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