A new horse?

In the last week or two people have come up to me repeatedly to tell me about horses they know about that I might be interested in. And while I am beginning to look for the next big guy to add to our "herd" I also have to admit to a rising feeling of anxiety about the whole process. This is a decision that honestly makes me want to run and hide!

I remember the feeling of release I had when we finally found Monte. I don't enjoy "shopping" for horses at all; I'm constantly worried that I'll either pick a bad one or skip over a diamond-in-the-rough bargain. When we settled on Monte, I was able to stop all the internal voices that kept me second guessing myself.

Unfortunately, as E begins to learn to jump I can see that Monte will not be the perfect horse for her for very much longer. While he excels in the Western arena, English is not proving to be a place of strength for him. Most of that has to be connected to E's phenomenal growth spurt these past few months - my 13 year old is now almost 5'11"! It's hard to balance when you're hanging out over your pony's head. :)

And here we are again, back to looking for a second mount. Secretly I'm hoping that someone I know will come along with the perfect horse for us and say, "Hey, I just need a good family to take care of my guy for a while. Would you do me the favor of leasing him?" I know, I should just keep dreaming!

And I'm not even sure what kind of horse I should be looking for. With Monte, the criteria was a horse who would help E find her confidence while in the saddle. And he's done that beautifully. But now I'm not sure what to do. Do we look for an animal that can jump/event/excel at dressage for E? Or should I focus on a steady-eddy type to go down the trail with me? Perhaps I should be looking for two horses - and sell Monte?

This is too hard to think about. I think I'll go have a cup of tea instead.