Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Please, No More Road Trips

Really, I'm not enjoying this whole horse hunting thing.

"In the latest installment of Cindy Goes Horse Shopping, we follow our heroine as she coerces her husband into driving her 100 miles north of Los Angeles to a small town that barely registers on Mapquest."

Last night my husband and I could hardly sleep. Ron was concerned about getting on the notorious Southern California freeway system before dawn in order to avoid the usual bumper-to-bumper melee. I was simply too excited to sleep. I was so sure that several glorious trail riding prospects awaited me several hours away!

Well, I was wrong.

We drove through the pre-dawn darkness, hauling an empty trailer, certain that it'd return with cargo. I cradled an envelope of cash that represented my entire horse buying budget. I really felt that I'd researched the horses I was going to see: the photos were nice, the seller provided all kinds of details and, as an added bonus, they were a bit negotiable on the prices due to the lackluster market.

After almost 3 hours on the road, we arrived. Right away I knew I was going to be disappointed. I saw the two mares at the top of my list standing in a large dirt paddock and thought, "Oh no, that can't be them!"They really didn't look much like their photos. But we'd come all that way so I decided to remain optimistic.

When the two girls were pulled out of their paddock, it was obvious that the one mare was not much bigger than a large pony, so I didn't bother to ride her. The other was stout enough, but when I climbed onboard she was very uncomfortable at the lope. In an adjacent pasture was the one gelding I was interested in. He had a sweet face and carried himself like a sound, athletic horse that could really trek down the trails. But when I climbed in the saddle and tried to work him in the arena, he revealed an annoying tendency to fall in on the turns. Badly. Though I reasoned I could fix that with some arena work, there was no denying that this was not destined to be a love affair. I didn't want to spend my bundle of cash on him. I made a respectable offer, which the seller declined. So the trailer went home empty.

Once again I'll use the analogy of comparing horse shopping to dating. Today it was like going on a much anticipated blind date that fell far short of expectations. Wally's just going to have to be patient, because I'm not having much luck finding him a stable mate.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

what about the paint you looked at?he sounds so awsome.good luck with your horse hunting.i'm looking too you are SO right about it not being fun.

Anonymous said...

OPTION B!!!! YAhhhhhhh!

Anonymous said...

i'm sorry that your trip fell short
but hey, there's always "Option B"

Anonymous said...

thats too bad...Is Option B still possible?

Anonymous said...

OPTION B!!!

Go for that gorgeous gorgeous boy.

Anonymous said...

Keep looking! There are too many good horses out there! Option B looked good but he didn't seem to fit you! I just bought a yearling filly! from a call of the heart. I had terrible buyers remorse afterwards, even though I got a reasonable price. However, after riding my two, when I got home from the trip, I knew I had made the right choice. Even if it doesn't turn out, I am committed to see it through. Keep looking...your dream horse is out there!

Anonymous said...

Hi Cindy! Don't give up. Look what I found....this is MD Moonernicker for sale at $3500 and they will take less...Here is the link to see whatcha think!
http://www.mdranch.net/moon.html
This where Dunzee came from in Ramona MD Ranch who is getting out of QHs to focus on the wife's Arabs.
Take care,
Natalie

Anonymous said...

Option B's real nice. If he's close enough and you like him enough, maybe you should see if you could take him on trial for a week or so. That way, you can see what he's like away from home and how he and Wally get along.

-Sasafrass

Cindy Hale said...

Since all of the horses I called on today are either:

A) unsound (at least the sellers admit that)
B) already sold
C) crazier than a wet chicken

I'm going to stick with Option B. The black paint's owner is out of town right now. When she gets back next week I'm taking him on a trail ride. He's definitely the nicest horse I've encountered so far, so thanks for helping me make the decision to give him another look!

Anonymous said...

I bought moonernicker 2013 an his turns are still slow but he is over all a great horse. I bought him from a family for $2200. In my opinion well worth every penny. He now dose western pleasure and is a natural.