I have answers to your questions

Midlife Mom said... Does your horse stay out in the pasture all night? I don't dare do that here as we have bear, coyotes, and even the occasional bobcat as we live right on the edge of the woods.

Yes, all the horses are out all the time. Although coyotes and bobcats are plentiful around here, I've never heard of them bothering horses or cattle. I do put my baby Jersey heifer up at night, but more because of roaming dogs than wild varmints.

BarnGoddess said... Blue looks so big in his photos. How many hands is he? He also looks like he has a big smooth stride.

I think Blue is 16.2 hands. Yes, he is very smooth to ride.

I thought I was done with horses for life when I sold my last Tennessee Walker. Then I made the mistake of reading "Seabiscuit" and got an overwhelming urge to have another horse. I mentioned this to a co-worker at Kohls, but I told her it needed to be just the right horse: a horse I could depend on, and one my daughter and grandkids could ride if they so desired (unlike my last horse).

"Oh, I'll bet I can find you a horse," Jessica said.

It wasn't long before she was telling me about someone who worked with her husband who had two Missouri Foxtrotting geldings for sale; he was asking $1,400 for either.

By the time I got around to calling about them, he had come down to $1,000 for my choice. One horse was nine years old, one was eleven.

"How big are they?" I asked.

"Oh, they're around fourteen, fourteen-and-a-half hands."

Just right, I thought. With my arthritic knees, I don't need another huge horse like my last one.

So my daughter took me to see the horses; the fellow saddled up the youngest and I realized I needed a ladder to get on him. This horse was much bigger than fourteen hands!

When Cliff took me back to choose a horse and bring him home, I hadn't really picked a favorite. They looked identical, except one was about two inches shorter. I was favoring him just for that reason, but I told Cliff I wasn't sure.

Cliff asked the man, "If you were going to buy one of these for your sixty-year-old wife, which would you choose?"

The guy thought a minute, then nodded toward Blue... the smallest of the two, and the youngest. "I guess I'd take him."

We loaded him up, the man gave me a bridle, and we brought him home.

That's how I ended up with my horse. Pure, blind luck, I'd say. Or the providence of God.

The day after I got him home, the local horse-trader came to see him and offered me $1,500. Gee, I'd just bought him!

"How tall do you think he is?" I asked, knowing R.D. would know just by looking.

"Oh, I'd say he's at least sixteen-and-a-half hands," he answered.

And this was the smallest of the two!

A week or two later I bought an old, used Circle Y saddle in a little tack shop for $300. It has an 18-inch seat, I believe, which means it's made for a fat person. But it's always felt just right to me. Sometimes I think I'd like one of those cushioned Tucker saddles that cost about $2,000; then I ask myself if I'd enjoy riding any more with a fancy saddle than I do with my beat-up Circle Y.

Nope. I'm getting by just fine.