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Comment by Emma Clausen on March 16, 2012 at 9:17am

After leasing a quarter pony for a year and competing in the hunters I was finally ready to lease a full sized horse again. After searching all summer I really had not found any horse that caught my eye or was in my price range. I was also on a pretty tight time schedule since I needed a horse for the upcoming show season. In September I was at the barn where I leased my pony from and one of the boarders came up to me. She asked me if I wanted to groom and pull her horses mane for her. Her horse was a big 16.3 chestnut Swedish Warm Blood gelding named River. I wasn't busy at the time so I was like sure. I spent a couple hours getting to know him during that time and something really clicked. I guess his owner saw this and she offered to lease him to me since he was a great show horse and everything I was looking for. I talked to my parents and we decided to lease him. I've been leasing him for 6 or 7 months now and its going great! He's everything I could have hoped for and even though we've had some problems with injuries I think we are finally done with those for good. River really deserves to win this new wardrobe because we live in a very fly infested area and all his sheets and masks are very worn out from constant use. Also for shows he would look simply stunning in a new cooler and halter. Thanks for this contest Barnmice! P.S the picture is of him dressed up as a Mexican at our barns Halloween party!

Comment by Melanie Gutsell on March 16, 2012 at 6:28am

I put an ad in a local newspaper stating that I will give a good home to any unwanted horses. I got a phone call one day asking about my ad. I replied that I was looking for a horse for myself. She was moving back east so she had her horse up for sale . It was getting close to her having to move and she needed to sell her horse asap. I went over and tried him out. He was a high energy thoroughbred who was trained in dressage, jumping and trails. He needed quite a bit of work as he was hard to control. I made an offer on him and went home. That night she called me saying that he was mine. I was so excited as he was my very first horse. He was 10 yrs old when I purchased him. I was surprised to see that he had 10 different owners before I purchased him. I promised him that I would be his last owner. We put so many miles on the trails together, cleaned up at a couple local horse shows. He was a very brave horse and would jump anything, go anywhere and do anything I asked of him without hesitation. He loved to run. We even tried our hand at fishing in the Vedder River and I managed to land a jack while sitting on his back with him standing in the river. We went on our first trail ride with a group of people who always race down by the train tracks. This lady on her Arab stallion tells me to get ready to eat her dust. I just looked at her. I had no idea how fast my horse could go as I had him for only a month at that time. There were 7 of us and we were off and running. By the time I looked back to see where everyone was, they were so far behind that they gave up the race. Tide ran like the wind, now i know why jockeys where goggles. We were going so fast that my eyes were tearing. i had to squint to see where we were going. By the time I managed to stop him, or should i say he ran out of wind, my saddle was sitting on top of his wither. I had that saddle on pretty tight. i was trying every trick in the book to slow him down. I got off and adjusted the saddle and we ran back to the group, this time i kept him in check. The lady on her arab stallion never said a word to me for the rest of the ride. Apparently that was the first time she has ever been beat in a race. Not bad for a 10 yr old Thoroughbred. At twenty he was going just as strong. People thought he was 1/2 his age. I  was riding him right up till he was 30 yrs old. He was an amazing horse that never let me down. He loved to run on the trails. He would swallow up the ground beneath our feet.All my kids rode him. I could even ride him bareback with just a halter and lead rope. We moved to Alberta where he had to share his pasture with a couple ponies and three pigs. Then we moved back to B.C. where he spent the rest of his days doing what he enjoyed the most , tearing up the trails , exploring new territory and my thoroughbred mare to keep him company in his pasture..

