Horse Prospect

Ever since our close-mistake back in September of last year when we almost bought two young horses, we've been keeping our eyes and ears open for the 'right' horse for our family. We haven't been actively searching, but still letting friends and other folks know that we were in the market for a 'bomb-proof' family horse.

Well, we may have found that horse at a local lesson barn. This horse is a 13 yr old Tobiano Paint horse that was bought as a 4H, competition, roping/reining, parade, and trail horse for a young girl and her family.

Well the girl grew up and recently got married and moved to Hawaii. She asked her trainer/coach to help her find the perfect home for her special mare. This horse has been a lesson horse at this particular barn, about 4 miles from our house, while the owner and the trainer kept their eyes open for a good home for her.

The trainer, Lori, contacted me and asked if I'd like to meet this horse and today I finally did.
In preparation of meeting her I tried to keep my skepticism and a guarded demeanor. I didn't want to get my hopes up nor did I want to let emotions take over common sense. Buying a horse is a big purchase, and not just the original cost. There is the daily care to consider, too.

But has been my dream. Will it finally become a reality?

I spent about 2 hours with this mare and Lori today. I lifted and held the mare's feet, I touched her all over (including head, ears, belly, inner legs, back, sides, under the tail, everywhere) and groomed her all over, including mane and tail.
She was so easy-going and didn't shy or get nervous no matter what I did. Jenna also groomed her and walked all around as well and the mare was calm and quiet the entire time. When this mare got too close in my personal space, just a gentle finger touch made her side-step out of the way.

I was very impressed.

Tomorrow, I've been invited to ride this mare and spend some more time with her. So, I'll do an update tomorrow afternoon.

She has a gorgeous head and soft eyes.
Quite the Orca, eh? She is a little bit on the heavy side due to the cold weather and good feed. But she looks and feels very healthy. Her hair is so soft and her skin is smooth.
She is quite beautiful with her striking black and white markings.
One of her eyes has a half moon of blue, which is not typical with paints who don't have white around their eyes.
She even walks right beside you without a lead. She is very receptive to verbal commands, too. She will stop when you stop or if you say 'whoa' and go when you gently tongue click.