| Choosing a horse will be one of the most | | | | be able to ride with 3. The grazing, stabling |
| important decisions you ever make so for the | | | | and riding available to me 4. How much time I |
| sake of both you and the horse - take your | | | | had for horse care and training 5. How much |
| time. | | | | money I had to buy a horse and care for it 6. |
| | | | What size horse I was comfortable with and |
| At 50 I was a bit older than the average | | | | was sensible for me 7. Whether I wanted a |
| first time horse owner, so should have got it | | | | particular horse breed or colour |
| right. I fell in love with a pretty little | | | | |
| horse that I had ridden on a riding holiday | | | | We decided that based on the above, a |
| when he was in his own environment and I was | | | | traditional coloured gypsy horse would be |
| relaxed and had all the time in the world. | | | | ideal and found Amy, a 5 year old ex |
| | | | brood-mare. She was road trained and gentle |
| 9 months later, after a lot of heartache I | | | | with lovely paces, but was oblivious to all |
| admitted that he was the wrong horse for my | | | | the standard horse training commands. |
| lifestyle and experience and fortunately he | | | | |
| was able to go back to his original owner. | | | | 2 years on I can't imagine life without her. |
| Pretty traumatic for me, but less so for him | | | | She may not be the most beautiful horse |
| as he was going back to where he was happy. | | | | around (though I think she is) and with a |
| | | | full time job to fit round her, she adapts to |
| Our livery yard owner helped me decide what | | | | whatever horse care and horse riding routine |
| type of horse I was looking for by | | | | I need. We have had a lot of fun improving |
| considering the following: | | | | our horse riding skills together and I hope |
| | | | that we will still be doing so for many years |
| 1. My horse riding experience 2. Who I would | | | | to come. |