Elliot's Story
I first met Elliot at a stable where I used to take lessons. They frequently get horses from auctions and try them out for a while to see if they will be good school horses. Sometimes they end up sending the horses back to auction again if they don't seem like they're working out. I met Elliot right after another horse that I really liked was sold. I of course was really sad about that. But then along came Elliot. I remember the first time I met him. I had seen him in his stall while I passed by or being ridden a couple times but the first time I actually went in and met him I remember feeling completely comfortable with him. He's always been a really gentle horse. So I just sat down against the wall in the stall with him and I remember him sniffing up my right side to the top of my head then down the left side then coming back to my face and taking a deep breath. And that was the beginning of our journey together.
I started riding him and he was a bit insane under saddle. He's raced before. He would be ok at the walk and trot but the second I asked him to canter he would just gallop off with you! There was no canter for him, just RUN! Now you'd look at him and people tell me they can't imagine him being like that. Haha. :] Anyway, I had an amazing instructor helping me with him for a while and our riding started getting much better.
After about a year of knowing him and working with him, he still wasn't being ridden very much by a lot of other people and they were considering taking him back to auction. I of course was mortified and tried begging my parents to buy him for me. My parents said no, we can't afford it and it's a lot of work and responsibility. So I started saving my pennies and researching different barns and stables to board him at and what kind of commitments owning him would require. My stable thankfully never ended up taking him to auction and about a year later on my sixteenth birthday my parents decided to help me buy him for my birthday present. They paid for 1/3 of his price.
Now I own him and keep him at a small barn where I manage his care and expenses on my own. I'm actually really glad my parents didn't just buy him for me when I wanted them to. Earning the money and researching everything and finding ways to get a consistent income so I could pay for all Elliot's expenses defintely made me a more responsible person. It also made getting him that much more special know I earned it on my own.
About a month or two after I got him a started Parelli with him. Now we are soon hopefully going to pass level 2 and start woring towards level 3.
I started riding him and he was a bit insane under saddle. He's raced before. He would be ok at the walk and trot but the second I asked him to canter he would just gallop off with you! There was no canter for him, just RUN! Now you'd look at him and people tell me they can't imagine him being like that. Haha. :] Anyway, I had an amazing instructor helping me with him for a while and our riding started getting much better.
After about a year of knowing him and working with him, he still wasn't being ridden very much by a lot of other people and they were considering taking him back to auction. I of course was mortified and tried begging my parents to buy him for me. My parents said no, we can't afford it and it's a lot of work and responsibility. So I started saving my pennies and researching different barns and stables to board him at and what kind of commitments owning him would require. My stable thankfully never ended up taking him to auction and about a year later on my sixteenth birthday my parents decided to help me buy him for my birthday present. They paid for 1/3 of his price.
Now I own him and keep him at a small barn where I manage his care and expenses on my own. I'm actually really glad my parents didn't just buy him for me when I wanted them to. Earning the money and researching everything and finding ways to get a consistent income so I could pay for all Elliot's expenses defintely made me a more responsible person. It also made getting him that much more special know I earned it on my own.
About a month or two after I got him a started Parelli with him. Now we are soon hopefully going to pass level 2 and start woring towards level 3.
Monday, March 16, 2009
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