A new chapter begins for me.

A new chapter in my life with horses has begun :)

As some readers may have geussed from previous entries, I had been idly looking for another horse....I had a vague idea of what I wanted, but had totally written off Appaloosas completely some months ago. Nice Appaloosa mares are about as common as hen's teeth here, and rarely come up for sale. There have been quite a number of QH mares on the market this summer but only three that piqued my interest enough to attempt a contact (and of course we all know how one of those turned out, right? lol)

Two of those local QH mares had health issues I was more than willing to accomodate, and the other was just too tall for my personal tastes. I even dabbled around on the internet and heaven knows there are 1000s of quality mares available down south. But as usual, the logistics of long distance purchase, plus arranging pre purchase exam and exrays, then temporary stabling, then hauling-just more than I was willing to gamble on a horse I could not see in person. Yes, I have some great, knowledgeable friends who could help me out-but still, despite having two previous long distance purchases go perfectly, I just couldn't bring myself to actually do it.

So a couple months back, a hay customer of mine mentioned to me she had a mare for sale. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time, until a later contact mentioned she was an Appaloosa. A few weeks later, a mutual acquaintance asked if I had seen the mare yet-and I confessed I hadn't. This acquaintance chided me a bit, and then I heard the same from a couple other people. Eventually I was able to work out a time to see the mare-a bit difficult with work schedules. So I went....and I looked. I didn't even handle the mare....just watched her move, play, approach me, and spoke with the owner at length.

Then I had to think about it. And boy did I have a hard time with this. I have already turned down six free horses so far this fall, early winter. I know I will be offered others, who might be in great need due to health or care issues. What if I tied up a stall that might be needed? Should I do this with the economy on the skids? Should I make this investment in the first place? Would she fit in with my plans? I went back and forth and waffled and see sawed and just could not make up my mind....until one evening I was talking with my husband. He pointed out a few things, and I made the call to the owner :)

And then of course it was again a scheduling and hauling conflict, trying to get her out here. I am pretty firm about new arrivals showing up on a weekend so that I can keep a close eye on them. And I really wanted my hub to be in town, just in case something went awry during the work day when I was not available. (Yeah, I know, I am a worry wart!) Due to issues with the four wheel drive on our truck, we weren't safe to haul-so they delivered her late last Saturday afternoon. We turned her loose in the small arena and let her blast around-and man oh man can that girl move!

She's ten. About 15.1. ApHC, and ApHCC registered. Born a chestnut, but looks like a liver chestnut with flakes right now. Built like a tank, and very well broke-even if she hasn't been ridden in a couple years. She has been hunting-packed and ponied. Lots of trail miles, not too much arena time. Safe for adults-compliant under saddle, although I am pretty sure she isn't a performance machine. And pretty pretty pretty. Nice personality, if a little rattled about being in a new place. Our first challenge-fix her hooves which are a mess. Nothing I am not prepared to take on, and she has already had her first trim (thanks, Gisela!) and is a on a four week schedule to correct some issues.

I do have a couple photos, but they are pretty lousy, so this weekend I will get better ones and put them up here.....feel free to critique-I already know her faults!