Comment by Ashton Collins on March 15, 2012 at 10:55pm

I met my boy, Bing, Last fall. I was at a horse show with a few of my friends. I was doing a jumping class, and as I went through the gate for my turn, I saw a woman talking to my mom. When i was done with my class I went over to my mom and the woman. She told me she had a big grey gelding named Bing. He's a thoroughbred/percheron cross, 16.2hh. She told me she rescued him from a man who was going to send him to the slaughter house 'cause he didn't want him anymore because he looked like a womans hunt seat horse and not a mans cow horse. She told me that he was green, but loved to jump. She said she wanted me to come see him because she thought i could handle his little attitude. The first day i went to see him, i fell in love. He had the sweetest personality i had ever seen on a horse. After a few minutes of warm up i decided to try out his canter, he never got the correct lead cantering to the left (but we fixed that now ;)). And after some canter circled, my mom set me up a 2ft cross jump. She stood up 2 barrels to hold up the cross. As i headed him towards the jump he sat backwards, lifted his head straight up, and bolted towards the jump. The first few times, instead of jumping the cross, he would swerve sideways and jump the standing barrel! i wasn't prepared for that but luckily i held on. Even after the wrong lead canters and spazzy jumping, i couldn't bring myself to leave him. The next day we went to pick him, i was the happiest person in the world. The first day i brought him home, he jumped right out of the trailer, and followed me straight down to his pasture without a halter or rope. I felt his love immediately. Up until today, he has helped through so much. We canter right off the leg on the right lead in both directions, we jump straight and at a comfortable pace, Now we're expecting our boy to bring us home some ribbons this show season ;) I went through all these details because i just love remembering the day i met him :) i almost didn't because we were late for our show and almost decided not to go. I can't imagine my life without him. there is a pic down below, im wearing a white shirt, of the first day i rode him. 

Comment by D Brown on March 15, 2012 at 10:51pm

  On Sept.1,2001,I was in a car accident which changed my life.I sustained major back and neck injuries and was lucky to be able to walk let alone ride a horse again.Ironically I was going with friends for a trail ride on my Appaloosa mare ,which I boarded with them.At this time of my life I owned another horse,a QH gelding that was in training for competition the following spring.The doctors didn't give me a good prognosis and said I would not ride again and would have trouble walking.

  I had spent my whole life around horses,it was my older sister that was "into" horses and I took my first ride at 5 years old.I had riden other peoples horses over the years until I could afford my own.But the one that has the biggest impact on me is my QH mare,and this is the story why.

  A few months earlier to my accident ,a trainer from Colorado came to do another clinic at the training barn.He had mentioned that a certain young filly was coming up for sale soon,and she was either sold privately or sent to a sale.As I was recouping from the acccident, I had some thinking to do and some decisions to make.Could I live without horses...definitely not! So I picked up the phone to to see if she was still available ..and she was.

  I had never seen her or a picture of her,didn't even know her name or colour,just went on her breeding information only.She was named Covergirl Dot Com ,sired by Misters Tradition out of a daughter of The Invester bred by Linda Pigg(Roberts) of Terry Mississippi.Something told me deep down that this filly was going to make a difference in the path I chose for myself.The price was paid and we all thought that this was just another horse sale. Wrong.

   On September 11,2001 we all know the terrible disaster that left the whole world holding it's breath.As I was watching what was happening I recieved a call from the Bank saying that thetransfer of funds would be delayed due to this event.I was assured by the broker that it wasn't a problem,just to sit tight and see how things unfold.It took two weeks to get it sorted out,but everything was fine .Dotti as she is affectionately called,was mine.Now to get her from Missisissippi to Thunder Bay Ontario would take her to Thanksgiving Day .Didn't see her until she stepped off the trailer and was extremely pleased with what I saw.

   She was 7 months old and sweet natured ,easy to handle and has been a joy in my  life since.I certainly needed something positive at this time after what I had been through and what I had to do for myself.Dotti has always been, well ,just Dotti.She has inspired me to push past my limitations and really focus on what I am capable of.Dotti and I spent the next years travelling to many shows ,many of which I didn't think I could keep showing.We accomplished her Superior AQHA Halter in Open and Amatuer.

   These days, Dotti is in retirement,just a pet, as I have improved enough to start my own equine business,selling horse and rider equipment.I have started back to riding and last year I trained Dotti to harness(she is also trained to ride).

   So you see, Dotti was there for me through all the really tough times and it is a pleasure to know a very sweet natured,gentle horse.I have decided to move on and am looking for a new home for her so I can share the honor of knowing such a horse.I hope to find her ahome where maybe she will become a mother.It truly will hurt to let her go but we both have to move on wth our lives.I will never forget what she has given to me.

