Who really knew. . .

That we would ever own a horse??? Who knew that the three years of lessons my daughter went through did nothing to prepare us for horse ownership?? We leased a horse for two years! So, of course, having one of our own should be a piece of cake! Right?? WRONG!!!!

Let me start with a little background. Our family members were all born and raised in the smoggy congested city. We have owned a ton of cats, dogs, fish, frogs, hermit crabs, snakes, turtles, and leopard geckos. Oh! Let's not forget the mice, Guinea pig, and several hamsters. We are totally pet people. Therefore, I was not in any way surprised when my daughter continuously asked for a pony from the age of 2 or 3 years. At 10 years old (she is very persistent when she really wants something) I gave in to riding lessons.

She started out once a week and had the absolute best time. She learned how to groom, tack, pick hooves, and the basics of riding. She learned to walk, trot, posting trot, and to lope. She was a happy camper, and that made me (mom) really happy. After a full year of riding, she was given the opportunity to lease one of her trainer's horses. A beautiful paint pony. The pony was about 14 hands and around 5 years old. We began with just one day a week, as she still had weekly lessons. It wasn't too long after we began the lease that we bumped it up to two days a week. My daughter could not have been more pleased to be spending three days a week with horses! Imagine her delight, about six months later, when her trainer began to ask her to take out the magical pony on days that she was not ours to use. The heavens opened up and there was a whole choir of singing cherubs! That put us at the barn anywhere from 3-6 days a week. It was amazing!

During all her rides she became confident to ride on trails alone, or she could go out for hours with her friends. They would ride from the barn to the local deli, tie up the horses, and grab some grub. She also began showing in the local gymkhana shows. My daughter was unaware I noticed, but she was always sure to see that the pony was fed, had fly spray and her fly mask on when needed, cleaned her stall, bathed the pony, and took care of the many random cuts she discovered on the pony. (The pony was a little hot headed at times and liked to kick fences and rails).  Anyway, all of these extra things she did for the pony were not expected or required by the owner. She did them because she felt a sense of responsibility. I could not have been prouder of how far she had come and how much she had learned.

It was only the next natural step to finally give up and consent to start looking for a horse of her very own. That is where our story really begins.