The value of a horse - beauty in the eye of the beholder.

Last week was long and frustrating for me.  We had construction going on at work, which was frustrating to deal with.  Waited on a lunch and learn meeting Monday that ended up being a no show.  I found myself running a lot of small errands during the week, which is one of my least favorite things.  I like to go out and get things over with in one sitting, versus running back and forth all the time.  Squirt got spayed on Thursday.  The has upset the whole routine in the house, because Squirt takes literally forever to use the bathroom outside when the other girls aren't with her.  But they play too rough with her for me to trust them all out at once, even supervised.

Still looking a little high from the anesthesia.

As for the fancy unicorn - he was as saintly as he was the first time, but the only thing that M's mother was fixated on was superficial qualities.  She was extremely concerned about him being grade (TB cross) and having a personal brand from a previous owner.  The brand bothered her so much that she insisted it would have to be covered up and she compared it to a monogram.  I will give her that the story behind the brand was pretty stupid, but the only repercussions of him having that brand would be the fact that it was unsightly to her.  Under saddle he was impeccable, and she would not have suffered in the show ring whatsoever from it.

And then of course, his grade breeding.  To her, his asking price, the top of their extended budget, was too much for a horse that "isn't a purebred anything", to quote her.  I struggled to explain to her that the value of horses lies in temperament, training and experience, unless you are specifically buying to compete or breed for a breed association and need papers on the animal.  She has no horse experience, so to her, it was like someone was asking a grand for a mixed breed dog.  Fortunately, I think we are past that thinking now.  I explained that the breeds you see in our price range are usually TBs, QHs, Paints and Apps.  TBs, no matter how quiet and sound they are rumored to be, are out.  Not hating on TBs, but not a good first horse for a 12 year old who has the memory of a goldfish.  A lot of the stuff we will see in our price range that is an appropriate height is going to be your Appendixes.  A lot of those won't be registered, so technically they are grade.  Finally, I think I got through to them that papers don't mean squat for a kid who needs super safe and wants to compete at on the local schooling circuits.  At the end of the day though, this is not just a pet for M, but an investment for them, and I want them to be 100% happy with what they get.  If something silly like a brand is an issue, I don't want to push them to pay for something they don't like.

We regrouped and I got up with an old trainer friend of mine who said she had something for sale.  We are going to call this one the lazy unicorn.  I get there and lazy unicorn is awfully small for what I had expected, but the friend insisted we come try him.  The poor horse was covered with flies, and for whatever reason my friend didn't spray him before they went out, so he was just miserable the whole time.  She couldn't find his bridle, so he had a slow twist in.  I don't think he had ever worn or needed to wear a bit as harsh as that, and he was not happy about it, but he was a good boy.  The saddle was too small for M, and the leathers weren't long enough for her so she was hacking around like a jockey.  And she still looked fantastically cute on this horse.  He was the slowest, quietest thing I have ever seen.  I was absolutely blown away at how impossible it was for her to get him worked up.  He is on the verge of being too short, but his temperament and movement make up for that tenfold.

I, personally, am sold.  I'm almost happy we passed on the fancy unicorn, even if it was for a stupid reason.  I think the parents are pretty much sold as well.  The dad is killing me with trying to give low ball offers for these horses - it's actually a little embarrassing when the majority of these that we are serious about are already priced to move.  But I think the mom is willing to give more for the right one, and I really think this is it.  We are going back Tuesday to see him again, this time with appropriate tack.

The hurdle is going to be M.  She is still sour grapes over the fancy unicorn.  Her dad is not helping, because he was entertaining the idea of removing the brand - which I don't even think is a thing, but I've never got into brands very much.  Even suggested dying the hair monthly.  The false hope that they might change their mind is causing her to be really closed minded to new horses we are trying.  However, that door is closed as far as I am concerned.  He was a GREAT horse for a great price, and he would have done well with her.  But he was much more training and buttons than she would have ever used.  At the end of the day, I have already delivered the verdict to the owner, and I refuse to be the wishy-washy buyer that goes back and forth about things (especially after I had to embarrass myself by telling her why they were saying no!).  I said as much to them today when M was coping her attitude.  She isn't getting the fancy unicorn, regardless, so she can have another horse or she can have no horse - that's her options.  I bribed her with Starbucks tomorrow night so I can sit her down and have a heart-to-heart about this.  Hopefully we will have an attitude change.