Maybe a baby

It's always good to have an extra set of eyes, so I brought someone - either Seth or Karen - with me on all the horse buying trips but one.

The one solo trip was the second to last. I was pretty weary, but that horse - a grade Appaloosa mare called Tink - seemed especially promising. She was located in nearby Commerce City and after looking at pictures, watching videos and talking to her owner, I was almost positive she was the one. Nobody was available to come with me, and I didn't want to wait. I pretty much had to see her right away.

I went to my barn, fed and groomed Winslow, turned him and Kaffi out in the field, then got back in my car and headed north.

Tink was almost exactly as advertised. Almost, but in some probably unimportant to other people but crucial to me ways, she fell short.

In the car, I tried to talk myself into her. There were a lot of circumstances that had made that test ride difficult. Maybe if I went back on another day? It was a good effort, but by the time I got back to my barn, I knew it was pointless. Tink was a really nice horse, but she wasn't my horse.

Sigh.

As I was leading Winslow and Kaffi back to their stalls, I was stopped by my trainer friend, Sarah. She asked how the horse hunt was going, and of course, I unloaded on her.

She listened to all of it, then asked, "Have you ever considered getting a baby?"

I thought it about for a moment and said truthfully, "No, I have not." 

"You should," Sarah responded. "Your money will go so much further and you have the skill set for it. Take a couple lessons from me each month, and you'll be on your way in no time. I think you'd really enjoy the process."

I thought about all the babies I've seen Sarah start...

and all the babies she's helped her clients start.

Then I remembered a conversation with another barn friend, Diana. She'd asked me how old I was, and when I said fifty six, she'd mused that were I to get a young horse - assuming it didn't do an Olive - we could retire together. I'd never have to go horse shopping again. It was a really appealing idea.

I thought about all of this and realized that maybe I didn't need to be riding down the trail this summer. Maybe what I really wanted was an entirely new experience. One thing led to another, and I found myself on the webpage for Wildhorse Outreach & Advocacy (WHOA). I'd been following this Colorado based mustang organization since I got Olive, partly because one of the founder's personal horses was, like Olive, a Divide Basin mare, but also because she does good work and posts amazing photos.

I'd checked out their available horses right after Olive died, but since none were broke to ride, I'd moved on. Now, I went back with a completely different mindset. I scrolled down the list and came to picture of a little red mare. I looked at her face and went, "Oooooooh."

Before I could talk myself out of it, I clicked on the adoption application and started filling it out. I listed Sarah as my first reference.