  

Comment by Margaret Curtis on March 15, 2012 at 7:25pm

After spending years with a difficult horse I had to finally retire him and buy a new one.  I found her through a sporthorse broker.  She was a product of the PMU industry here in Alberta.  She opened a whole new side of dressage I hadn't experienced and together we won numerous championships.  We are struggling a bit right now but she continues to give me all she has until she can't give anymore.  Then she gives some more!  We've been together 10 years now.

Comment by Melissa Sneider on March 15, 2012 at 3:19pm

One day in early February when I was 18, the owner of a hack stable I frequented, brought up this skinny, wild-looking young chestnut mare and said, “If you can ride her, you can have her.”  This mare became my mission.  I thought about her every waking hour; but she hated me.  Other people apparently had tried to win her by riding her; she had won those battles and was bound and determined to send me down the road as well.  I could not brush all the manure off her belly and hocks; she would kick me or rear in the air at the feel of the brush. Saddling her was a dangerous endeavor. She was a four year old QH that was born at the owner’s cow farm.  She was the last “good” foal from her over-bred mother “Peaches”.  She was skittish, naive, and untrusting but to me Brandy Lee was the most the beautiful horse in the entire world  and I was going to making her realize that I was her best friend.  I spent countless hours grooming her, patiently chasing her around the pasture, riding her, falling off of her and loving her.  I went almost every day to the barn.  I was in the middle of stampedes, I cried, I got frustrated, I was embarrassed, dejected, but never did giving up cross my mind.  I finally got her to the point where I could brush all the parts of her body without her kicking out at me.  This was a small accomplishment, but to me it was monumental.  This showed me that there was hope.  I would brush and brush and brush until my arms felt like they would fall off.  I would comb her mane and tail, work out all the knots and burdocks.  I would bury my face in her neck and breathe the sweet smell that all horse lovers know is like a whiff of heaven. I was not a great rider.  I had taken lessons years back.  I had a decent seat, but my best asset was, I had no fear.  I must have come off at least two hundred and fifty times those first three month of riding Brandy Lee.  I was getting better at riding, but getting really good at falling.  Then it happened, it was in April just as the weather started to become nice.  Brandy Lee decided to love me.  It was not something that I did; it was not all the treats or sugar on the bit.  It was not all hours of brushing and grooming her.  She just decided one day that if I was not going to go away, she may as well enjoy me.  She decided to love me as much as I loved her.  From that moment on we were a team; doing all kinds of firsts together.  She was my best friend, my greatest confidence and my true love.  She listened to all my problems, joys, accomplishments and disappointments.  She was the most beautiful horse in the entire world and she was mine, all mine.  Twenty-three years later… she is still the most beautiful horse in the entire world.  Somehow every horse I have ever ridden has been compared to her.  She is not the greatest to anyone else, she is a non-papered Quarter Horse that has no markings and is always willing to give you a good fight.  To me she is incomparably the best horse that I have ever ridden and the most beautiful horse I have ever seen.  She gives me everything she has, every time I am on her back.  She is all heart.  She takes care of my kids when they ride her in the arena and is still capable of giving me the ride of my life.

