A Beautiful Fall Day

While I'm sure the red and orange leaves are very pretty all over the state of Colorado.  The golden aspens are also changing and glowing like candles among the dark evergreen forests.  I personally enjoy looking at my red mare the most though.  She's not groomed here and she's pretty darn fuzzy but man...I love chestnuts!  Perhaps it's because the color is so warm like the autumn leaves?

I just love Dani! I love her soft eyes and flowing mane.  She's my little red headed girl.  Chestnuts just glow in the sun!  Granted any horse that is shiny in the light is gorgeous!

What a glorious time fall is!  I love the crispness in the air.  I love the deep blue skies that seem to be so rich this time of year.  I love the way ponies begin to get fuzzy.  I love cuddling up to Dani's warmness in the cool autumn evenings.  The only thing I dread is the approaching time change and how pretty soon I will be trying to see my mare in the pitch black darkness.  I hope my lighting plan will work....stay tuned!!

The Name Game

This mare is named Steiners Honor.  I couldn't find a beer related name that I liked, I thought that would be cute but alas no such luck.  I looked for names meaning honor like, Annora.  It just didn't fit her.  She's a no frills mare, that is laid back and a little tough meaning she's not bothered by much.  She is not a girly girl.  I'm not too fond of her current barn name, Maggie...it's not bad but I guess I just want to name her myself.  I made the mistake of telling my mom that name so she's all about it but I figure I'm 32 years old and going to be paying out the nose for my horse, I can rename her what I find the best name.  My mother will adjust!

I'm not going to worry about others opinions because at the end of the day does it really matter what her name is to anyone but me?  Horses can learn their name but they can relearn a new one, they don't have an emotional connection to it.  Even dogs can be renamed....they really don't care about their name, that's a human thing!  I actually have several names for each of my dogs and they respond to them all and even seem to know when any of the nicknames are said which dog it refers to.

Everyone has preferences in names, one name someone can love and another can dislike it because it reminds them of a mean girl they knew in high school.  LOL.  So here are some of my tops and I will let you know what my choice is at the bottom, my husband is in agreeance with the final name choice too so that's a plus even though he says it's my horse, "name her what YOU want".  Gotta love the hubby.  I just find boy names easier like my male pets so far: Spencer, Loki, Armani, Mac and Pippin to name a few.  Anyways...

Here goes:

Khaleesi from Game of Thrones was a top for a while until I learned of calici viruses and now I can't get that out of my head.

Daenerys (dan-nair-iss) aka "Dani" is Khaleesi's name before she married the Dothraki Khal, I do like the name Dani (sounds like Danny) and it fits the mare nicely too.

Kailin is a nice Irish name for the mare and rolls of the tongue nicely.  Her red coat makes me think of Irish names, this one could me nice.  

Amica means friend in Italian.  She's a VERY friendly mare so this is cute. 

Cookie would be another name I guess since she's always looking for them in everyones pockets!

Aislinn (ash-lin) is nice but getting a bit feminine for this mare.

Asha- means spirit, I like it and it sort of fits her.  Very easy to say and soothing too.

Myra- again kinda feminine, not sure I like it for this particular mare.

Aria- musical and feminine but I like it.  Again is seems like it may not fit this mare

Penny- cute and good for a chestnut mare.  I had a cute rat named Penny once so I do like the name.  My hubby keeps thinking of Penny from Big Bang theory but I don't think that's a bad thing.

So my final name choice:

Excited yet?

Which do you think it will be?

Have you ever had a hard time naming a pet?

This is getting annoying isn't it!!!???

So.....

The name my husband and I really like is Daenerys  aka "Dani".  Dani is a cute name for a tomboy type mare.  She seems to be sort of a tomboy, really laid back and loves having her belly and teats scratched (most mare owners I know have to work with a mare in order to clean their teats of the waxy build up).  I like Dani and for a more masculine name is seems mildly feminine to me but I have friends named Kyle, Michael and Ryan so boy names for girls don't seem odd to me in the least!!!

More and better pictures will be coming once she's mine, believe me I want to document this whole process!  All the pictures I have are from the pre-purchase and evaluation.

Shaking with excitement!!!

I'm really liking this mare I saw today.  She's a 13 year old Morgan mare.  She's what is considered the old style Morgan.  I like this mare so much that I couldn't do the Serene Sunday post today if I tried, I don't feel serene....I'm too anxious!  I can't contain my excitement!! 

