Bye, Bye to My Black Beauty

The final sale in the purge of our herd will mark number 8...Ebony is a mare that I bought in 2007 and was in foal to my 2 yr old filly Ellie that we sadly sold a couple of weeks ago... Ebony was originally purchased with intention of her being DD's horse but being in foal D obviously didn't ride her for very long then she was off after she had Ellie so by the time she was ready to be ridden D had such a strong bond with Pete that her and Ebony just didn't click!




Ebony is a very particular horse, she is picky about everything in her life! What I have found with her is you either hate her or you love her and vice versa, she either hates you or she loves you! When we sent her to a friends for her tune up last summer they fell in love with her and she was a perfect angel while she was there! After we took her home she did great for a little while but she is a horse that requires being ridden every day!! But with my back and 14 horses we hardly had the time to devote to her. When we purchased Krissy a few weeks ago it was part of our plan to sell Ebony along with the others, but her sale was going to be a bit more difficult as we were asking more for her and she also requires a more experienced rider who has time everyday to devote to her.





So last week the Q's came out and had every intention of focusing on Ebony as they had been checking her out on my website. We had taken her back to our friends as he was riding her everyday and we were pondering the idea of a possible trade out with him for Ebony because he and his daughter LOVE her!! So we showed up with Pete and the minute I got out of the truck I could see her in the stall about to come unglued! She was pacing in circles whinnying like crazy! But we took Pete and Krissy into the arena and left her till the Q's got there and when we went to bring her in she was SOAKED!! I thought it had been down-pouring outside by the looks of her! But no, no rain...It was sweat! She had herself all worked up! So we got her saddled and rode and she was doing good, so buyer Q decided he wanted to try and ride her and instantly she froze...Wouldn't move, being absolutely stubborn! I could not believe her!! Our friend was talking to Q and coaching him through what to do to get her to go and everytime it worked but he had to work at it for a minute...I was SO annoyed with her behavior, this is why we don't get along! I don't want to deal with a horse that is this finicky!! So Mike (the trainer) gets on her and gives her a good attitude check and of course she rides out perfectly smooth! Buyer Q gets back on her and dead-lock! So obviously they then rode Pete and realized he was the polar opposite of Ebony and then decided Pete was the horse for them!





After the Q's left we were chatting with Mike and he said he could not believe how Ebony was acting he had never seen that out of her and I told him well that's how she is at home! Very stubborn and an out right chore to ride! He said he felt it from the moment we pulled Pete out of the trailer that she was being buddy sour, it was funny for him to say this because I have never thought Ebony to be "barn sour" but yep buddy sour she was!! So Mike finally got to witness the side of her that we've been explaining LOL!







The next day we had a gal and her husband come out to ride Ebony and this lady too loved the way she looked, she has a 3 yr old gelding that she's been riding and I guess he's not what she's wanting hence her horse shopping. So she got on Ebony and there was a slight moment of hesitation on Ebony's part then she rode out perfectly fine! This lady rode her for about 1/2 an hour and never had another issue with her at all! Of course Pete was not there...So she came back again the next day and rode her some more and decided YEP that's the horse she wanted! So Ebony will be going to her new home soon! She is still at our friend's while the new owner gets her other horse sold as she boards and it's outrageous to pay for more than 1 at a stable.

Horses...A Little of This and That!!

About 3 weeks ago we made the decision to sell half of our horses. So here I am 3 weeks later and that half equaling 7 horses is now sold....Well I guess 1 is still in process of selling, that one would be Pete. He will go tomorrow for a vet check per request of a couple that wants to buy him (which he just had one by our vet mid February so he will pass with flying colors)!

Friday afternoon we met with a couple that was really interested in purchasing 2 horses but in particular wanted to look at Ebony. They came and rode both Ebony and Pete and figured out really quick that Ebony is a horse that requires total relaxation and a lot of experience as she will test you if she can get away with it.. The husband did a great job with her but it was not a match made in heaven that's for sure! Ebony is the kind of horse that you will either love to death or wish death upon her LOL...Just kidding...Well kind of, at least about the death part! But you might just hate her! She's got looks to kill and an attitude the size of Texas!

Test drive on Ebony....She's sure a beauty!!