Comment by Melanie Lourme on March 15, 2012 at 2:51pm

I was online horse window-shopping as usual, drooling over horses way out of my price range (well I had no price range!) and wishing I wasn't a starving college student with more loans to pay back than food in my refrigerator. I am an endurance girl, so was surfing the endurance.net classifieds one night and gawking over the accomplishments and potential some of the sale horses had. At one point,  I saw an ad that said simply, "Bay Arabian mare for sale. 4 years old, good mover", and it had a picture of a very muddy mare running in a pasture. My heart almost stopped for a minute and I was immediately drawn to this ad, even though some of the others had paragraphs upon paragraphs of glowing reviews and information on their horses for sale. I knew that some way or somehow, I was going to own that horse. Now, remember when I said starving-college student? I could in NO WAY afford to buy a horse or board it at school. That however, wasn't even on my mind. I contacted the horse's owner and started asking her a million questions, everything from has the horse eaten grain before to how she loads in a trailer. Most of the questions were answered with positive responses and I was sent a video of the horse being worked in a round pen. The drooling commenced again and somehow I convinced my mom that a road trip from California to Oregon would be super fun over Thanksgiving, and we could just pop by to see Merry Legs while we were there, because it doesn't hurt to just look, right? Wrong! It was a wet, cloudy, and snowy day when we went to see her, and she was busy munching hay in her stall, but I could not believe my eyes. There was my dream horse! We talked to the owner a bit, checked the mare's conformation and attitude, took some pictures, and off we went on a trail ride to really test her out. She was absolutely fantastic, and the first thing I said to my mom when we were back in the car was: "She's perfect". I kept asking my mom what she thought of her, didn't she think she was beautiful, didn't she think she was smart, didn't she think she was the perfect height for me, etc, etc, etc. At that point, my mom (who is not really a horse person) had a surprise of her own for me. My grandmother had recently passed away and had left my mom a little inheritance. My mom said that she would loan me the money out of her inheritance to buy Merry Legs and start her boarding until I was able to find a job to sustain her myself. I could not believe my ears and was so touched and excited. I knew from the moment I saw Merry Legs in the little ad that things would fall into place and she would be mine. On the trip back from Oregon, my mom and I had long and heated debates over what color would be good against her beautiful bay coat. We finally settled on purple, and I couldn't wait to start buying purple EVERYTHING for her. On December 26th 2010, my horse finally came home. Now, a little more than a year and few more loans later, Merry Legs is 5 1/2 and working with her, although trying at times because of her somewhat bratty attitude, has been one of the best experiences of my life. It was complete luck that I happened to find the ad that day and even luckier for me that my mom was able to help me buy her. Now I am the luckiest girl in the world!

Comment by Queenrider on March 15, 2012 at 11:25am

My friend wanted to buy another Canadian.  I went along with her to a breeder in Ospringe.  It was the middle of January 2007.  The temperature was close to 0 F.  We arrived after our long drive and drove up the farm laneway.  I could see several Canadians of various sizes in a paddock eating from a round bale.  We met with the owner and we all went inside this paddock to look at horses.  Myfriend and the owner were off talking in a corner when a small yearling came right over to me and put his nose on me.  I was thunderstruck.  It was like a lightening bolt had hit me.  I had to have this one. I already had my 23 year old TB mare who was still going strong at this point.  Sadly I walked away and tried to forget him.

In 2008 I ran into this breeder at the Royal.  I asked about this horse and she had not sold him yet.  In January 2009 my old mare died.  I checked the website and he was still for sale.  I checked my funds and I had enough to buy him.  I phoned the breeder and made an appointment to see him at her farm. Now my friend came with me while I looked at  a sale horse!  I bought him and he was delivered a week later.

We had our ups and downs.  I broke him and found he needed a lot of patience.   Once I found out he would do anything for a mint we were on our way.  My patience has been rewarded many times over. I know he was meant for me.

Comment by Alicia Turner on March 15, 2012 at 11:18am

Before my husband and I got married, he expressed to me the concern that he would not be able to provide for me "the kind of life" to which I had been accustomed growing up-- namely, he was fairly certain we could never afford a horse. I told him I could care less, that I wasn't marrying him for the kind of life he could provide for me! I was leaving my home (only the second in which I had ever lived) of 18 years and starting a new life as an Army wife. Armed with my Biology degree and a couple of cats, I was prepared to follow his job around the country and around the world. 

Our first duty station was in Germany. Of the four and a half years we were assigned there, he spent over two years-- 27 months-- in Iraq. When he wasn't in Iraq, he was gone for a month or two here and there each year on training trips. On my own (with the cats, of course!) and unable to put my college degree to use for its intended purpose, I found a barn and started riding again. In exchange for riding a friend's horse, I helped with stall cleaning and feed/turnout in addition to paying for the farrier (we considered that "wear and tear!") I showed my husband that, with a little lot of hard work, horses CAN be affordable! 

We left Germany and I left my beloved friends, human and equine, behind. By this time, my staunchly non-horsey husband had learned how much a part of my life horses were and needed to be. Instead of finding work using my degree, I started to look for work with horses, something I NEVER thought I would be able to do. I landed a gig as a working student at a dressage barn. Fast forward almost a year, and the husband and I were facing another separation-- a move to our next duty station which meant an immediate combat deployment for him. Instead of following him to cold, dark, essentially horse-less Fairbanks, AK, we decided that I would stay put, where I had a job and friends and a support system (and horses in my life!), and we would deal first with the yearlong deployment and second with the extra year during which he would live in AK and I in VA. 