 

When Steve and I arrived the gal I'd talked with had a Michelob in her hand and was very friendly.  My kind a person.  She was very honest about her horse, in fact in the emails she said all the bad things first before saying the good things.  The "bad things" are that this mare hasn't been treated well with trailering and it sounds like she would just need a little bit of time and gentle treatment to get her to relax with the process.  The other is she needs work with softening to the bit but I can work on that.  She also said she is more than willing to do a thirty day trial if I wanted.  That's an option I won't mind working into a contract for sure but we'll get to that later.

 

 

The mare is very confident alone on the trails, doesn't get bothered by cars, dogs or bicycles.  Good start I think.  I still would take it slow to get confident myself with all these items and work on other desensitizing but it's nice to know she's a reassured horse to start.  When we went out to the stable we heard a very happy whinny and the mare came ambling into her stall to greet us.  She was very sweet and likes to lip pockets and explore...the owner says she's never bitten she's just exploring and she normally pushes her away if she's getting too nosey.

 

She also likes beer, she had a sip of the owners beer and made a cute flehmen response face.  LOL.  The stable I want to board at actually has a horse that gets a can of beer at night as a "supplement".  I don't think this mare is quite getting this supplement but the owner was just showing how laid back and human oriented she was.  She was stocky and a bit fat but not too bad.  She's never had any medical issues, only one belly ache but never a colic.  The owner walked her and the mare did fine.  Some white spots on her back I'm told are from previous owners and ill fitting saddles but the mare did not have issues with being tacked up which is good.  She showed no soreness on her back.

 

I groomed her and picked her hooves, she was easy as pie to work with.  Her owner scratched her belly and the mare made the silliest horse face she loved it so much!  She isn't bothered by having her teats scratched or washed.  She was very laid back and a sweetheart.  She was constantly interested in what I was doing around her and not nervous in the least though I'm sure she could sense I was a little nervous and cautious.

 

The owner tacked her up since the western saddle thing just makes me feel even more fumbly so I just watched how the mare was.  No problems with cinchiness or issues with the bridle either.  I even played with her mouth and found it didn't take much to get her to open up at all.  The owner mounted up and had her daughter drive this golf cart with us in it behind the mare out on the road and open fields across the street.  The cart was loud and a dog joined us, neither of which bothered the mare in the least.  Her walk looked comfortable and her trot was a bit fast at first until she relaxed like her owner said.  She even cantered her a bit and she seemed very responsive and controllable.

 

Next it was my turn; the owner was sympathetic when I asked her to restrain the pup.  She knows of my Desparados Storm incident and I felt no judgement.  She'd had a similar incident when trying out a horse and ended up with a banged up knee.  We shortened the stirrups and up I went, albeit awkwardly since you have to throw your leg over a bit higher with a western saddle and avoid getting stabbed in the stomach with the horn.  I tried to keep the loose reins on her but as you can see in the picture below it's probably not as loose as it needed to be but the mare still did great with the contact.  I mainly walked her and did a few circles and turns to see how she moved off my leg.  I was happy with the response at a first ride.

 

We did a trot a couple of times and I tried to relax since the mare did short fast steps but eventually relaxed into it, so did I.  Then I brought her down to the walk.  I was mainly concerned with how she responded to me, how she turned, stopped etc.  I think I could build a relationship with her fairly easily.  I'd seen enough, I liked her.  I told the gal when we were done, untacking and grooming her that I was pretty interested and would try to see when I could get my trainer out to see her.

 

I'm really excited about her, I feel something about this horse.  I first off felt safe on her, like she wouldn't do something really silly or hurt me.  Granted you can't 100% trust a horse, they are still animals but this mare felt pretty safe.  Secondly, I enjoyed riding her much like I enjoyed Heidi.  This mare could be the one!  I want to get Laurie out asap and I've even postponed a couple horse viewings since I felt it wouldn't be a fair assessment of them to go out and see those horses with the way I feel about this mare. 

 

She is wide backed so I'll need to definitely be careful with picking a saddle for her.  The trailering issue can be worked on slowly, perhaps Uschi or someone else with a trailer would be willing to work with me until Steve and I have our own.  I figure by the time we have a trailer there will have been tons of groundwork done and a relationship built that I can work with her slowly and reassuringly.  The owner said it was mainly force that the mare has had in the past trailerings, that she wasn't beaten to get in the trailer but whips were used and that just upset her more.  This was her previous owners, the current owner has had a trainer work on her but just hasn't had the time to be consistant with her.  I think it's something I can deal with and perhaps that is something Laurie would at least like to observe during her evaluation, I'm not sure.

