Saturday, March 20, 2010

Aidol's Story....... Coming Home



Part 1

Fortunately I was able to convince Dave he better do something about buying this Arabian horse. Maybe it was the argument the horse was going to double in price if he continued to do well in the ring that finally got to Dave. Whatever it was, I was glad when Dave finally admitted out loud he wanted to buy this horse.

I immediately called the trainer to set up an appointment so we could do paperwork. This horse was going to have to be purchased on a contract just like Scandalous had.

Aidol had already been entered in two more horse shows. The trainer suggested so "deal" to get the horse shown at these shows since we really didn't have money for training or show expenses especially after having just bought this very expensive horse.

Looking back at this "deal" on the showing and training I'm not really sure if we made out OK on it or not. I know the trainer did pretty well but I think we were probably pretty naive. Seems to me when it was all said and done, I could see how the only thing we'd gained was seeing the horse be shown. The trainer got all the cash. But then, guess that's how it goes for many with horses in show barns.

It was only after show season was over that Aidol came home to our farm. Maybe I should rephrase that to say after "Aidol's show season" was over. There was still plenty of show season left just nothing more that Aidol had been entered in.

The horse showed at both Region 4 & 5 Championships and then came to our farm sometime in late July. My friend, Wendy, brought the horse out to us. She brought her gelding, Chaz, along with Aidol for the ride. Aidol and Chaz had been turnout buddies at the show barn.

Aidol had never been transported alone before so it was good that he had not just company but a horse buddy along for the ride. The horse made the trip quietly, just like an old pro.

Once the horses arrived, we turned both Aidol and Chaz out into our front field. The horses ran around bucking and kicking and playing like they'd both been here all their lives. I think when Dave actually got to see Aidol here on our place is when it finally hit him that this horse now belonged to him. The man acted like it was no big deal but I could see the wet corners to his eyes.

Aidol never did seem to notice there was any difference between our farm and the place he was born and raised. Even though he had come from the horsey Hilton and now moved into the slums, the gelding just didn't seem to care. He was happy to be here with his mom and his new brother, Dandy, and his two new pony buddies.

Dandy had been born A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses Part 9 The Foal just a couple of weeks before Aidol arrived. It wasn't long, however, and they were fast friends. I think Scandalous actually liked that her oldest son kept her youngest occupied, even if it was over a fence.

It was not hard to transition Aidol into the field with Scandalous and her foal when Dandy was bigger. The mare would graze while the two boys would taunt each other as colts will do. Aidol always seemed to know how the play should be with a baby horse. They were good friends as well as good brothers.

The plan from the start was that I would put the necessary miles on Aidol so that he would be broke enough for Dave to ride. I hauled him back to the show barn and took a couple of lessons on him to be sure I understood his cues. As it was, it turned out his cues were opposite of those I'd learned on Scandalous but that didn't seem to be such a big deal.

It would probably be good to mention here that this was really back in the days of me beginning in the horse industry. We had bought this farm less than a year before Aidol came to live here. We were really learning the ropes and making plenty of mistakes.

Things were rolling along just fine until it was time for a new farrier. Our old farrier had some kind of family issues come up and actually moved away. Finding a new farrier when we really didn't know the area or any other horse people around was really a pain........but not as big a pain as the new farrier turned out to be.

To be continued...............

The New Farrier

The horse coming forward in the pic is Chaz. The one in back showing his cute little b*tt is Aidol. They were quite a pair.



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8 comments:

  1. He had quite the start, didn't he?

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  2. GunDiva, Yupe, he did. Some good......some not so good.

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  3. Glad to hear he was finally with people who appreciated and loved him.

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  4. I'm happy to hear you Aidol belongs to people who love him.
    Great story, I look forward to each installment!

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  5. I'm so happy he finally belonged to Dave and got to move to your home.
    Dandy must have been crazy about him.

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  6. I just went back and read the entire story... just AMAZING! I talked with a new horsey friend this weekend and we both were in tears at how horses can be destroyed or rescued by humans. (I told her of our rescue mare, and she spoke of the neighbor putting down a 13-year old because she couldn't afford her any longer - what differences!)

    I really enjoyed your story - well - Aidol's and Dave's story too! I love when people find the horse they are meant to have!

    (Are you local? We are about an hour south of Auburn!)

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  7. Arlene, it was a relief to finally have Aidol after loving him from the time we first met him.

    pinkglitterfae, thanks for visiting and glad you liked the post.

    Molly, Dandy was definitely enamored of his big brother. There are some great stories of their antics.

    Rachel, it is very sad what people can do to horses with no thought about the animals.

    I'm not sure what "local" is to you but I am south of Auburn as well. We are in Graham.

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  8. Hi again!

    I used to take lessons from a woman named Jill in Graham. We are just south of Oly. I love meeting new horse friends! (Our rescue is an arab saddlebred and we have beent trying to find more info on her for 2 years without much success... I don't know people in the NSH circle.) Thanks again for your terrific series about Aidol!

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