During this third deployment, my husband started horse shopping for me. He wanted it to be a big surprise, so he enlisted the help of one of my good friends from the dressage barn at which I worked. They communicated via email; he searched horsey websites, found ones he thought he liked that met the 'requirements' he thought I might have, and passed the links along to her. This formerly non-horsey man found a sales video of a not-quite 2-year-old, and it was love at first sight. (Quote, [his] "It looks like she is floating when she runs!") He ran it by my friend, who told him to purchase her immediately, especially after finding out that she was of the same lineage of a horse I had trained that he desperately wanted to buy but that we could not afford. He couldn't bring himself to make such a big purchase/decision without me-- but that's OK, because I got one of the most wonderful phone calls of my life. He told me all about his search and his desire to have it be a surprise, that he tried to buy the love of my life for me but he was just too pricey for our budget, and that he then found this filly-- he just needed me to go and meet her myself to decide if she was the right one. I hopped in the car with my mom and wonderfully sneaky friend, and an hour and a half later, I knew I had met my OUR horse. :) 

I work my butt off for this horse. I am still at the same farm, where I do barn chores three days a week and have been extraordinarily lucky to help start several youngsters. I don't like to think about the implications of another overseas tour of duty, but each and every day I am thankful for the thoughtful, wonderful husband of mine and the horse he found for me. 

Comment by Ingrid Henry on March 15, 2012 at 11:00am

When I first came to Blackshire Equestrian in 2002, I happened to meet Zorro, the Friesian stallion with the stunningly sweet personality to go with his stunningly handsome good looks, standing in the crossties.  I admired and petted him, never knowing that one day I would own a daughter of his.  I took lessons there from Melinda Price on several different schoolhorses for several years.  Then in 2004, I graduated from college and moved out of state for a whole year.

 

That year was torture for me as I was too poor serving in AmeriCORPS to take lessons, let alone own a horse a horse of my own.  After leasing a horse in middle school, and owning one in college, the 5 years I'd been without a horse of my own were rapidly becoming unbearable.  So I moved back to Minnesota and reconnected with my old trainer, enlisting her help in finding me another horse of my own.

 

I was looking for a young horse aged 5-10 who was rideable but who may need some finishing training.  My previous horses had all been schoolmasters in their teens, but I felt that my riding had improved and I was ready to move up to a younger horse.  I looked at hundreds of horses online and even visited a 5 year old Morgan mare (I'd always liked Morgans).  Then my trainer asked if I wanted to see a daughter of Zorro she had bred.  Of course I jumped at the chance, though I never expected to buy this filly who was only a year and a half old (and had been born just after I had moved to Seattle so I'd never met her). 

 

On a brisk day in February of 2006, we drove out to the small farm where this filly was living with an older Arabian mare.  It was love at first sight.  She was beautiful, she was sweet, she had talent galore and wowed us with her floating trot and surprisingly uphill canter for a youngster.  My trainer even said she would have to double the price for this gorgeous filly she hadn't seen all winter, if I didn't take her.  But how could I not?  This young filly was bold and friendly, she blew in my face in greeting and offered me promise and an exciting journey ahead of training and raising a young horse.  I knew I'd be jealous if she ended up with anyone else.  Really she chose me that day. She followed me around and nudged me with her head, she won me over and pulled at my heartstrings.  After looking at hundreds of horses, the one meant for me was right under my nose the whole time. Call it luck, call it seredipity, call it destiny or whatever you like. In honor of her sire, I named her Elena de la Vega (the daughter of Zorro in the "Mask of Zorro" movie).  Like her namesake, played by Catherine Zeta Jones, Elena is headstrong and captivating, a princess and a fighter.  I've had her for over 6 years now and I wouldn't have had it any other way.  She's taught me so much about horses and horsemanship, about life and relationships and mutual respect.  Sometimes a little luck goes a long way!

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