 

So I'll keep you all posted...and just so you know I didn't plan on finding a great horse that was chestnut, guess it was just luck of the draw!!

Sweet Pea

I met a cute mare on Friday.  Her name is Uskalith, aka Sweet Pea.  She's a 11 year old Arabian mare.  The issues the owner said she has was being a little herd bound. I just rode her in the arena while her herd mates were in the field nearby and she didn't seem to be too upset.  I think taking her further away would show more what she might do.  The owner said she would just plant her feet and not move forward.  I know there is ways to work a horse in regards to that so I'm not too worried about it.

The other thing about the mare is you can see she is a bit overweight.  Her neck is cresty with a fat deposit, there are also areas on her shoulder and hips that I felt some fatty areas.  It's something I'm not too concerned about but would have a vet guide me in getting her back in shape.  She also had a droopy lower lip but not an issue that I can see with her bite.  Makes her look pouty!  LOL.

She was very sweet and easy to work around but her owners just went about tacking her up right away.  Hmm.  She didn't have any issues but the first bridle they tried was too big for her and the bit hung low in her mouth.  The owners friend mounted up and the girth wasn't very tight so the saddle slide over.  They were saying it was because she was so rotund.

The mare did fine with all the wiggling the gal did to straighten out the saddle.  The gal rode her around both directions at the walk, trot and canter but Sweet Pea didn't seem very happy with the bit.  I suggested to the owner that I had a couple bridles in my trunk that might fit her but she had another option in her trailer so she went and grabbed a bridle that fit better and the bit sat in a better position.  The rider asked if I wanted to try her out but I asked to see her ride again in the new bit.  Sweet Pea did much better, she didn't toss her head or fiddle with the bit so much.

As you can see above, the bit was low in her mouth.  Again you can see her droopy lip.  Next I rode her, I didn't think to check the stirrups before getting up but the owner and her friend were more than helpful in adjusting my stirrups for me, one on each side.  I wanted to laugh so loud I felt silly!  Sweet Pea had a nice walk but was sensitive to leg pressure, I did a pseudo serpentine with her to see how she responded.  Sometimes when I used my leg to turn her she would start into a trot but at least wasn't getting ridiculous and I could pull her back to a walk easily.  Collection doesn't exist but I'm not expecting that on any horse I find.

After the ride I asked if I could groom her.  I ran the brush all over her body, on her stomach toward her teats and under her tail near her lady parts.  She was very easy going and didn't have issues.  The only thing was she didn't want to pick up her feet.  I asked the owner if she used a different cue, and she did.  She would squeeze her chestnut and the mare would lift up her leg easily.  I tried the same and she was fine.  Sometimes it's just a matter of the horse learning new cues from another person.

She has fine lines on her hooves, like really shallow cracks.  I don't know if this could cause infection or why her hooves have this, I've not seen this before.  Her hooves seemed fine though.  Only thing with her legs was windgalls/windpuffs.  They didn't feel hot at all and the owner said she'd always had them and so had her mother.  I know they usually aren't a worry, especially if there is no heat or gait abnormalities.

I told the ladies I liked her and that I needed to think and perhaps have my trainer take a look at her sometime if I'm still interested.  They completely understood, they just wanted to find her a good home with someone that would spend time with her.  She's cute and has trail experience so we shall see.

Red Flags

I met a guy the other day that is the most knowledgeable person in the world as far as horses are concerned.  And no matter what anyone might say or suggest he would never be convinced otherwise.  Let's call him Eric.  I'm not too fond of Eric, I'll just say that upfront.

One thing Eric said, that now really bugs me, was that he broke the horse himself and that's why the horse doesn't like him so much.  Hmm...I wonder how he broke him and honestly if the horse doesn't respect you something went wrong, perhaps you weren't as experienced as you thought to be able to start a horse.  He also kept saying the horse was originally trained dressage but he kept chastising dressage training...okay somethings amiss with this story. 

