How the Appy Became My Boy, Part II

Part I Here

I am not surprised the woman pulled off the side of the road after seeing the Appy in his pasture. Let me say that every time I took this gelding to the trail head, I got numerous compliments on him. Everyone said, wow, that is a nice looking Appy. Or, he must have a lot of Quarter Horse in him. Or, who is he by? And, what a cute Appy! We even ran into an old time cowboy on his Quarter Horse yearling (a sorrel beauty I quickly coveted) who asked if the Appy was for sale. The trainer knew that she had a horse she could sell in a heartbeat.

The trainer said to the woman, oh, yeah, he's a good boy, but he is not for sale. She went on to talk a little about his bloodlines and training. Then she gestured towards me (shaking in my Pony Girl boots!) and said she's leasing him, and she'll have first dibs when he is for sale. Then she told the woman that as a trainer she came across good horses for sale all of the time, so she got her number.

Whew, I made it through that one. It wasn't until I almost lost him that I realized how much I wanted him. But there was still the issue of saving up the money. Although not overly expensive, leasing was not helping my cause. The lease money could have gone into my horse fund. A week later the trainer and I were talking about the Appy (I was beginning to ask more questions about his bloodlines) and she said that she had a book that had been given to her when she acquired him. She took me to the house and showed it to me. It was a black binder full of photos of the Appy's dam, sire, daughter, and, pictures of him as a foal, weanling, and yearling. It also had his registration papers in. I dubbed it his "baby book." I really liked this book because it showed what a cutie this Appy pill had been as a foal. It made me forgive him for all his stubborn antics. Hard to believe he was ever this innocent! As the summer drew to an end, I began to get anxious about the leasing. I would be starting up school again in the fall. I hadn't been adding much money to my horse fund. I panicked. I felt like I was getting more and more attached to this horse. I was already thinking of him as mine, yet he really was not. It was a possibility that it might not work out. I think I took an emotional step back and began to question whether the lease was helping my cause of ultimately owning my own horse. As a distraction, I started horse shopping again. Looking at less expensive horses. I found a 4 year old unregistered greenbroke Quarter Horse for $1000. I considered going to look at him. And one day, while I was at the trainer's riding the Appy, I decided to tell her that come September, I could not lease the Appy any more. Let me tell you, it was a hard conversation to bring up.

Well, it did not go over very well. The trainer was taken aback. She was confused because she thought I wanted the Appy. I did! It had nothing to do with not wanting him. It had everything to do with not being able to afford him. She said if I wasn't leasing him, they would have to sell him. She said I could purchase him on a payment plan. Which was very generous of her. However, I was not sure I could afford to make a payment plus all of the additional monthly costs of owning a horse. She also suggested care-leasing him and moving him to my sister's place. I thanked her for working with me and giving me options. I told her I would think about it and let her know as soon as possible. I left the conversation with unresolved feelings. And more confused. I got home and called my sister. And I cried. And cried. I wanted that silly Appy more than anything. She said she would talk to the trainer and explain the reasoning for my, uh, emotional breakdown.

The next day, after a fitful night of sleep, I decided to do the care lease. It was still not helping me save money. If anything, the actual care of the Appy was going to cost more than my lease! But it was a way to hang on to him for now (and pray that I won the lottery or married a rich cowboy.) So we moved him to my sister's farm. I signed a 6 month lease. I had the option to extend the lease or to buy the Appy at any time during the lease. She did put a good sale price on the paperwork. Less than what she had originally told me she wanted. But still out of my range.
It was great to have that Appy at my sister's. He really felt more like "my horse." And it was easier for my sister and I to ride and "play" with our horses together. I was still worried the trainer might want the horse back or decide she needed the money and list him for sale. I was trying my hardest to save money.

December rolled around. My family and I got together around Christmas to do our gift exchange. Dinner was ready, so we decided to save one gift for each of us to open after we ate. My gift was a garment-sized box. For some reason, they wanted me to go open my gift last. As I put it on my lap, my mom and sister got out their digital cameras and posed them on me. Like they were the paparazzi! Now what was this all about? Seemed awfully suspicious to me. I ripped open the cute cowboy boot wrapping paper and took the lid off the box. I folded back the tissue and stopped. There lay the Appy's black baby book. I knew it immediately. I looked up and felt my eyes well up with tears of confusion and surprise. What does this mean? I croaked. Silly question, Pony Girl! My family had tears in their eyes, too. It means the trainer gave you a really good deal on this horse! My family, at the last minute, had arranged an even better sale price with the trainer and put in a little extra funds to combine with what I had saved to make the purchase. It was the trainer's idea to wrap up the baby book for me. I could not believe it! It was unreal. My sister kept asking me can you believe he's really yours? Can you believe you have a horse again?

For the next couple of weeks, every time I thought about that Christmas moment, emotions overtook me and I welled up in tears (I am such a baby.) It had been an emotional journey. I had almost given up this great boy. I guess I had to have faith. I remember somewhere along the journey I said it will work out if it is meant to be. If he is meant to be my horse, he will be. Well My Boy, you are stuck with me now! Til the end. You big pill.


To be continued......Is My Boy my horsey soulmate? Is there one horse for everyone? I will explore this in Part III.