After last week, where I was basically worried about
everything from being a pony squisher to my inability to choose the right horse
and was ready to just not even try at all, you all probably wanted to give me a
bit of a smack down. Because seriously, who complains about horse shopping?
(Besides me!)
So, good news : I've been channeling my inner 10 year old
this week and am feeling a lot more positive about it all. It’s also helped
that I got the first ‘official’ test ride out of the way and nothing crazy (besides
baby pony attitude)happened. Also G is incredibly supportive and encouraging,
and good at reminding me of all the reasons this is a good idea. (He’s also
somewhat delusional about my riding abilities, but I’ll take it J )
This weekend, I’m venturing all the way back across the
Rockies to see some more Welsh Cobs. They are all in the 14-14.1hh range, so similar to
the one from last week and on the smaller side for what I’m used to.(Pony
squishing worries not quite dealt with yet!) I’ve mentioned before I went from a
normal, athletic build my whole life to “OMG what happened?” in a fairly short
time frame. I made a gradual lifestyle change 3 years ago or so and am proud (but
really embarrassed) to say I’ve lost almost 40 pounds since then. Ideally, I’d
still like to lose another 15 or so. I’m well within the acceptable limits for
the ponies I’m looking at (going with the max 20% rule for rider and tack), I
just don’t quite feel it yet! As always height wise 14-14.2hh feels/looks perfect
for a shortie like me, I’m just not completely confident about it yet,
particularly when we’re adding jumping to the mix. Still, if a smaller cob is
otherwise perfect, watching my weight is a small compromise (and something I will
continue to do anyways). Embarrassing to put this all out there, but I think
these are valid considerations.
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| "Please don't squish me!" |
I’ve lined up a 15.3hh warmblood mare to look at in a
couple of weeks. I suspect she’ll be bigger than my short little legs would
like, but again if she’s otherwise suitable I may just have to compromise and
buy a bigger stepstool J
She’s actually one G saw a video for and really liked, so we’ll go see her when
he visits next. There are also a few Canadian horses at a farm nearby that look
interesting. Canadians are a breed I like, with a lot of them being quite
similar to a Welsh Cob or old fashioned Morgan. There are a couple at the
lesson barn who are really cute all arounders, but maybe a teeny bit less
athletic than what I’d ideally like.
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| No the farm I'm visiting, but nice horses! |
As always, I also
have the wonderful Ginger at home to keep working away with, so if nothing
suitable presents itself, we just go back with Plan A for the winter and you’ll
see lots of trail riding posts. Not overly exciting for a blog, but still fun
for me! I’m getting quite excited about it all and have been having trouble
focusing on work these days. I may or may not have a countdown timer on my
phone. You're welcome in advance for the following:
Have a fun weekend, everyone. I’ll be back on Monday with an
update!
Equine partner shopping can be fun yet wholly challenging as we figure out what we're looking for and harder still finding the gem we are looking for. I hope that those you are going to see are all you wish for and more - and give you a positive headache...as in which one should i buy *cough-all-the-things* (I am only slightly joking) ;-)
ReplyDeleteLike everyone, I basically want the perfect horse on a minimal budget. It's going to be a matter of choosing what compromises I can live with - but yes, I wish I could just take them all home and not have to decide!
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