"Free" Horse

Well I didn't say anything ahead of time because I didn't want to jinx it, but on Monday I answered an ad for a free 15-year-old gaited mare... the man had bought her so that he could ride with his wife, but he found horses were just not his thing, and he says he makes enough money that he just doesn't want to hassle with selling her, he will GIVE her to the right home... turns out he has seen our place, he bought Randy's old car a couple years ago... and because of that he was willing to wait until today for me to come see the horse.

{I can hear you now... there is a REASON a horse is FREE}

I had asked Sabrina to come along, she knows barefoot, she knows gaited, and she knows endurance, and that is what I wanted this mare for, to be Katie's "relief pitcher" so to speak - to alternate when we do multiple-day endurance rides. As it turned out Shirley, Linda and Rachel tagged along...

As arranged I called when we were close and the folks were waiting by the horse pen when we arrived. We all got out of the Jeep and walked over, and gee the horse didn't REALLY look like the pictures that had been posted...

{I can hear you now... there is a REASON a horse is FREE}

But yeah, up her feed a little and RIDE HER so she builds her muscle tone back up and let the bite marks heal and get her feet trimmed and she will be ok.

Somehow it ended up that Sabrina had the lead rope and she and I were in the corral, the owners standing outside...

She was sweating in odd places even before we started... but didn't mind us touching her anywhere. Sabrina did some ground work and despite the need for a trim the mare seemed ok, no limping etc. She lunges just fine one way but doesn't like to go the other way... no worries, time will help that, I've seen it with my own. So she sent me back to the trailer to get my tack. Loosely tied the mare to the fence and shook out the saddle blanket, the mare backed violently halfway across the pasture, pulling the rope off the fence, but Sabrina kept shaking the saddle blanket and the mare finally stopped reacting...

{I can hear you now... there is a REASON a horse is FREE}

But yeah, if the guy really hasn't ridden her in four months, maybe she forgot...

Finished tacking her up and Sabrina took her out away from the fence to lunge her. She is ok one way but doesn't want to go the other. Sabrina gets after her a bit and gets her going... to me this seems to take forever but finally she says to me "OK time to ride" and as she starts toward me

THE MARE BLOWS!

She pitched a brucking fit like you wouldn't believe! Yanked the lead out of Sabrina's hands although she tried to keep hold, and gosh it went on and on, she is getting close to the fence and I am thinking "Oh God, please don't let her damage my new endurance saddle!" and finally she quit.

{I can hear you now... there is a REASON a horse is FREE}

I was just standing there with the owners, in shock, when I heard Rachel say "Susan could you step over here a moment please"...

So I walked away from the owners and as I got close Rachel murmered "Take off your helmet, you are NOT getting on that horse" and I kind of shook my head and yeah, off came the helmet, there is NO WAY I am getting on that horse...

The owners didn't say much at all which was weird, and didn't even offer to take the horse and correct her behavior. When I said to them that I would not be taking her due to that behavior, they said they understood and kind of shooed us along and we gathered my tack and left.

{I can hear you now... there is a REASON a horse is FREE}

As we drove away we were all dissecting the episode, and the horse, and the owners... I took a lot of ribbing because they had to TELL me to remove my helmet and forbid me to ride, but hey I was really in shock... this mare had been described as kid-safe and very well-trained yada yada yada...

We entertained ideas of her being sick (she smelled "off" and her coat was not healthy looking at all), even that she had possibly been drugged... perhaps it wasn't even the same horse as the man had advertised a "liver chestnut" and this horse was almost a bay, brown with black mane and tail, but not black legs like a bay would have, her legs were the same brown as her body.

All in all it was the oddest visit I have ever had looking at a horse, and all my friends agreed - the whole thing was just WRONG.

{I can hear you now... there is a REASON a horse is FREE}

I thanked them again and again, I sincerely believe they kept me from ending up in the hospital today - or even worse! If I had gone alone, I would not have done as much ground work as Sabrina did with that mare, and I might have been on board when she blew. {shudder}

After I dropped off all my friends and headed home, still going over and over it in my mind, I almost started to cry thinking what COULD have happened to me. And those people just stood there like there was nothing wrong, no apology and no excuse and no attempt to correct the mare...

Back at home I pulled the few pictures off my camera and compared them to the ad, and I would swear it was NOT the same horse, except Randy looked too and pointed out the blaze and how it curved the same on both sets of pictures... and then I see that the guy has made a post on his ad since we left, saying unfortunately she did not do too good today, had a "poppin' and fartin' episode" - WHAT????????????? That was full out rodeo bronc bucking and it went on and on... that is no "poppin' and fartin' episode" Mister! I didn't want to say much but I couldn't live with myself if I said nothing and someone else got hurt (there were actually a LINE of people waiting for me to look at the horse, in case I didn't take her)... he also said she "may" need a tune-up so I commented that there was no "may" about it, she definitely need a tune-up, and I ended with "please be careful".

Several more times throughout the day I found myself fighting back tears, thinking what could have happened... when it was time to feed, of course that made me think "who would be feeding if I was in the hospital?" and I was so thankful to be able to take care of my critters. If I had come off that horse wrong and broke my neck, my "family" would be scattered to the four winds, Randy is not able to care for them and noen of my kids would be able to keep the "herd" together...

I hope I can get all this out of my head so I can sleep tonight!!!

I could not say THANK YOU enough to Sabrina, and still can't...

{yeah, yeah, I KNOW ALREADY... there is a REASON a horse is FREE}