Officially horseless...and doing ok

So, Dolly sold this past week.  I'm happy about it overall, as the people seem to really like her.   It does feel really weird to not have a horse to take care of, let me tell you!

At first, I was trying to tell myself that maybe I would give up horses completely.  The past year or so has been tough on the ego and on the wallet, so I thought that I now had the chance to do something different.  The first night Dolly was gone, I cleaned my house top to bottom and still had a couple of hours of the evening to kill.

The second day, I cleaned and oiled all of my tack. The third day, I went down the road to the boarding stable to hang out with everyone and talk horses.  By day 4, I knew I couldn't be without a horse in my life in some way, as I just didn't know how to fill the gap that being horse-less had left in my days.

I've been searching horse ads for a few months now, trying to take my time and find something that is a good fit for my needs. I've been to see a few and rejected many more just by their ads and a few emails or phone calls with the owners.  I was all prepared to be patient and let something come along.

I had told myself I could also find a retired horse and take care of it - to have something to see in the pasture when I look out my windows.  That way there would be no pressure of riding/training and dealing with my confidence issues.  I thought it was a good plan and is still my back up if I can't find a suitable horse.  I have my eye on a few Standardbreds that I would like to give a home...

I've also been to two local horse shows with my new acquaintances from the barn down the road.  I enjoy seeing everyone all dressed up in their nice show tack.  My new coach was judging at one local show, so it was fun to talk to him and see what his thinking was for placing certain horses the way he did.

Coach D watches the halter folks get set up...

 We also took a day to drive to Vermont to have a little break. We went to Burlington, which is on Lake Champlain.  It is about a 5 hr drive from our place.

 The next day, on the way home, I went to see two AQHA horses in Quebec.  The bay is an older mare with lots of western pleasure training.  She was nice, but a bit tough to move off the leg.  She is a good prospect though, so I'm thinking about her...

And the second is a 7yr old mare that is broke, but would need a training refresher for the western pleasure type stuff. I really enjoyed this mare - she was sweet and willing to work.  Not too sensitive, but not too dead either.  I may go back and ride her again, just to see if my first instinct was right or not.  

So, I feel good about finding two decent prospects.  I'm hoping to take Coach D out to see the grey mare, but not sure if that will work out or not.  I find it a bit funny that I found two mares that I actually like, since I was dead-set on buying a gelding this time around!  I haven't found any decent geldings for sale - I guess people hold on to the quiet, well-trained ones???  Who knows, maybe by the end of the month I'll have a horse in my barn...!?!