Wednesday, December 3, 2008

A Journey Back Home


I have a friend. Well, a few friends really but this one in particular is one of my horse friends that I happen to work with. The same one that accompanied me on the joyride with a horse in my jeep. As a matter of fact it is probably her fault I got back into the horse owner status in the first place. Yep, I'm going to blame it on her.
It all started when she decided she needed to find a new home for her beloved Ren because he just couldn't hold up to all she wanted to do on a horse. And let's face it we aren't getting any younger and there were places to go and things to do before she got too old to do them. Ren needed someone that just did light riding. Now this decision was very hard for her. She loved this horse beyond what was healthy but was trying to do what was best for him. So she asked me to compose an ad that told his story and she posted it on craigslist. The responses were overwhelming and she was able to find a home for him on a farm very close to her house where the woman does very little riding but a lot of brushing.
Now she needed to find a horse so she compiled a list of all the qualities this new horse should possess.
Some of which were....
She wanted a tall horse that would fit all of her equipment.
She wanted it to be fairly well trained.
It had to have a personality that wanted to be with people.
No spook!
Safe on trails.
She wanted this horse to be young because she wanted it to be the last horse she bought.
And pretty for the drill team.
She then spent weeks looking for the right horse. She is the health tech at our school and I would go into the health room on my breaks and sit on the blue vinyl couch, trying not to catch a germ, and talk horses. We would quickly look at a few possibilities on craigslist and dreamhorse....and I mean quickly because we didn't want to get in trouble for using school computers for shopping. Then after work she would be off to look at another horse only to be disappointed by another tall tale that the owner had told her. Most were hardly trained and the seller frantically tried to make the horse do something it didn't have a clue about how to do. At times it was down right sad and my friend was getting discouraged.
Now in the meantime her daughter happened to have a beautiful Missouri Foxtrotter gelding that she had bought at a time when she really didn't need a horse but he was a nice pinto boy with a steady way that anyone could ride. And he had the best sweet horse smell ever.
I would say to my friend, "What about Sim?" "Why don't you ride him?"
And she gave me every excuse in the book why she didn't want to ride him. Her most popular response being, "He just doesn't do anything for me."
Her horse friends said, "What about Sim?" Same answer.
So back on craigslist and dreamhorse she went dragging me right along with her until low and behold I was the one that found a horse when I fell in love with his picture.
But she didn't.
Back on the blue vinyl couch I went....."Any luck?" I'd say. Trying hard not to catch a germ.
We talked on the phone. We talked in the staffroom. And shhhh don't tell the boss but we talked a bit at recess.
She drove hither and yon...she looked at over 17 horses. She even brought a gorgeous palomino mare home for a trial visit only to take her back after a couple of days because she wasn't the horse for her. Thank goodness...that girl needed a lot of work.
I said, "What about Sim?"
She didn't hear me.
Her horse friends said, "What about Sim?"
She ignored them.
Her daughter put Sim up for sale.
But before she sold him my friend took him on a trail ride with her drill team...he is great on trails....they flipped over him. A seed was planted.
She had scheduled a lesson at her trainers when she had the palomino mare and didn't want to cancel even though she took the mare back so she took Sim instead.
And the trainer flipped over him. The seed started to grow.
My friend took out her list and read her requirements.
He fit every one.
She decided to buy the horse that was in her own backyard.

The next day at work I said my usual..."Well, any luck?"

Glowing and grinning from ear to ear she said, "I bought Sim."

I let out a whoop and gave her a big hug.

Sometimes you don't have to look any further than your own backyard.




And besides, my immune system couldn't take much more of that blue vinyl couch.

16 comments:

MaskedMan said...

Sim is gorgeous! Whatever possessed her to look anywhere else..?! Well, whatever her reasons, good sense prevailed in the end. ;-)

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Loved this story, especially the germy vinyl couch. lol!

And you know I love me some paint and pinto colored horses, too.
He's a looker!
Glad it worked out surprisingly well for her...and for Sim.
Good friend that you are spending hours searching for a horse that was always right there.....and surviving that blue vinyl couch, too.
hehe

~Lisa
New Mexico

Danni said...

Aw, Wendy - you are such a great friend. Sim is incredible...he's so gorgeous, he takes my breath away. I'm so glad it worked out. Great story. So...did you catch a germ? :-)

Esther Garvi said...

I'm glad she came around and discovered the jewel in her back yard! Some things just need time, although the people around can't always figure out why. Sim sounds so sympathetic!

Mel said...

Wow, I love this blog, and that horse named Sim, He is beautiful!

I'm just gonna have to add your blog to my come back list...

Happy Trails, Mel

Joanna@BooneDocksWilcox said...

He's a gorgeous American Paint, can't imagine why she wasn't attracted to him in the first place, but oh well, glad it all worked out. Beautiful photo's.

Holly said...

He is STRIKING to look at and those legs go on forever. They look clean too.

I am glad that she got exactly what she wanted and found it so close too!

@JDHealingTimeOnEarth said...

Sim is a strikingly beautiful horse! I think that blue vinyl couch might date back to my school era days!

Gone2theDawgs said...

Sim is a beauty and he's gaited! An extra bonus.:) I'm glad you were finally able to get away from that germy blue couch!!:)

goatgirl said...

maskedman, Yep her good sense did prevail. She had to get there on her own.

Lisa, You know I think of you every time I see an Orca horse. I'm not such a good friend really, I love shopping for animals.

farmgirl, Sim is gorgeous. I am hoping to ride him over winter break. He is great on trails and my friend has promised to take me riding.

Esther, My friend will like what you said about taking time when others can't figure out why.

Welcome Mel and thanks for loving my blog.

Joanna, Holly, Clare, and Wrensong, He is a beauty indeed.

My take on why she didn't consider him in the first place is...I think that she had to let her heart heal from letting Ren go before she could love another horse. Looking at other horses helped that process and when the time was right Sim came galloping in.
I am a firm believer in things happening for a reason. Like...for some reason her daughter bought Sim in the first place when the time wasn't right for her. Sim was meant to be her mom's horse. I can't wait to see what they do together in the future. I'll keep you posted. Pun intended.

goatgirl said...

And about that germy couch....I have had a headache all day...I feel something coming on.

Anonymous said...

Good story!

The sickbed at our school isn't vinyl! How gross is that! Quick! Drink some orange juice!

Signed by,
A teacher with hands so dry from washing that they hurt!

The W.O.W. factor! said...

Beautiful Sim horse!!
Is that picture at my favorite place in the world?
The Pacific ocean??
I agree with Oregon being the best of the 3 western states. I’ve always opted for the Oregon coast over Washington’s!

You do have quite a large critter family! They are so content too!
Nice to meet you.

goatgirl said...

Thanks Mindy! Our school is blessed with not one but three blue vinyl sickbeds. I sit on the one closest to her desk. I think it gets the least amount of use.
She likes to keep the sickies way across the room:)

Welcome W.O.W. Nice to meet you too and yes that is the Pacific Ocean.
I do have a fair amount of critters..and yes they are very content, especially when my neighbor feeds.
I stop by your place and say hi.

Sally said...

Wendy (aka goat-girl) I love how you tell a tale. Have you ever thought about publishing?

goatgirl said...

Sally, I have thought about it but wouldn't know the first thing in how....any ideas? Hubby says he wants to retire and stay home all day and pet the Chihuahua.
I'm so glad you like my tales. Have a good restful weekend. You didn't happen to sit on the blue vinyl couch did you?