| Choosing a horse will be one of the most important | | | | 5. How much money I had to buy a horse and care |
| decisions you ever make so for the sake of both you | | | | for it |
| and the horse - take your time. | | | | 6. What size horse I was comfortable with and was |
| At 50 I was a bit older than the average first time | | | | sensible for me |
| horse owner, so should have got it right. I fell in love | | | | 7. Whether I wanted a particular horse breed or colour |
| with a pretty little horse that I had ridden on a riding | | | | We decided that based on the above, a traditional |
| holiday when he was in his own environment and I | | | | coloured gypsy horse would be ideal and found Amy, |
| was relaxed and had all the time in the world. | | | | a 5 year old ex brood-mare. She was road trained |
| 9 months later, after a lot of heartache I admitted that | | | | and gentle with lovely paces, but was oblivious to all |
| he was the wrong horse for my lifestyle and | | | | the standard horse training commands. |
| experience and fortunately he was able to go back to | | | | 2 years on I can't imagine life without her. She may not |
| his original owner. Pretty traumatic for me, but less so | | | | be the most beautiful horse around (though I think she |
| for him as he was going back to where he was | | | | is) and with a full time job to fit round her, she adapts |
| happy. | | | | to whatever horse care and horse riding routine I need. |
| Our livery yard owner helped me decide what type of | | | | We have had a lot of fun improving our horse riding |
| horse I was looking for by considering the following: | | | | skills together and I hope that we will still be doing so |
| 1. My horse riding experience | | | | for many years to come. |
| 2. Who I would be able to ride with | | | | So step back and consider the above points before |
| 3. The grazing, stabling and riding available to me | | | | you choose your horse, as he/she will be relying on |
| 4. How much time I had for horse care and training | | | | you to make the right decision. |