Finding the one…

Finding the one…

No, I’m not talking about the man of your dreams but honestly, finding the right horse can be just as hard. Years ago, horses were equipment and were treated as such, when one didn’t work right, it would be sold and replaced by another. We have come far from that mindset which in many ways is good however, we have gone so far the other way that many are ashamed to even admit they want to sell. From a young age I learned that I enjoyed the buying and selling process of pretty much anything. I used to scour the paper for ponies that I could buy, train, and sell. With that being said, there was always one horse I would never sell. The horse I did everything with, the one I could count on to try whatever challenge I put in front of her. I’ve come a long way from scouring the paper for ponies but, the love of buying and selling still remains so much so that I decided to make a business out of it. Through this business I have met so many wonderful horsemen and horsewomen. This past year, I sold a horse to a lovely girl. She was looking for that special bond, the kind of horse I grew up with, one to keep “forever”. About six months later, the same girl contacted me apologizing over and over and almost embarrassed that she was going to sell that horse. She told me she tried so hard to make it work and to become a pair but, she just couldn’t make it work. To me, this is crazy, this poor girl was going through the emotional experience of a “horse break-up” and she was apologizing to ME?! How did we get to this point, more importantly WHY?! Why are there people out there that think they can sell a horse to someone and then make them feel terrible if they decide to do the same?! Horses are animals, just as people they have their own personalities, their own pros and cons. Humans on average have 7-8 serious relationships before marriage, that doesn’t even include all of the terrible dates, one night visits, and random online chats yet, for some reason horse owners are being conditioned to believe they are the worst kind of people if they don’t commit to the first horse they choose for life. Seriously? Personally, I have owned 6 horses this year, every one of them was picked out to be my personal horse, the one that I did everything with, the one I could count on to try whatever challenge I put in front of it and guess what? Not one of them turned out to be what I wanted. I sold them and know exactly where they are and they are FLOURISHING. They aren’t in some kill pen somewhere, the world did not explode and my morality is still in tact after selling them. I’m not sure the point of this rant, other than to express how crazy I think people have gotten. Maybe by some chance this will inspire someone, somewhere to realize it is okay to sell their horse, it is okay to not be a match with every horse you buy and it does not make you any less of a horseman. Admitting you are not a match, does nothing but good things for you and your horse. Why force a bad relationship? Why make you both anything less than happy? Let your horse flourish with someone they are a good match with and keep searching until you find the one.