even lease a horse if I can find one available where I can take lessons so that I can ride between lessons and practice. That would get me in better shape for eventually owning my own horse and riding more regularly in the meantime. If anyone out there knows of a good lessons/boarding/leasing stable within a 15-20 minute drive from Okemos, please let me know!

In the meantime, I am going to continue to search the sale sites and hope My Perfect Poneh shows up soon!

This entry was posted on Friday, August 14th, 2009 at 12:03 pm and is filed under Riding, Shop for Horse Stuff, Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.