I wanted to write a little bit about the horse that started this whole "investment" process for me, and who without and a little bit of luck I wouldn't have had the opportunity to get more involved in the horse world (and own some of the nicest horses I could ever imagine owning in the process!)
In August of 2015 I told my trainer I wanted an investment horse. At the time it had been two years since Arwen retired, I didn't really have a mount, and getting into buying/selling horses is something I've always had as a goal. My budget was small-so her work was cut out for her to find that diamond in the rough. We decided it needed to be an eq type horse, or a hunter since the market for jumpers is just not there in our area. She put the feelers out, and soon enough one of her contacts had something for us. She called me and the convo went something like this:
"So, I have a horse for you. He's really cute, but he has no papers. Don't really know his age, but probably around 6. Has been sitting in a pasture, don't know how long, but he was imported by (insert big name person here) a couple years ago and went lame. They say he might still be lame, but I think we can try to bring him back. He's free, I think he's worth a shot"
Free? We all know a free horse isn't really free. But, since my budget was SO small I figured putting a little bit of money into a freebie to see if he could come sound wouldn't be that big of a risk. So, on the trailer went the little horse (no vetting! Also not recommended LOL) and to our barn he came.
When he arrived, he was every bit as cute as promised. Smaller than I would ever choose for a personal horse, but that didn't matter since he would hopefully be sold. We let him chill for a bit, and then started riding him. Right off the bat, we knew he was something special. How could he not be, he was imported for some big money and apparently for sale in the mid six figures when he first arrived! His back story remained a mystery though. He was branded, but we had zero history since his papers "disappeared" awhile ago. A friend of mine guessed (and she's probably right) when he went lame at first, the prior owners probably collected insurance money and had to make the horse disappear. So he was relegated to a pasture, with most likely a different name, and his history was effectively erased. It all seems very shady and is definitely a part of the horse world that makes me shake my head.
However...little dude turned out to be perfectly sound. I injected since he was sticky on leads, and started getting him regular chiro appointments. His name became Arendelle aka Olaf, and he started looking like a nice little hunter that would be able to get me some decent money. He was probably the first "real" hunter that I've ridden and boy was it an adjustment! Didn't need to touch his face, super soft in the mouth and once he was going, had a great natural rhythm. He was also super spooky-I fell off of him twice in the 8 months I owned him! Fortunately being small the ground wasn't that far away but it still hurt!
I had him for about 5 months before we sent him to his first real show. He was a rockstar! Still missing some leads but for the most part was fantastic. He even got second in a competitive derby! At the show a trainer had a client looking for a fun little hunter, so they inquired about him. It was the perfect situation-we know the trainer and client well so there wouldn't be much questioning the back story. They came and tried him a week after the show, loved him, and took him to their barn for a trial...
Where he promptly failed vet. WHAT?!? So disappointed. However, my trainer's friend was super persistent because she really liked the horse and had her vet dial down on the issues since his x-rays came back squeaky clean. Turns out he was just footsore, so they stuck on some front pads and re-vetted and FINALLY came back clean (this was about a month long ordeal, I was biting my nails the whole time). From there it was green light go, and in March of 2016 I got my check from them. Probably the biggest check I've ever held in my entire life! The little freebie horse more than covered all his expenses during the 7 months I owned him and then some. Definitely doesn't always work out this way and there was a large chance the whole thing wouldn't work out from the beginning. However, the stars somehow aligned and it did all work out. I owe a lot to the little guy, who basically bankrolled the start of one of my major goals. For that I owe him (and my trainer for finding him!) more than he'll know.
So with the money burning a hole in my bank account, and the ability to actually buy something decent, my trainer and I started inquiring with her agent in Europe...
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