A horse for DD! .......UPDATE! pg 5

[Magic Mom]

Last week I was talking to a coworker/friend about looking for a horse for DD. I haven't found anything that I would trust for her in our price range (we are in the budget range). I was going to drive several hours away to look at a horse this weekend. Later she caught me in the hall and told me that her kids were done with 4H and they were looking to find a new good home for their horses. She offered to GIVE one of them to me. I was floored. We went to see her and she is wonderful. 9 years old, 15.1 or 2 with a sweet temperament.

She is a little taller than I wanted, but DD will grow into her. The only obstacle is that she is a western horse and DD rides English, but we will send her to the trainer and her instructor will work with us on transitioning her. In the mean time DD will still ride a lesson horse in jumping class. She hasn't made the move to the boarding farm, but we spent a few hours with her this weekend grooming her and DD took a bareback ride on her in the pasture.

I can't believe the generosity of this family. She wouldn't have brought a whole lot at sale, but still it was so incredibly thoughtful. And I'm so touched that they trusted us with their four legged family member. What should I do to thank them?

 

[pigletgirl]

Wow, what an amazing gift!!

As for a thank-you gift that is a hard thing! Hmm, maybe a plate of cookies?

 

[buckler]

What about something personalized with a photo of the horse as a remembrance? One thought is a photo puzzle like this:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Puzzle-with-Gift-Tin/5027152

 

[kacaju]

Last week I was talking to a coworker/friend about looking for a horse for DD. I haven't found anything that I would trust for her in our price range (we are in the budget range). I was going to drive several hours away to look at a horse this weekend. Later she caught me in the hall and told me that her kids were done with 4H and they were looking to find a new good home for their horses. She offered to GIVE one of them to me. I was floored. We went to see her and she is wonderful. 9 years old, 15.1 or 2 with a sweet temperament.

She is a little taller than I wanted, but DD will grow into her. The only obstacle is that she is a western horse and DD rides English, but we will send her to the trainer and her instructor will work with us on transitioning her. In the mean time DD will still ride a lesson horse in jumping class. She hasn't made the move to the boarding farm, but we spent a few hours with her this weekend grooming her and DD took a bareback ride on her in the pasture.

I can't believe the generosity of this family. She wouldn't have brought a whole lot at sale, but still it was so incredibly thoughtful. And I'm so touched that they trusted us with their four legged family member. What should I do to thank them?

Is your daughter going to do 4-H with this horse? If so I would (besides having your daughter write a Thank you) have your daughter keep in touch with the family as to how she is doing in 4-H.
We are a huge 4-H family here and if I were to give my daughters 4-H animal project to another family I would be thrilled to get updates once in a while as to how things are going.

 

[bballmom56]

Another 4H horse family here! Over 10 years as a member, then DD aged out about 7 years ago and I am still volunteering.

What a wonderful gift for your DD! I agree with a framed picture and frequent updates.

 

[Magic Mom]

My friend is a photographer, so she already has tons of great pictures up of the horses (much better than I could take BTW.) But what about a crystal ornament with the horses picture etched on it. That way they could have something to look at year after year, but they wouldn't feel like that had to keep it out all them time. Does that sound cheesy?

They already asked to come out and watch her show and to visit her from time to time. Of course I said yes.

And yes, DD will be writing a thank you letter. That's a must.

 

[buckler]

Google the words personalized gift horse

There are a number of sites with interesting ideas. Here is a sample ornament on one of the first few sites.
http://www.uniquelyequine.com/store-products-SF-RND-Round-CUSTOM-Ornament-of-YOUR-Horse_1095725574.html

 

[Jennasis]

One of my students is currently reschooling a horse from western to english. This guy has massive points in western pleasure with the APHA, but is transitioning very well. My personal feeling is that it is much easier to make the switch from western to english than the other way around. Many western pleasure trained horses already have great quiet dispositions (a BIG bonus once you start going over fences). Sounds like you guys got one of those awesome moments in life where you want to pinch yourself to make sure it's really happening! Congrats.

Whatever you choose to do as a thank you, make it from the heart. You don't need to spend a bajillion bucks. Just make it something sincere. One of my boarders just made a book with tons of pictures and such of her horse. It looks like one of those old "Little Golden Books". She made it on some online site.

BTW, must give us some more details! What kind of horse is she? Colors? Markings? Got pics? Has your DD picked out a name for her yet?