So while the husband was riding Ebony the wife wanted to ride Pete so she did, and guess what?!....She LOVED him! She had her hubby ride him and he just loved him! So they wanted a little while to think on it and called a few hours later and laid their claim on him! Now of course you may be wondering about his issues and where he stands with them now. Pete has been with a friend of ours who runs/checks cattle on a daily basis and after approx 3 weeks riding him we have decided that Pete's main issue is when he is given a job he goes into over drive. When he is being ridden on trails for pleasure he is an absolute gentleman and when he is given the job of tracking a calf he does just that! And sometimes the ending result of that is purely him getting hot and wanting more.. SO we discussed with the couple buying him that he is NOT to ever be ridden for any eventing and really should never be used for anything but pleasure trails. Which is exactly what they want! I do want to throw in here that since pulling him from rodeo we removed his tie-down, the reason we put the tie down on him in the first place was his lack of response when checked and turning the barrel. After putting it on him he responded much better, but after taking a step back and looking at the situation we decided that for the most part the rearing was him fighting the tie-down. As since we have removed it he hasn't reacted in that manner, but he also hasn't been rodeo'd so it is what it is, right?! Also DD did ride him Saturday and I am really glad she did because after one trip around she was cheesin and he was happy! So I am glad that before he is gone she got one last ride to reaffirm their bond....The Hubby is a bit sad about losing his horse but he knows that Pete needs to be in a different environment so he accepts that.

My Hubby enjoying his last ride :(



Later the story on Ebony's sale...

Finally!! We have a new Rodeo horse!!

These last few weeks have been kind of long and never ending! Not in a bad way, just constantly busy! We have been spending time selling horses while also shopping for the new one. So one of our decisions in the process of selling one was to take DD's Black mare to TX and have her there to sell as there was a family interested in her (which we did not do because a family in a town near by ended up wanting her LOL). So on the trip the Hubby also planned to haul another horse to TX for his sister. So during our search for a new horse the Hubby happened to come across an ad at a very well known horse ranch in Whitesboro, TX called "Dynasty Equine" for a 7 yr old bay mare named "Harmony" that sounded pretty promising. So since we were already planning a trip down there we made an appt for last Friday afternoon.

So we left on our trek to TX early Friday morning and arrived at the ranch about 2 pm. The way they work is you tell them the horse you are interested in seeing and what your goal is for the horse you purchase, then they bring out a selection of horses that fit that criteria and the horse you originally inquired about. So we had 3 horses to look at, one was Harmony, one was Krissy, and a gelding (whose name I can't remember LOL). So after going over all of the horses we remembered having seen "Krissy" on the site and really liked her but she was out of the price range we wanted. So I inquired about that and they told me that the owner was willing to let her go for a better price. We spent some time with the horses and quickly determined Harmony was not a good fit for us as she was very standoffish and did not have a calmness to her. Krissy however did... She was beautifully built and OH SO SWEET!! SO we saddled her up and DD spent a couple of hours riding her and while riding her the trainer Amanda (who is a SUPER awesome girl) gave her tons of tips on some of her bad habits she picked up this last rodeo season.

So after some deliberation the decision was made! Krissy was going home with us!! Krissy is an 8 yr old sorrel mare 15h and is beautiful!! DD loves her and she is a super easy mare. She has been rodeo'd in many of the different events before and has a super disposition!

We had a pretty long ride back home and Krissy was a little stiff coming out of the trailer so the Hubby decided we would wait a few days before we start riding her!

This was their video with the ad online for Krissy

Horse Shopping Gone to Texas!!

During the last couple of weeks we have been on the hunt for a great horse for DD... Most of you know that horse shopping can be mentally exhausting to say the least! While it is fun to look at all of the beautiful different horses, it can be frustrating trying to look past the "beauty" and get to the facts on these horses! Every where you look you can find a hundred horses for sale but out of that hundred maybe a handful are even worth the time to look!

So during this search the Hubby has found a bay mare who is 7 years old. While I am one who is partial to paints or black horses this mare is beautiful! She is 15h tall and is just super awesome! So we are making a trek to Texas on Friday to see and ride her!! We are so excited to be going there! While I have found numerous others that are cheaper and closer to home I am constantly drawn back to her! So cross your fingers, say a prayer, and wish us luck!!