And Along Came A Horse Named Abby

While shopping at Olsen's Feed on January 3, 2008, I saw a flyer for an Arab/Quarter Horse mare that caught my eye. (yeah, I know you're thinking... "what? Another horse?") Yep, I decided to call the seller and he told me that his wife had lost her job and they needed to sell her 7 year old mare. That she was the best trail horse around and she wasn't a real big horse. 13 hands. "Wow" I told him.. "that's a pony ... not a horse!" But he assured me she is a horse.

So I told him I'd call him later that evening to give him my email address so that he could send pictures of her. Upon seeing the pics, I thought she was "cute" and told Don I'd like to buy her. To my surprise, he agreed... but it also helped that the seller was including her saddle, blankets, bridle, bit, halter and lead rope.

Here's Abby with another horse and the daughter of her owners at her previous home.

We hitched up our horse trailer in a cold miserable rain early Saturday morning January 5th, 2008 and drove about 50 miles to pick up Abby. The sellers had her out on the road ready to go when we got there. So we got her and the tack loaded up and headed back home.

Since it was so cold and wet, we just turned her out in the round pen and decided to create a corral for her the next day.

She settled in nicely with her other stable mates and on the morning of Saturday January 12, 2008, Brenda and I made plans to ride together.

I saddled up Abby and Brenda showed up on her horse JoAnna and off we went headed for Lake Sullivan on the property next to our place. Abby seemed a little anxious at first but we just assumed it was because she was "testing" me. But overall it was an enjoyable ride.

On Sunday, Brenda and her husband Steve rode down while I once again saddled Abby and we headed off the same direction we'd taken the day before. Within minutes Abby began throwing her head, chomping on the bit and turning in circles. Steve said he thought she'd stepped in a gopher hole and that accounted for her reaction.

We walked on a little further and once again she began acting badly. None of my actions as a rider seemed to correct the situation and I began to panic when she started rearing up and hopping on her hind legs which alternated with bucks in between. It really frightened me and I told Brenda and Steve that I was getting off of her and that I was going to walk her home.

Steve told me to get off and he'd ride her and I could ride his horse back home. We managed to make it safely back home but the experience had really proved unsettling for me and even after Steve worked her in the round pen and I rode her again in the round pen, I just didn't feel comfortable or very trusting of her.

We have surmised that she isn't 7 years old but is still fairly young and that she is definitely green broke and she is going to need a more experienced rider than I am to smooth out the rough edges and give this horse the time and experience needed to make her a trail horse.