Sealed the deal

I got an email today from Mary. “Could you please contact us and provide us with your phone# as we need to discuss the horses ASAP if you are interested in them. We have another lady in Maryland who has been emailing me about Sugar Baby …”

I do not want to lose this horse. I have looked and looked and not found a comparable one. Agdirect.com, equine.com and equinehits.com are 3 horse sale sites I’ve been scouring for 6 months. She’s a good price. Ideally, I’d like a trained horse, but they cost considerably more.

Our second horse I’d really like to be older and trail ridden, but Bob is stuck on Li’l Red like I’m stuck on Sugar Baby.

I called my friend, Vicki. She made me an offer a long time ago when I was just toying around with the idea of getting horses, to use her trailer to get them. But this is in KENTUCKY! When I told Vicki what I wanted to do, she said, “Hell yes! But they’re kind of young …” She can’t make the trip until June 3 at the earliest. She’s just had surgery on her leg, but should be OK by then.

So with that squared away, I called and talked with Jim (now I get it, Jim and Mary=Jimar Farms) and sealed the deal for 2 horses. Bob walked the down payment down to the mailbox. I’m so excited I can’t stand it. Mary will send contracts for us to notarize and return. It’s really gonna happen.

Hello. I’m Lillian and I am a mad horsewoman

I just made the decision to buy a horse—or two. You can’t have just one horse, now, can you? What am I thinking? I’m not a spring chicken, but I’ve wanted horses (just like millions of other women) for as long as I can remember. We’ve lived on our farm for 3 years now. I planted a hay field 2 summers ago, sure. But what do I know about horse manure? Floating teeth? Trimming hooves? I’ve never saddled or bridled a horse. I have a bad back. I must be insane.

Last Friday, I took a day off from work and Sally, a co-worker, and I went to the Minnesota Horse Expo and that just clinched it. Monty Roberts, Clinton Anderson and Liz Graves were awesome. I think I can do this. Wait, I don’t know the first thing about caring for a horse, except for bits and pieces that I’ve read about.

What do I know? My back is a concern, so I’ve determined that I’m going to buy Tennessee Walkers, known for their smooth ride. I considered Rocky Mountain horses both for their gait and the beautiful chocolate and white mane combination, and visited Gaitway Farm in the rain late last year. I appreciated the chance to see their horses. But the prices for Rockys are quite a bit higher than Walkers.

In February I found Jimar Farm’s web site and fell in love with a coming 2-year old named Sparkles Queen Delight, nicknamed Sugar Baby. Her dam is Sweetie Pie. She’s got just the right combination of black and white (I know this should not be the prime consideration in the purchase of a horse, but she’d match Cosmo, our black and white farm cat) and has a beautiful white mane. After thinking about it I wrote the owners in March just asking some questions about her. Mary suggested I contact her again later in spring if I decided to buy and see if she was still available.

They’ve just posted new photos. I’ve gotta have her. I emailed Mary today and asked if she knows of a local transport company, how big she’ll get and if she knows of a gelding nearby for sale as a trail horse for my husband, Bob.

She wrote back right away. 15.3 hands, no local transport; I’d have to arrange that. Funny thing, she mentioned Li’l Red, a 2 year old they’ve just had gelded. It’s funny because when Bob and I looked over all they had to offer on their web site, he’d been taken with Rainbow’s Red Eagle, a cute, long-necked, mostly white horse with a chestnut head and some spots. He told me that was the horse for him. But “Little” Red is a joke. He’s almost 16 hands tall already and still growing. We’re not tall people. I’m not sure this horse is right, but it would save on transportation costs to buy two at once. He is a nice looking horse.

Stay tuned.