It's His Birthday

For my son’s 9th birthday, we surprised him by taking him to an auction. This was pretty boring for him because livestock auctions can go on into the middle of the night. What Josh didn’t know was that we planned to get him a horse for his birthday. He was having a tough time with school and friends and all those things 9 year old's have trouble.

We Bought a Horse

On the way to the sale, we stopped by the Western store, and bought him a pair of cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. The kid liked the gifts but he still didn’t realize what we were up to. At the sale, we accidentally on purpose met Bob, a friend from our town who owned and boarded horses. He was a good horseman and trained a lot of kids on horsemanship.

When Bob persuaded Josh to go outside to the pens to look at the animals, he began to get suspicious about our real purpose. Josh was a pretty small kid so when Bob found a horse he thought would be good for Josh, he hoisted the child on the horses back. Josh looked uneasy but he took it in stride.

The horse they selected was a gray, small horse of about 14 hands, an ideal size for an untrained kid. The animal was untrained as well so this could be a recipe for disaster. We trusted our knowledgeable friend and bought the horse that night. Josh was the happiest kid on the planet that night and immediately named the horse Ash, because of his gray color.

Training After School

Josh and his mentor, Bob got the horse back to the farm and the next day I took Josh out to the ranch after school. He went there after school every day for months, and during the summer break, he spent almost every day working with the horse. It brought him out of his shell, and he started to interact with other kids who also kept their horses at Bob’s place.

There Is No Such Thing As A Free Horse

My brother and I went to the ranch after work and spent most evenings with all the horse-people. It was so much fun, but we felt we were missing out. After a short while, a friend told me about a horse that was available and I could have her for free! That was a good price and I jumped on the deal. I hadn’t really understood the phrase “there’s no such thing as a free horse”. All the related expenses were significant, especially because we were now paying for two horses. There was no quantity discount at this horse facility

Is There A Horse For A Disabled Man?

My brother, still had no horse to call his own. My little bro, Eric, was disabled and was confined to a wheelchair, so we weren't sure just how that would work. We had a special bike for people with disabilities, a hand-cycle, and we were already bicycling together, but a horse trail just wasn't appropriate for a bicycle.

Bob showed us a small two-wheel cart that could be hooked up to a small horse. But the horse had to be small for this kind of cart, a big horse like mine and Josh’s just wouldn’t do.

We Got A Little Horse and a Cart

We looked around the livestock auctions and couldn't find anything that felt right. Small horses are a niche of their own. Eventually we found a little Paint horse that just fit the bill, and bought him. His name was Boots because he has white socks on all four of his legs. This little guy had no training either so we now had to hire another trainer to train the small horse. We also bought a cart for Boots to pull. The costs just kept mounting.

Boots has started his training and is a good student. But he is headstrong. His trainer, Ellen, said he was one of the smartest horses she had worked with. At this point in the training, Boots still hates the cart, but time and persistence will pay off, as with any worthwhile endeavor.

So the moral of this story

• There is no such thing as a free horse

• People who can’t walk can still ride horses and bikes

Have a great, successful day!

Kali