Horse hunting is not fun. There, I said it. I thought it would be exciting, but it is not. I'm already tired of the whole process and it's only been a week or so. But I believe I've contacted everyone in the lower half of California who has a horse I might remotely be interested in. I scour the bulletin boards at the local feed stores. I network among barn buddies. I haunt the online horse selling sites until my fingers ache from tap dancing on the keyboard. I continually refine my online searches, altering the options, just to see if some new, different horse pops up. While my original search criteria was "aqha or paint/dun, grulla, buckskin, palomino, roan/gelding/3 yrs. or older/15-16 hands/trail use" I'm now resorting to "any breed/any color/ any sex/any age/any size/any use." When I begin seeing photos of 20-year-old mules pulling a cart it's obvious that I've widened my online search parameters a little too much.
My horse hunting frenzy may or may not be news to my husband. Either he is oblivious to the pad of paper next to my laptop where I've scribbled notes about this buckskin mare or that roan gelding or he has chosen to ignore it all. But who does he think is calling me at all hours of the day (or evening)? He doesn't even seem remotely suspicious when I answer the phone and then slink away into another room to chat. Can he not overhear me interrogating sellers in a hushed whisper? Then again, maybe he is eavesdropping but he's just ignoring what he hears. After all, he did tell me not even to start looking for another horse "for a while."
But what does that really mean to a horsewoman with an empty corral? "A while" could translate into a few days.
Wait until I inform him that I want to make a 3-hour trip to look at about a half-dozen prospects on this one ranch. That ought to thrill him.
Want to share any thoughts or comments? Just click on "comments" below or email me at: hc-editor@bowtieinc.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 comments:
wow I am sorry, I took the risk of going to a horse auction and I luckily ended up w/ the best horse I could buy. sometimes you have to try your luck and see what you get. Even when your not so lucky try it out, and if nesisarry sell and try again.
I am in the process of looking for a third horse. While hunting on line, I find my tastes are quiet expensive! However, the minute I show them to friend(s)(?) they are quick to point out minescule flaws to try and put a damper on my prospective buy. "And you are going to pay how much for that horse?!" I have learned to shop alone...best that way, and if I do ask an opinion, I say "What do you like about this horse?" If they can't find anything, I buy him anyway!
Haha - Your husband should just be happy you're looking in your remote vicinity! I had mine transported to me - a two and a half day trip for him! Talk about not cheap!
Ha! Sounds like fun!
Haha we had three horses brought to us from Michigan. That... was apparently interesting as two of the three had never been on a trailer before.
That's exactly what I'm going through right now! I'm not very specific about what age/breed/color/height/amt of training etc, but it's still next to impossible to find a decent horse in my price range! My parents had spent the first 16 years of my life telling me they could never afford a horse, so when they finally told me I could get one, I practically went through the roof. But now, 5 months later, it's getting a little anticlimactic. I just want the perfect horse here, NOW, before I start getting grey hairs from hearing about any more undisclosed medical problems!
You should look on horse topea. they have hunderds of horses on there.
Occassionally I've looked on horse sites and tried to see if they've had any hunter horses, just for fun. They've never had any, and I couldn't buy them anyway, but it's still fun! Mostly though I look around at top stallions (like Shining Spark! Oh, he's gorgeous!) to breed to my mare someday.
--Sasafrass
Too bad you're all the way across the country- I live in PA and work at a stable where we have lots of good trail horses for sale (www.skylinestables.com, but it isn't updated often- we're usually pretty busy)... try www.horse.com then click on classifieds. You'd be surprised what you can find. Correction on the spelling of a previous comment- horsetopia. Good Luck!
I got lucky with my three year old, she was my first pick and maturing to be a fab hunter. However, I have a younger friend who has been scearching for a horse for THREE YEARS! I might have to go shopping soon though, when my filly gets moved in her new home (aka: my farm) and it lacks companionship. At least she's like Wally, values people and carrots more than other horses...
You guys are too funny! I'm glad I'm not alone in my frustration.
I've actually bought some nice horses at auctions, too. It's a great way to see a lot of horses at one place. Sometimes my sister and I will rescue a sad horse at an auction; other times we end up with decent trail horses or lower level hunters. I just have to be a really, really good detective and interrogate the sellers.
I've been thinking of just ordering a horse online, LOL! Wouldn't that be sort of like a mail order bride? Hmmm...
I'd like to adopt a mustang! Giddyup cowgirl! (not really, actually be the quiet "natural horsemanship" type).
--Sasafrass
Post a Comment