Eric went on about how the horse, Baby, was heavy on the bit and ran through the bit because he was trained dressage. "Dressage teaches a horse to latch on to the bit and pull" he stated. I tried to mention how to "massage" on the horses mouth with the bit to get them to lighten but he said that this new trainer he took the horse to tried him with a snaffle for two weeks but then put this harsher curb on him and said that Baby wasn't able to work in a snaffle. "You just need to quickly pull the reins and he responds. Dressage makes a horse dead in the mouth," he said with utter conviction.  I think it's the exact opposite dude, I thought but I just smiled and said hmm as I began to groom Baby.  He was a nice size 14.3 hand chestnut (SORREL!!!) quarter horse/Arab cross.  A horse is sorrel if they have any quarter horse in them....fine, he also has Arab so I'll call him a chestnut, I said.  Eric didn't seem to like that remark.  Get over it dude!

Baby loved getting groomed on his neck and made a "that's the spot" face.  He was very cute.  Hoof picking was not too bad, he was more difficult to get the hoof up but after he learned what I wanted I had no issues with the other three legs.  Eric chided in while I hoof picked that I needed to be in really close to the horse while hoof picking and totally leaning on him to prevent him from kicking.  Really!?  Do you really think you need to man handle a horse?  I stand pretty close in by I don't or SHOULDN'T need to "all my weight" lean into the horse to keep him off balance so his leg stays up while I hoof pick; he should properly hold the hoof for me and I should secure it for him so he's comfortable.

After getting him tacked up with a really heavy western saddle, Eric helped out because with all the straps I was not in my element as far as tack goes, I asked Eric to mount up and ride him.  He rode him in his pasture and Baby fought him a bit, he did some jump/jigging movements and really didn't seem to like the pulling on his mouth.  He had a calm look when he looked at me but when I was ready to get up, I had the owner stand next to him to make sure no funny business would occur and then the stirrups were quite long so those had to be adjusted.  Out of my element again with a western saddle!!

I rode him at the walk in little circles, he did a jump or was kicking at a fly on his belly; that same jigging.  He stopped and I had to show him who's boss but afterwards we did much better.  He worked nicely off my leg and seat at least what I could do with not having worked in a big western saddle often.  I had to be easy on the reins for I didn't want to hurt his mouth with the harsh bit.  Outside of the paddock I rode him up and down the driveway, a little bit of a trot...enough to know he had a nice trot.  Several times he tried to get into the trot without my asking so I had to be quick to tell him that was not alright.  We got along quite well.  I liked him but didn't have the confidence to try him in a snaffle because of what the owner had said.  If I'm interested I can have Laurie try him out.  After I was done testing him out his owner, Eric's wife rode him a bit on the road near the house so I saw him at walk, trot and canter.  He was a bit ornery, and wanted to get back to the barn fairly quickly; the owners said that it was because it was dinner time...ok then.

One habit he has is a little bit of wind sucking.  It was very slight and hardly noticeable, he did it without grabbing onto anything like a cribber does.  I'd never seen a vice quite like this and wasn't sure what to think of it.  Eric said he'd never coliced or had ulcers and 3 vets had told him that there was no problem.  Great to know but sorry dude I'll do my own research if I would even consider a horse with this vice I thought!  This guy was very much a "know it all".  I said thank you and that I would get back with him about when I could potentially come out there with my trainer to evaluate him.  I pondered the horse on the way home and had the sinking feeling that this was indeed the deal breaker I feared.

I emailed Laurie with all the information including how the horse was very responsive off the seat and legs and that he was a sweet horse on the ground too.  He had some positives.  I also told her about the wind sucking and sent this video to show as close as I could find how he specifically "performs" this vice. 

 I also did a lot of research, I was up past midnight with thoughts on this vice.  I went to forums, equine magazines and websites and even read some primary literature about this particular vice.  There are definitely some health issues associated with this vice even if he hasn't shown any issues in his 9 years of life.  I worried about boarding facilities having an issue, horse insurance companies increasing my premiums and then having difficulty with other riders not wanting to go on rides with me for fear their horse would pick up the vice, there is conflicting evidence that they learn the behavior but enough says it can be learned to validate all these fears.

