So ever since I was a kid, I wanted a horse. When I was in high school I was able to pay for lessons for maybe a two year period. I loved the time there and I even planned on going to college for equestrian studies. That fell though and I went to college for computer science, but I digress.
For a long time, one of my life goals was to eventually have a horse. For some reason I always assumed I would have to have a yard big enough for the horse to live, and have my own little barn. I think because the cost of boarding a horse seemed so daunting. While in college that dream drifted away.
It wasn’t until we moved back to Blacksburg that I even got back into horses. The miracles that led me to a job at Advantage Ranch then seemed to continue into getting me my own horse.
One of the riders at the barn, Rachel, has always been very nice and expains things that I still have not yet learned about horses. When I found out how much a made, show worthy stock horse would cost, I knew I’d never be able to afford it. She suggested that maybe I get a foal and raise it, which would spread out the costs instead of a lump sum.
So I started, not very seriously, looking for a foal on dreamhorse.com. I found some cute ones, as I really didn’t know what else to look for at the time, but I shied away from ever actually going to Deb and saying “Would you find me a horse?” Mostly I was unwilling to get a horse for myself while I was not bringing anything monetarily to the household.
Eventually I found a pretty colt, almost leopard, for a decent price and the ad had up four generations of his genealogy. I thought there might be some decent breeding in there (I mean if they bothered to post it) so I sent it to Deb.
She brought me in to talk about it, and while that colt ended up being nothing special at all, I happened to be in the office when in the process of looking for a horse for another client, her contact mentioned a mare that was for sale. Her owner was having a baby and selling her. Her sire was All Hands on Zip, a rather prestigious stallion that is also the sire of Rachel’s mare, Ella.
The price was the top of my price range, but still within it, so I asked for more information over the next few days. She ended up being a ridiculously colored 10-year old who had been shown and even earned some points (meaning she placed) in events in which I was interested.
Matthew eventually agreed to the purchase, and it ended up that Deb’s brother was going to Florida (where she lived) on a business trip, so even getting her home ended up being much cheaper than it could have been.
Deb was impressed with her when she saw her, the vet exam went fabulously and a week ago, Tori arrived home.
And on top of all of the things that fell into place to bring this mare home to me, Deb has offered to teach me to teach beginner lessons so that I can even have a little bit of an income. It won’t be much, but it will be actual money. And in working there I am paying off her board and for my lessons so except for the fact that it’s freaking 20 degrees every day, I am entirely happy with my life.
Pictures:
Pictures from her old mommy:
Riding
All the color
Picture once she arrived:
Bad lighting
She is not used to the cold:
Cold
