Uh-Oh!

So.... I went to see a gelding named AJ today!!!!

Hold on, there is more....

I was able to play with him on some ground issues and "connect" or "join-up" with him at liberty.
It was like totally cool, man!

Here is the thing.....

AJ is up for free lease....

And....

I told the owners there is no way I could free lease him without having an option to buy....

So the deal is....

The owners are discussing it!

There are a thousand and one details to be considered but here is the thing... (how many times can I say that in one post?)

I like this horse.

He is sweet, very sensitive, and has a heck of a lot of try in him. He can turn himself inside out, float like an Arab and scoot his butt into the ground like any blue blooded reiner....

But here is the other thing... (apparently I can say that a few more times!)

He is that typical kind of backyard horse that had a few rides put on him by a "pro" and then the owners took over and took him trail riding. On his 3rd ride an adult intermediate trail rider took him out for a two hour ride in the bush and he was a gem.... his 5th ride he went a mile down a road by himself without any fuss. Trails, cars, creeks, birds, dogs, etc. didnt faze this guy...

But here is the thing....

He is not really "broke".

He is quiet, he accepts a rider, he doesn't wig out of things, he goes, stops, and turns but I dont know if anyone has ever really asked him to do anything....and I dont know what his response will be if they did because the horse I worked with in the arena (on the ground) has a heck of a lot of juice, athletic ability, and quick reflexes.... this is NOT a dead head kind of horse.

His owner (a man in his early 50s) got on him last weekend for the first time in 5 months and took him for a trail ride. He looked at a few things but went where he was told without a fuss.

But AJ also has the typical kind of holes that come from a horse that hasnt had any real time spent on him. He doesnt pick up his feet well, stand for the farrier or had a ride in the arena since his second ride under saddle.

He is a smaller horse (about 14.2) plain bay, big star, and big ol' hip on him. He's cute...not my "type" in a lot of ways but no bad either.

Here is the other thing....

I've knew this horse last summer as he was boarded at the same place as I kept Shaunti. I know his owners, was there when he came home from his third ride (up the mountain) and from his sole trip to the store (down the road). I know this horse, most of his history and the people connected to him. He also just happens to look a heck of a lot like my Shaunti...so much so that when both his owner and I would go to catch our horses in the field, very often we'd walk out to the furthest section only to find that we'd picked the wrong horse. From a distance they were near impossible to distinguish because they both had the exact same white markings on their feet.

So... I will keep you posted on what I hear from the owners tomorrow.

No matter what happens, I am just happy right now because I was able to hang out at a barn, play with a horse, muck a stall and get some manure under my finger nails....

Life is good.