Horse Illustrated Magazine

My great horse hunt has been rather anti-climactic. Believe it or not, I bought the first and only horse I looked at. I have no horror stories and no epic tale of searching for the needle in the haystack, traveling far and wide only to see horses bearing little resemblance to their online profile, or looking three-legged lame, crazy or worse.

I did a lot of online browsing but didn’t see any horses that piqued my interest enough to call or e-mail the sellers. I was about to resign myself to postponing my return to horse ownership for a while, with plans to continue taking lessons and getting out in the horse community where I might find my next ride by chance.

But there was something about an ad for a little spotted horse that drew my attention. And when senior associate editor Holly forwarded the same ad to me with the not-so-subtle message, “Someone from this office needs to buy this horse!” I decided it couldn’t hurt to inquire. I wasn’t looking specifically for a flashy-colored horse. In fact, I jokingly say that I wound up with someone else’s dream horse. Maybe the talented Appy I had been taking dressage lessons on subliminally got me seeing spots. (Thanks, Indy!)

When I went to see the little Appaloosa from the ad, he looked just like his picture. He was calm and well-mannered, as described. The seller rode him, and he was a nice mover, as promised. So far, so good. But it was when I got in the saddle that I first felt the possibility of a connection. I hadn’t felt that way with any horse in a long time. It just seemed right, and I couldn’t find any reason not to buy him. Before I knew it, I was making reservations for a stall, handing over a check and holding the leadrope of my new horse, Chance.

Our relationship is just beginning, and it’s exciting. I’m prepared for some bumps in the road as we get used to each other, especially since he’s a youngster. He’s a little younger than I had planned on at 3 1/2, but he’s level-headed and well-started, and we have a good trainer for our continuing ed.

I still do a double take when I see his little speckled face over the stall door or identify his loud spots out in the field. Is that really my horse? Yes, it is! It’s a good feeling to be back. 

Look for updates about Chance’s progress on our editors’ blog at horseillustrated.com/NearSide