Frankly, I never set out to own a horse. But, then again, I never set out to be a runner and I'm still running 17 years later. Who knows? I may still own a horse in 17 years.
The road to horse ownership started out when I was browsing my adult equivalent of the Girl Scout badge book. I was bored and wanted to try something new. Some of the badges I had already accomplished. I had been published, learned to sew, acted in a play. Some I never wanted to do-sing in public, sky dive. But, I've always loved animals so when I came across the badge for horseback riding I thought I would give it a try.
I signed up for western style riding lessons for a 10 week trial. It went okay, although learning to ride as a mature adult wasn't as easy as it would have been if I were 7. I signed up for a second set of lessons. At one point, I almost quit because the instructor humiliated me after a class was over. The barn owner had to talk me into coming back. Eventually, I got better and began to enjoy the relationship with the horses. I rode several horses. One day, the horse that I had been riding most regularly was lame. The instructor (by this time I was on the third or fourth) told me to ride Storm instead. When I got on Storm and rode him for the first time, I fell in love with riding and with him. Most of the lesson horses you had to practically slam your legs through their rib cages to get to go. But not Storm, he loved to trot and canter; he loved to go. He also liked to run through open gates, which I found out quickly! Hold on!!
I began to ride him every time. After I had been taking lessons for a little over a year, the owner of the barn decided to sell some of his lesson horses. He kept trying to talk me into buying one. I hemmed and hawed saying I didn't think I was ready for that much responsibility, but he kept asking and convinced me to lease Storm for a couple of months. I also told the owner that if someone else offered to buy Storm, I wanted first chance at purchasing him. If I was going to buy a horse, Storm was the only horse I was willing to buy. In a lease arrangement, you get to treat the horse as if it is your own without the daily responsibility of mucking stalls and feeding. I started to show up at the barn every day. I groomed him and rode him for a while before I headed home. He was better than a therapist! One day a man showed up who was interested in buying one of the horses the owner had for sale. He looked at the others and I knew he wanted to get a better look at Storm. I was 10 days into the leasing arrangement and I kept riding Storm so the man couldn't get a better look at him.
I went home that night and told Neil that I was going to buy him. I couldn't bear the thought of anyone else having what I considered "my horse". And that is how you end up with a horse. Storm doesn't mind at all. He is now living the life of luxury. He has a fan on his stall for days the temperature exceeds 80 degrees. He gets pasture time with his buddies daily. His stall is immaculate every evening when he goes to bed. He has an endless supply of fresh water in spotlessly clean buckets. He gets supplements for his joints, regular farrier and vet checks and an owner that absolutely adores him. The feeling is mutual!
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