A Free Horse

A Free Horse

Now, just because a horse is free, doesn’t mean taking him is a smart thing.  I've done this free horse thing before.  My first horse, a Morgan named Brandy, was given to me by my aunt.  I had ridden him a number of times when I was a kid--mostly in the arena, and I thought I knew what I was getting into.  My aunt sure knew what I was getting into, but she wanted to get rid of an expense. 

He was way, way too much horse for someone of my little experience for trail riding.  He was a barn-sour, hard-mouthed horse who was a confirmed runaway.  He nearly killed me.  That day he spun around to go home and galloped down the middle of the street certainly frightened me enough to give up trail riding him for the first year I had him.  He had a Morgan iron neck—that you couldn’t bend.  Pull all you like on the reins, he would bend his nose to his chest to evade them.  He had an agenda, and that was too get home ASAP.  Nothing was going to get in his way.

I actually found the woman that owned him before my aunt.  She got him as a 2-year-old.  Once she started riding him, she would race him—and she ruined him.  He got so clever, that he learned to twist his jaw to break his curb chain—making it harder to stop him.

  

She sold him a few years later to my aunt for an old truck, a used saddle and $50.00.  My aunt successfully showed him in jumping.  He was a very bold horse who just loved to jump--and she claims he was jumping 4 foot jumps with 8-foot spreads—and he was just a little guy.

   

When I got him, we were both 21.  The only way to keep him at a walk on the trail was with a death grip on the reins—and sometimes that didn’t even work.  If he got faster than a walk, there was no way to stop him. He was horrible.  I asked my aunt for advice--and she told me I could sell him.  I gave up entirely and only rode in the arena--until I got so bored that I tried again the following spring.

   

This time, I had a plan, and it worked.  I was young and determined.  Within a few months, I could ride him everywhere at most speeds--with a loose rein—and he was relaxed and willing.  (Still couldn't go faster than a walk on the last mile home.)  I learned so much from him.  In the end, it was a wonderful learning experience that no doubt helped make me what I am today, but it sure would have been a lot easier if I had a more suitable first horse for trail riding.

So, would pursuing this free horse be a good thing, a bad thing, or as in Brandy’s case, a bad thing that turns into a good thing?  My head was spinning…

I sent an email asking for more information.