Buying and Selling

Buckpony said...


I sold my Filly pony (without really intending to), so I'll be starting the horse hunt in the near future. I'm going to TRY to be patient in my search...


I have a new philosophy about this. I believe things work out the way they are supposed to. I have to consciously remind myself sometimes that is what I honestly believe. I take my time. I go out to try a horse several times. If things are meant to be then that horse will be there when I get back. If someone else picks it up in the mean time I figure it wasn't meant for that to be my horse. That allows me to feel good about not rushing through a purchase to get a horse I "thought" was perfect but ended up not being a good fit. Just thought I'd mention it.


I read her story on her blog Pike Road Girl about selling her mare, Filly. I loved it. I hope that when I sell Miss December that I find such a good home for her.

I wanted to give an update on how December's doing. Knock on wood, she's been very good at the new barn. She seems more relaxed and I'm going to chalk that up to being turned out in the pasture and the fact I'm not feeding her any supplemental feed or grain. She's holding her weight really well. In fact, my only complaint is that she doesn't stand up to the two geldings in her pasture. I can tell she's getting plenty to eat but has had a couple of pretty good bite marks. Poor thing. I really thought she'd be more of an alpha. At any rate, I'm riding her regularly in the big arena and we've had no acting up. She's as smooth and comfortable as can be and is starting to look really fit. We cantered a course of ground poles recently and she was an angel. I even popped her over a low fence and she was very good. Great distance, not too forward before or after the fence...yay! I'm going to talk to the trainer at our barn about starting lessons so I can try jumping her in earnest before we hit the real rainy season. She's done so well I had to spend a minute to rethink my decision to sell her and not Tax, but I can only have two and alas I think Tax (while he isn't the good mover she is) is my horsie soul mate. I do love that big goofy gelding.

I got to go out and ride Grace this weekend too. She was very good in the indoor arena. Outside in the larger arena at her barn she was very concerned about a big blue horse eating tarp covering the shavings pile. I love that her idea of concerned is to slow down and casually evade the corner closest to the offending tarp. She was pretty determined about not going Over There, but at no time did I feel like she was going to have a fit about it even when I popped her butt with my reins. After our ride I took her down the driveway and halfway up the dirt road the place is on because I'd never ridden her outside of an arena and wanted to see her reaction. She was very quiet. She stopped to look at the big gates as we were leaving, but again, no big reaction. I was able to go where I wanted to go and get back to the barn with no stress. Very nicely done. I gave her a couple of peppermint treats when we were finished and she sure seemed to like that. I think I made a new friend.

Promised and Delivered

Meet Duo's Black Gold aka Gracie. I loved that she looks like a little black and white cow! She's just a doll and now she's my little doll. Who would have ever thought that I would own a paint....

And this is why we love her... Here she is giving the niece person hugs. They have matching bangs.

I'm SO happy and excited. This is probably my favorite purchase of all time. I took my time, I was really sure about the decision and everything just fell sweetly into place. Yay!!!!

Decision Made!

Decision and offer made! I took my niece out to see the black and white paint. The more I thought about all the horses I'd seen the more I realized I liked her. She just has these fantastic swoopy deep hocks, and slow looking legs so you don't realize how fast she's actually moving. I like it so much better than the weird little fake jog some of the WP horses have.

Seeing my niece ride her made it an obvious choice. I think she's going to be a really good match for us. The trainer agreed that they looked great together, and she's a judge so I'm hoping that wasn't all sales hype. :) But I agree...the kid looked comfortable. I got to ride again and she was even better than last time. I have pics we took while trying her out but I want to wait to hear back on my offer before I post them. Hope this works out!

Even better, the trainer and assistant trainer have agreed to keep the mare for another 60 days if I buy her. She hasn't been completely finished because no one was showing her so they just took their time with her which I like. We should be able to get her transitioned to a curb bit and really finish her training in that time so I'll be taking home a horse completely ready to show. The niece and I will be taking lessons as well so we can learn to cue her correctly for the WP. I think this mare is going to be a great all round prospect. I don't anticipate any trouble showing her English or Showmanship either. The trainer says the local APHA shows are less political than the AQHA which is why she switched over. I'm SO excited. This is the nicest horse I will have owned to date.

We're getting December ready to sell now which is more bittersweet than I thought it would be. She and I have never really clicked; I don't trust her after so many falls, but both the niece and I were able to ride her in the arena yesterday and she was a doll. Totally relaxed. I'm ready to start working her over fences so we can sell her as a ready to go as possible. She is so comfortable to ride when she's relaxed like that.

I also got the niece to ride Tax English yesterday. She's still working on her balance and keeping everything aligned. Sometimes it's still hard for her to balance in the English saddle without holding on and still ask for things with her reins but she's getting there. Tax didn't make it easy and was pulling on her hands and knocking her forward in her saddle. I finally had her stop him each time he pulled on her and make him back up. That worked wonders and she got a nice trot from him that allowed her to work on her balance. Well done, girlie.