The next day I texted the guy via his request and told him that I would not be bringing my trainer out, I wasn't interested in Baby, and the reasoning why.  He went on to say that the vice hadn't caused any problems and he had 3 vets look at his horse.  Eric said "I had no idea what a vice really was since I'd never owned a horse and why would I go by one trainers thoughts when 3 vets with a medical degree said the opposite. Since that was the case, perhaps I wasn't ready to have a horse."  I was floored but reiterated my reasons, thanked him for his time and wished him luck with finding Baby a home.  I so wanted to rip him a new one I was so pissed!!!!  Most people in my position would have made the same choice if they knew anything about horses, health, and vices.  Vices are often a effect of an underlying issue.  Perhaps a pain that makes them gulp air that then releases endorphins.  It could also be a way to reduce stress from a rather unnatural environment.  Once learned they are hard if nearly impossible to cure.

Now if I was an Olympian and this was a horse that was too talented to pass up a vice could potentially be overlooked and then managed.  Why would I as a first time horse owner want to buy a horse with a known vice that could lead to a health issue?  Not all horses with vices have health issues or major psychological issues but why would I seriously consider a horse that does when there is a plethora of horses that don't have an issue like this?  It's not worth the risk.

Most boarding facilities balk at this type of thing and I think it's too much of a liability to have a horse with a vice, I could be up creek without a paddle, a horse with no home and few if any options.  This is just one thing, the other is the potential issues of his past training and breaking.  I don't know what holes are in his training and would not have known until Laurie evaluated him or I worked with him more. 

None the less, I'll pass.

Big Richo

Last week, the day after I plummeted off of Storm, I went to meet Richo a Bey Shah gelding in Pueblo.  I was tempted to not even go but I figured I'd go and if I didn't ride, I didn't ride.

When I got to the guys house he had three horses on his property, a truck and trailer.  Richo was hard to catch even for the guy and apparently does like carrots or apples!  WHAT!!!  CRAZY!!!

We was a very nice horse, a little thin.  You could make out his ribs sometimes and his hips were pointy but it wasn't like he was seriously underweight, just could stand to gain a few.  He had good muscling, he may just need something different or additional in his feeing regime.  The affection the man had for the horse was apparent but he's a rodeo guy trying to go pro and his QH mare is the one he wants to spend the time with.

Richo was big, I'd say getting near 16 hands....the guy was tall too, probably six four or six five!!  Richo was lunged and had very nice movement.  Very fancy with his tail up.  When I lunged him there was an apparent shift in his mood, he was more "on".  He also would not change directions very easily and the owner stepped in with a lunge whip to get him to move clockwise.  He said he normally just let Richo go which ever way he wanted.  Hmm.  A couple times when trying to change the direction Richo moved towards me, not so much threatening but with a horse that big it was a little intimidating!

Later he mounted up in his big western saddle, the tacking up and grooming went quite well, Richo was a gentleman and seemed to calm a little bit with me and nuzzled my hand.  He even licked my palm and let me "hold" his head.  The owner rode him around this field next to the house, he did walk trot and canter.  I was a little unsure of riding him but I told the owner my worries and said I would stay at walk.  I had to clamber up on the guys leg to get my foot even in the stirrup, it didn't help I had the fresh bruise on my rear from Storm!!  I imagined how hard it would be to mount with the human mountin block, getting off to have lunch on the side of the trail and getting back on the horse....hmm, something to consider.  The owner stayed next to Richo for a few strides but we eased away from him and I walked Richo around the field, weaving around the sagebrush.  We trotted a little bit when I had the courage but quickly brought him back to a walk since my rear could not take it.  The saddle was huge and the stirrups way long so I couldn't post at all. 

 

I did like him but I think I will be easily intimidated by him and with some of the respect issues, not being caught easily etc I reluctantly passed on him.  He's a great horse though and I'm sure with the right match will make a great mount.  The owner said a barrel racer was interested in him.  Hopefully he'll find a good home!

Phoenix

I got to meet a very nice 10 year old chestnut Arabian mare today (the pictures below were taken by the owner and sent to my phone, I didn't really have time to take pictures while working with her).  The owner had three horses, two were in their twenties and she just didn't have the time that the younger mare needed.  The other horses were more pasture pets for her.  One was a chestnut mare and the other was a grey (white) gelding.  Gorgeous boy!

Phoenix was very nice looking and seemed to be in good weight.  She didn't interact with me too much, she smelled me but wasn't exactly too sure of me.  She enjoyed getting groomed and was a perfect doll for hoof picking.  She wanted one hing leg back sooner than I was ready but she wasn't reactive and upset over her feet being touched.  I've learned that's an area that freaks me out, I need a horse that is good with having their feet handled and she was good in my opinion.  There were small children that were running around the area and she seemed interested in them, obviously she knew them and was comfortable, perhaps if she got to know me she would react with the same interest.