 

[DisneyCampers]

Congrats and welcome to the horse world. It will not be an easy adventure, but will be a great one. I have always owned horses and couldn't imagine life without one. Just remember they pick up bad habits very easily. You must always 100% of the time be in charge. Never let the horse get away with anything no matter how small. This is very nice of the family and you will find most horse people are willing to help out in anyway possible. The transition from western to english shouldn't be hard. I got the impression your DD wants to jump, what kind of horse is she getting, most western pleasure are quarter horses.

 

[happygirl]

I think the best gifts are the ones that come from the heart. I would have your daughter make her a thank you card, and let your daughter tells her what the horse means to her.

 

[grumpeeduck]

Speaking as a family that needed to find a good home for our horse, I can tell you that you are doing them a huge favor! When you sell a horse, you are done and have no control on what happens to the animal-and it can be bad.
So now they have the peace of mind knowing their horse will be cared for and loved. Horse lovers know that it is never about money!

 

[agnes!]

Probably one of the best gifts you can give them is to take really good care of the horse. Maybe make "A Day in My New Life" book on your computer? Something like this:

Hey there Joneses!​

Welcome to my new home and let me show you what my day is like.
PAGE 1

This is my new home in the morning.​

PAGE 2

I have made lots of new friends...(haha just horsin' around!)
PAGE 3​

Anyway, something along those lines. If you can find one of those digital photo-frame thingy's you could take pictures of the horse in its new environment and load them into the frame.

I think both of the parties here have done a wonderful thing.
agnes!

 

[tiggger1]

Congrats!!! I have been looking for a pony for my daughter for the last year and I havent found anything even remotely possible for my dd6. All the ones we looked at are either crazy (or half dead) or over $6000 For that price I would rather buy another Fjord!!! ( and we would except I havent found that would work yet!! plus they are a bit too tall). We did find a few 1 year leases but I want something to keep not something we have to give back in a year!!!

 

[fkj2]

I can't believe the generosity of this family. She wouldn't have brought a whole lot at sale, but still it was so incredibly thoughtful. And I'm so touched that they trusted us with their four legged family member. What should I do to thank them?

Promise them the horse will always have a good home or that, if/when the time comes, you'll make sure the horse goes to a good home. At sales, horses can be purchased and trucked to Canada or Mexico. Things don't go so well for them there.

 

[Magic Mom]

Congrats and welcome to the horse world. It will not be an easy adventure, but will be a great one. I have always owned horses and couldn't imagine horses without one. Just remember they pick up bad habits very easily. You must always 100% of the time be in charge. Never let the horse get away with anything no matter how small. This is very nice of the family an you will find most horse people are willing to help out in anyway possible. The transition from western to english shouldn't be hard. I got the impression your DD wants to jump, what kind of horse is she getting, most western pleasure are quarter horses.

She's a cross of some kind, quarter horse and maybe a little draft in her. Her neck and feet look drafty to me. We've already determined she needs some ground work. She leads fine as long as it's a direction she wants to go in. But she stood quiet, untied in the pasture while we groomed her for at least an hour so she has a good start. She's going to boot camp next week, I sort of feel sending her. She's had a pretty cushy life for the last 6 months just being a pretty pasture pet since her owners didn't have a lot of time to ride.

 

[agnes!]

She's a cross of some kind, quarter horse and maybe a little draft in her. Her neck and feet look drafty to me. We've already determined she needs some ground work. She leads fine as long as it's a direction she wants to go in. But she stood quiet, untied in the pasture while we groomed her for at least an hour so she has a good start. She's going to boot camp next week, I sort of feel sending her. She's had a pretty cushy life for the last 6 months just being a pretty pasture pet since her owners didn't have a lot of time to ride.

She sounds wonderful - a nice sturdy horse with a good temperament...perfect for a young rider just starting out. I'm still amazed that she quietly let you-all groom her for an hour.

Happy trails,
agnes!

 

[Magic Mom]

She's home! Here are a few pictures. She isn't a happy camper right now. She had to leave her buddies and had to spend the night in the round pen, because we didn't want to let her out with her new herd in the dark. So today we are going to go out and rescue her for a while and take her for a walk of the farm.
DD was so happy when they brought her that she couldn't talk. All she could do was grin and cry.

The only downside is that Dh couldn't be there. I feel so bad for him. He called Thursday night (he's in Afghanistan) and tried to sound happy, but I could tell it was crushing him that he couldn't be there to see DD with her first horse.

 

[bballmom56]

Very cute! Looks like a good match!

 

[baybemama]

Aw, that horse is so pretty! And your dd looks so incredibly happy. I rode horses for most of my life but never could get one of my own...I almost got a little teary seeing that picture of them together!

 

[swanmom]

Best wishes to your DD! I'm sure she's on cloud nine! And tell your DH thanks for all of his sacrifices. He should know that he is appreciated.