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.