It's now official....

We are the proud owners of Curly, the horse! Seeing the joy in my daughter's eyes has made all the stress over making this decision so worthwhile. She was so excited her whole being just radiated happiness.

She told me later in the afternoon that having a horse of our own really does make a difference. Now all the effort and challenge will be more meaningful. E. says that she was happy to ride horses before but now she can't wait to get out there and work with Curly.

I wonder if we'll get M. up on Curly....he already has boots. My husband, the guitar-picking cowboy!

You need more than just a horse...

Tack. And lots of it, it seems. And it ain't cheap!

Curly and E. have been using an old saddle that the current owner is letting us try out. It's good quality but HEAVY! Curly's back is a bit sore from the way it pushes E. towards his rear end but I was informed by our trainer that that problem could be lessened, and maybe even completely alleviated, by a new saddle pad. "No problem," I think. Then she tells me which one she recommends and how much it costs - $140! And we might get 2 years of use out of it! Yikes!

Plus we need a new bit, new reins, a new cinch.....well, the list goes on and on. Another boarder at the barn passed by me while we were unsaddling and said quietly, "Ebay."

My husband's favorite line is going through my head right now too - "Christmas is coming!" But maybe not soon enough this year.....

Do we have to?

If Curly could talk, I'm sure that is what he would have been saying when Emily came to his stall this afternoon. He was happy to see her but definitely did not want to be led away. Lucky for him, we were short on time so she only spent 20 minutes in the round pen with him. The main reason we were out there today was this:




Thankfully, Emily doesn't complain too much about all the cleaning.....

Pre-purchase vet exam...

Curly was so good today! He calmly waited for Dr. Kress, the vet, to examine him and then continued to stay calm as he was poked, stretched and prodded. Dr. Kress concluded the exam by saying, "Go ahead and write a check for this guy!" He didn't have one negative thing to say about Curly's soundness or general health.

Now we wait for Emily's decision...

I've been learning all kinds of horse stuff this week. Like the fact that you can use baby sunblock on them to prevent sunburn on their tender noses (Curly's is susceptible to this because of his markings). Today I learned that to maintain weight the general rule of thumb is 1 lb. of hay per 100 lb. of horse. So Curly should be getting approximately 10 to 12 lbs. a day.

Later in the day....

Emily had another riding lesson this afternoon. She said it was really good - he even smoothly reversed directions while trotting. Curly is beginning to understand her leg cues. He's so smart!

Before she took him into the round pen the farrier showed up to trim his hooves. He's seen Curly before and was quite happy to find him at the horse barn being ridden. The farrier said that with a regular trim schedule, Curly's feet would be in top shape again. Especially since he is now being ridden regularly and is beginning to drop some excess weight. The horse was wonderful yet again, standing calmly while the farrier clipped and filed away at his feet.

On the ride home tonight I asked Emily her thoughts about the horse and she really wants to work with him now. Yes, he has a lot to learn and will be challenging but she can see that he is a truly good animal with a big heart. There's lots of reasons to love this guy!

All looks wonderful....

Note from Emily...
I think that Curly is getting better every day. yesterday I had to kick him hard just to get him to walk, but today I barly had to touch him. Smart horse! It's easier to ride him with other horses in the areana because then he knows which direction we're going! Although it's not as easy, mom says that I should ride him alone sometimes. That way he'll learn to follow my signals.

I'm starting to wonder if we'll be ready to ride at a 4-H meeting? there's a lot of horses there, but it's always fun. I'll find out on Tuesday!

Day 3 with Curly...

Emily's ride went really well today. After yesterday's activities, we knew that Curly would be sore and maybe not too happy to see us. But he showed how sweet he is again and willingly followed Emily to be saddled up.

I'm sure this has to be very frustrating for him. Emily constantly asks him to do things that he's never been exposed to before plus it was really warm in the arena today. The poor guy probably just wanted to hang out in the shade! But he obviously tried to please her. He's turning out to be a great horse and potentially a wonderful match for Emily.

We are still a little worried about his feet and legs. The pre-purchase vet exam will take place tomorrow. Hope we can get the farrier out too....

Emily's trainer, Anita, has been incredibly supportive and helpful during this whole process. There are so many things to consider - I'm sure I would never have attempted this purchase without her guidance.

E's first ride

Curly was saddled up this afternoon by daughter Emily for the first time. He wasn't too happy about the bridle and bit, but she managed with some help from her horse coach. It quickly became obvious that while sweet in temperament, Curly does have some bad habits. Like not respecting your space, not cooperating completely during the whole bridle routine, and constantly trying to eat any grass around him. He's a trail horse who hasn't been used too much in the past year...

During the past few months I've gotten over the anxiety I feel watching my baby ride these powerful animals. I trust that she (and her coach!) knows what she's doing and that the horses themselves really don't want to hurt her. Well, the anxiety was back a bit today. Curly is a complete unknown quantity... but all went well. He's never been a 4-H project horse or done shows, so he's unfamiliar with the skills and signals that Emily expects him to know and respond to. It will take a HUGE amount of training and just plain ol' hard work to get him up to show-readiness. But they both did very well today. He learned a few things and she stuck with it and even seemed to enjoy the ride.



Emily then worked Curly in the round pen. The poor guy is, well, fat. So he's being put on a diet and Emily has been instructed to end every ride with a 20 minute jog in the pen. He was VERY sweaty by the time she stopped him. But it will be good for him. Now if only I had someone forcing me to jog for 20 minutes every day...

On the way home from the stable I asked Emily if this is what she wanted. She gave a very clear-eyed assessment of what the challenges would be - I was impressed that she wasn't thinking only with her heart. She also said that she would like a few more days before she makes up her mind about Curly. I have to admit that I am very proud of her response at the moment - so mature for a preteen!

Curly needs to have his hooves trimmed very badly, so we are trying to get the farrier out in the next day or so. He seemed to favor his right front leg a bit - perhaps because of the long hooves. But we need to be sure it is something so simple before we purchase him. A vet appointment has also been made for later this week....

The Adventure begins...

We actually took the first step towards horse ownership today. We will be leasing and evaluating Curly, an Appaloosa gelding, for the next week. He is now safely housed at the horse barn and acclimating himself to his new surroundings.

His first challenge was to get used to an actual stall - it looked like a big scary cave to him, I'm sure! Emily walked with him all over the property, brushed him and just generally tried to make him comfortable for about an hour. We came back after dinner and saw that he hadn't eaten so I coaxed him back into the scary stall and showed him that it really is okay to stick your head into the hay bin. The poor guy was pretty hungry and gobbled half his food down in just minutes.

The adventure was further enhanced when I discovered that I had locked my keys in the car....and no one was home at the barn! After waiting for 30 minutes, Emily and I walked down the road to a neighbor's house. The neighbor kindly offered me a gin and tonic along with the phone.

I think Matt is seriously wondering what we might be getting ourselves into.....