Love is Patient

It’s about this time 4 years ago that I learned the true meaning of patience. I was 20 and my childhood dream of owning my own horse was becoming a close reality. I did my research on http://www.equine.com/ and http://www.dreamhorse.com/. I had my criteria. I was in love with brown and white paints. I even had one tattooed on the small of my back (also known as the famous tramp stamp…). I was convinced that there was no other horse that could make me happy, except a brown and white paint. Tobiano, I thought, but would settle for an Overo. I also wanted a younger horse, at least 15 hands, that was confident in a walk, trot and especially a canter. Cantering was one thing that even as a kid intimidated me. (Not at all anymore)

I found a few horses that kind of fit my list, but nothing I fell in love with. I decided to expand my search a little more. As much as I wanted a Paint, maybe there would be another breed that would suffice. I found a Morab and fell in love with him. He was everything I thought I wanted. He was a golden color with a flaxen mane. Very flashy. Great Expectations was his name, but they just called him X. I went to meet him and he was everything I wanted. Well, just about everything. Despite what the ad said, it turned out, he wasn’t confident with his canter yet.

So, I came to a crossroads. On the outside, this horse was perfect, he was everything I wanted, however, without a strong canter, I feared we both would be frustrated with each other and we would not be happy. I did something extremely difficult and walked away. I kept beating myself up wondering if I made the right decision and on many occasions, I picked up the phone debating whether I should change my mind.

The search continued. A couple weeks later, I found an Arabian. He was 2 ½ , bay in color, broke out to walk, trot and canter. I was pretty defeated at this point. I had looked at about 15 horses and none of them fit what I was looking for. On top of it, I couldn’t stop thinking of that Morab. The morning I was suppose to go look at this Arabian, I was in the shower and talking myself out of going. It was a far drive, and I knew he wouldn’t be what I was looking for.

“Arabians? Aren’t they Crazy?”

I decided to go at the last minute. I pulled into this large farm, introduced myself to the owner and she brought me out to the pastures. There had to be 50+ horses! She finally stopped at one of the paddocks that had about 6 horses in and I saw this skinny looking black horse that looked pathetic! He had a ratty blanket on, and was just standing in the corner. I made eye contact with his big brown eyes and fell in love! Little did I know, the horse I just made eye contact with would turn into being the love of my life.

The owner grabbed him and walked to me. This horse was not Bay, he was black! We brought him into the barn and groomed him and saddled him up. She rode him first and then I got on. I didn’t adjust the stirrups though and when he started to trot, I fell off. And you know what? It wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t get hurt and Ray just stood there, looking at me like, “are you ok?” I got back on and cantered him and I was free! The thoughts of the other horse disappeared as I realized I found my soul mate.

September 13, 2009: Maybe some women aren’t meant to be tamed. Maybe they just need to run free till they find someone just as wild to run with them.

My cousin’s wedding was yesterday. Teryn and Brent finally made it official and I am so happy for them. When you are 24 and single and you go to someone’s wedding, you start to get that hot flash, panicky feeling like your clock is ticking. People at the wedding ask you where your date is and you say “he’s at the barn.” They wonder if he is going to show up later, at which point how do you explain that he’s a horse and you were just being cute? Ray, aka Mr. Fabulous, is the perfect man. He’s sweet, good looking, doesn’t talk back, LISTENS. If you get into a fight, you can stick him in his stall or back in the pasture and walk away and when you come back, you both have forgotten what you were fighting about and he’s actually happy to see you. He gives you his entire heart and expects nothing in return. I truly believe this is why most horse women are single. You have a perfect relationship with your horse and you automatically assume it should be this way with a ‘real man’. Ladies, it usually doesn’t work this way. And, we have no one to blame but ourselves. There is a huge difference between compromising with a partner and settling for a partner. Never settle. At least for anything less than butterflies. And, make sure he loves horses. :)