So I, uh, did a THING

So two posts in one day but I cannot keep this quiet any more. 

 This all started when I realized that Carmen turned 12 this year. 

Like, how does that even happen? 

look at how dark she used to be!

she's changed a lot, not just in colour

Ed was talking to me and asked if she was my last horse. My response was immediate:

nope, I have one more in me. 

You know where that leads, right? To idle scrolling of ads, that's what. 

For a while I didn't anything more than scroll. But as time went by I found myself doing it more. 

But did I really want another horse? And if I did, what was I looking for? Was I ready? 

one way to get a pony

Part of me felt that I was not ready. And part of me knew that I could also be facing a dilemma if something were to happy to Irish (which is very possible) and Carmen was alone. 

I looked into the idea of an inexpensive companion horse. But aside from the purchase price it costs the same to keep a cheap horse as an expensive one. I was also aware of the passing of time. I am 58 this year. I would like to keep a horse for it's lifetime (even though I know that's not always possible). Which means that I could be into my 80s by then. You can say that age is just a number all you want, as you get older you become quite aware that it's ticking away.  

I like to be logical and so decided to draft up a list of what I wanted: 

• Andalusian or Lusitano, either pure or cross
• solid temperament- curious, friendly not spooky or reactive. 
• Between 1 and 3 years, 
• Not gray (no more tumours please)
• In Canada (I didn't want to deal with crossing the border again!)
• Under 20 k 
• Would likely reach a height of between 15'2- 16'2
• nice conformation 
• a seller who would be responsive and have half-decent photos/videos. 

I sent this list out to the universe and figured it would take a while for it to land. To cover my bases I did reach out to Winterwind Kigers . She is local and had been crossing Lusitano studs with her Kiger mustang mares. She had one that I quite liked but I worried that she would be too small for me. However, you should check out her website, her horses are stunning!  She told me that she wasn't doing any crosses this year but that TNT Lusitanos had some nice 2 year olds for sale. 

I did know about them but didn't see any horses on their sales page. TNT Lusitanos is just outside Medicine Hat Alberta. They are a working cattle ranch and all of their breeding horses also work. I love that about them. I knew that they had posted some a while back but figured they were sold. 

That turned out to be wrong. The owner messaged me right back saying she had 4 2-year olds and then sent me videos. All of them were really nice. Two stood out for me and one I was quite drawn to. In her follow up message she said that they were all solid temperament wise but one was the quietest of the bunch. Turns out that was the one I really really liked (as opposed to really like).  I saw photos of his dam and she is gorgeous! 

To keep what is currently a long story from becoming a novella, after videos, questions, asking Karen's thoughts, some conformation photos I decided to go and book a PPE.  The PPE was today and he passed without issues. The vet even commented on his temperament and that a train went by and he didn't really react. 

When I started this process I also looked into shipping. It is not easy to have a shipper come this far east. Turns out that Nothern Horse Transport had a run from BC to NS the end of June. 

Honestly, it all came together in a way that feels fated.  

Do you know how hard it was to keep this quiet util everything was settled???? 

Allow me to introduce you to Quaid TNT. A 2 year old 3/4 Lusitano/ 1/4 Quarter horse. He will be on his way later this week and I am very excited (what an understatement that is). 

Isn't he handsome? 

his dam: Azteca (QH/Lusitano cross)

Sire: Marialva- full Lusitano 

He's supposed to be calm and gentle. I know that he's 2 and sensitive but give me a solid temperament and we can build on that. I do love his movement. 

Let's not dwell on the fact that I will be 59/60 when I first sit on him...... 

FYI, there are still some lovely 2 years olds and quite a few yearlings.......