Well, I finally made a decision and bought... a Barbie Dream Horse. That wasn't my intention, but after months of sifting through inexpensive horses I finally found one that was sound, calm and pretty. She just happened to be a large Palomino pony. So I bought her straight out of a barbed wire pasture an hour south of where I live, after taking a trial ride bareback because the girths I brought were too large.
The couple that owned her have trail horses, and they had gotten this mare for the grandkids, but the grandkids rarely came over to ride. So, a few Sundays ago, I hooked up my trailer for the first time in years and made my way down narrow country roads to find their house. This turned out to be a wasted effort, because they kept the horses in a field several miles from where they lived, although for some reason the woman had neglected to tell me that on the phone. Maybe it was some kind of twisted natural selection trick she was pulling on me: Only the most determined person would be allowed to purchase this pony.
The husband of the couple that owned her pulled up to my window in his dually pickup and said "You're lost, ain't you?" I refrained from comment and turned my rig around to follow them to the field, then pulled over on the shoulder of the road because there was no place else to park. The husband untwisted the loop of wire that held the makeshift gate together and let me into the field. The horses looked up briefly from grazing roughage that was in desperate need of a bush hog. Despite the lack of good pasture, the little mare was in decent condition: Another plus in her favor, she's an easy keeper.
After a brief trial ride it was evident to me that the Barbie Dream Horse isn't trained to a very high level, but she was very good natured and willing, so I offered them only as much cash as my credit union allows me to withdraw from an ATM in one day. The wife of the couple left the field to write the bill of sale on a napkin, and I put my trailer ramp down and led the mare up. She loaded easily and, again showing her calm nature, did not even look back at the other horses. The mare went straight to picking hay out of the net while we secured the ramp.
"That's the best little horse" the husband assured me right before I drove away "tell you what, if you don't think so bring her back here and I'll give you your money back." Of course, we both knew that wasn't going to happen, because I couldn't find that field again if my life depended on it...
Next blog: Riding the Barbie Dream Horse
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