We brought her out of her pen and I went to get my saddle, lungeline etc.  I wasn't sure I was going to ride her yet since it had been a year.  The one lady who rode her a lot has said she was really good under saddle and didn't shy much at all.  Sometimes on the bridges she would jump a little and snort.  We got the saddle on with little fuss but the girth was too long for her!!  Nope, not gonna ride!  I was tight enough to move her around but not to ride her.

We had issues with the bridle, she moved her head away and stepped away.  After a couple tries we go the bridle on and she was calm as we tried to adjust all the straps.  The bridle was way too big!  The big really low in her mouth.  We decided to take it off and just lunge her with the halter.  I asked the younger gal to lunge her first and watched her move.  She was very spirited and raced around in a circle.

When I lunged her she raced around a bit but I eventually got her to a trot and even a walk at some points.  I changed direction a couple times and had success with that.  Her owner was pleased with how she did since she hadn't been worked with in a year or more.  I actually was too but I'm unsure. 

She's a nice mare and seemed tolerant and seemed to have potential, she slightly calmed down during the lunging but was quite warm afterwards, she was pretty excited.  I think I may have Laurie take a look at her.  She has tack that might fit and perhaps she would be willing to back her.  Perhaps I should not consider a horse that is this rusty.  I don't want to get hurt and I don't want someone else to get hurt either.  The one gal did say that she wouldn't ride her regularly but when she did Phoenix would pick up again pretty quickly.  Perhaps after a few weeks of regular working with her she'd be at a good place?

Another thing about her is her name, Phoenix.  Apparently when she was born she was a still birth and they rejuvenated her.  Also her stripe on her face looks like a phoenix bird in profile.  I thought that was really cool and wouldn't see a need to change her name in the least.  I need to think on it and discuss her with Laurie.  At least she is right in Falcon so it wouldn't be a long trip or time commitment to have Laurie take a look at her.  She is about 14 hands and I wonder if that is just a bit too small for me, I'm still working on losing some pounds I'm 5'4" and yadda yadda pounds, hopefully I can get 30 of that off by the end of the year.  Hmm.  Lots to ponder.  I will hopefully have a couple more horses to meet this weekend.  I think for me seeing a lot of horses is becoming a good experience and helping me figure out what I want in a horse...even if it takes me longer to find "the one".

All I want for Christmas is an Arabian horse (aka pony!)

My all time favorite horse color is Chestnut with a decent amount of chrome.  A stripe or blaze on the nose is perfect and a few socks are great.  Below are internet pics of chestnust Arabians, some were on Dreamhorse.com at one time or another.  I'm silly and browse that site regularly, dreaming away about the day I can finally call up the owners and say "Hey I'm interested and would like to come out and meet your horse".  Of course I'm even more excited about saying "I'll take him/her!"

Illusions Farm sabino Arabian gelding for sale.  How flashy is he!!

 Such soft eyes.  I can stare into a horses eyes all day.  Chestnuts are neat in that some have a flaxen mane.  Some are red as fire.  Yet some can be dark and almost like a chocolate (liver chestnut).  All are beautiful!

 I would call him Wind Fire or Al Hawa Laheeb in Arabic! 

But of course I can't choose a horse by the color.  I love blacks, and bays too.  Greys are pretty but the work to keep them looking clean is so hard!  At least with darker horses if you don't get all the dirt it sort of blends in with the coat!  I dream of the day when I can find a horse that will place their muzzle in my hands and say take me home, I'll be your friend for life.

 A part bred Arab I would have no problems considering would be a palomino.  I still want a purebred but if the palomino wins over my heart I won't look back!

 A black....yes we all have that dream.  The Black Stallion!  But I'll take a mare or gelding.

If only greys stayed this dark grey!  Love the dapples!

But most grey out to this....you need lots of bleach for this horse!  I know there are tons of products out there to help keep the horse looking presentable, I won't pass up an awesome horse just because they're grey.  Just letting you know!  A good horse is never a bad color!

And no matter what amazing color they are or what fine pedigree they may have (this mare from Illusion Farms is a grand daughter of Khemosabi++++) they are still a horse that needs love and attention and will be my partner on the trails.  I can't wait to snuggle up against the neck of my very own pony!  Hope Santa is reading this!  Happy Holidays everyone!