Monday, February 3, 2014

The Offer

I got a text the other night from the guy who sold me Killian. He was offering to sell me "his horse".  His horse is a 10 year old mustang. He is gorgeous.

The first time I ever saw this horse was the first time I looked at Killian.  Chris walked put to the big pasture where all his horses were (about 20) with a hay string in his hand.  He made a make shift halter and put it on his mustang then swung up on him bareback. Then he and his partner proceeded to herd the other horses Down to the big catch pen where I was waiting. 

I asked, "How much for that horse?"

"He is not for sale". 

So he showed me Killian instead. I have always been happy with the deal we made. He was fair on price, Killian is exactly what he told me he was. He had originally bought Killian for his wife, who promptly left him right afterwards, so he used for a while for branding and such, but he was just a little to "ploddy" of a horse for his tastes.  I get that, I feel the same way about Killian.   On that day he rode Killian first  and showed me what he could do, and then offered to let me ride him.  I have liked Chris from the minute we met and we have stayed in touch over time.  He is an honest guy, who works hard and who loves his horses. I would have no qualms about buying another horse from him

So anyway I was shocked the other night when he offered to sell me Duce.  He has offered other horses to me before. In fact if he has a horse for sale I am the first person he calls.   He cares where his horses end up and he knows I care too. Every time he calls we have the same conversation... "Are you selling the mustang yet"  "Nope" "Dang it, well send me pics of what you got and I'll see what I can do."  And I always do the best I can to help him sell what ever horse he has for sale.  They are always good horses, and again, he has never lied to me about what they are. 

I cannot afford to buy a horse but this was that horse, so I had to ask why he was for sale.  As it turns out Chris was at a horse sale and saw a horse he really wanted to buy.  He knew the only way he could ever come up with the cash was if he sold Duce, so he was hoping I would say yes before the sale.  As it turned out by time I got the message the sale was over.

But we still talked about it.

I asked how much. He said "well I turned down 8500 for him a year ago"

Yup way out of my price range. 

I said well the best I can offer you is a 01 dodge diesel pick up 4wd. (I rarely ever drive it) that I turned down 9,000 on a few months ago.

He said, "I don't really need a truck"

Of course I understood that, so I let ago.

Ten minutes later he asked for pics of the truck.

It seems as though with all the horses that he and his new wife have (23) Duce is not getting the attention he deserves.  So we talked some more.

Duce is a ranch horse.  He ropes, he moves cows, he understands whoa, and he can spin.  He has been used for car parking at the county fair, he has been used for 4H lessons for kids.

You can ride him in a hay string.  (Of course Chris is one of those people who is so natural on horseback I'm sure he can ride his horses in anything)

He is sound, he is healthy, he has been around the block more than a few times.

And he is gorgeous.

Dang I want that horse.  But I won't buy any horse sight unseen (well unseen in 2 years) and without riding him.  Duce is in WY I am here.  But neither one of us are in hurry to complete this transaction so maybe in a few  months I'll mosey on up there and take Old Duce for a test drive. 







In the mean time I'll keep drooling over these pics. 

12 comments:

  1. I'd fight you for him if my husband wasn't dead set against me having another horse. Guess you'll just have to see what happens.

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    1. Sorry, I get first dibs!
      I'm lucky that he isn't pushing to sell him, otherwise he'd probably go before I could get it together to see if we are a good fit.

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  2. What a handsome guy! I definitely think you need another horse;P

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    1. I don't know that TC would agree with you, but I'll tell him that you said so. LOL

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  3. He is a handsome boy for sure!! Just look at all that hair he's got! I adore my Mustang...most kind and loving horse I've EVER known!!! Plus, he's gorgeous too!! :)

    I'm glad you have time to figure out what you want to do...that's always a good thing.

    I had to laugh at your description of my Ladde! Yes, he is a tank...all 17 hands and 1500 pounds of horse flesh. He's the coolest horse ever to ride - lots of forward momentum and go, but when the rider is relaxed, he can be like butter in the hands. One of these days I hope to get some really good pics of him doing his "Andalusian" routine. He arches his neck, steps very high and almost does a piaff movement in place. It's very pretty.
    And yes, I will post some pics when we're finished with our redo. We got the flooring yesterday, and they gave us 12 cases too many.

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  4. You have done a dangerous thing posting that kind of information... ;)

    If he as trained as you say, is sound, and healthy, I would figure out any way to own him if I were you. The price he's asking is pretty low for his age - he has a lot of years left. They are sturdy, and once they trust you, its as if you have a spouse who looks after your best interests, even if you dont know what they are LOL

    I own a mustang now, and I dont think I will ever go to another breed. BTW They are smarter then us, so be prepared mentally :)

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  5. Well I just got a call from the guy, with good news and bad news.
    The bad news is that he has decided that he just isn't ready to sell his favorite horse yet.
    The good news is that the day he is ready, I get first opportunity to buy him.
    This actually works out well for me because I am really not ready for another horse yet.

    Key word....yet!

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  6. Perfect! It just might be meant-to-be yet!

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  7. That last update is awesome! At least you know you'll be the first person he calls.

    And that horse...my god, talk about stunning.

    Mustangs are amazing horses with LONG looonnng memories. They never lose that wild streak. Johnny, our mustang, watches over his little band of mares and is very protective of them--keeps them out of trouble and inline. And he doesn't like just any person either. He's a cautious, smart and particular boy.

    I remember shortly after we got him--Shawn bought him for $200 from a trainer who didn't speak English and was on his way to jail and in a bind--Shawn and I had felt bad for the horse and fed him treats whenever we could and even threw in some of our hay because it was obvious he wasn't being fed so we formed a little relationship with the poor guy...Johnny was terribly skinny, had been treated very harshly by the that trainer who broke him---really, I can't believe some of the stuff I saw going on at that barn--anyway, shortly after we got him, I was riding him in the arena and had been wearing a brand new straw hat. Johnny's mean trainer ALWAYS wore a straw hat. Well, I had set it on the rail. A gust of wind blew it in front of where I was standing with Johnny and talking to someone and he began stomping and pawing on that straw hat with what looked like anger. I was taken aback.... I think he was showing his dislike of the person who had abused him all those months.

    Anyway, didn't mean to write a book for a comment but just want to say, MUSTANGS are awesome! And once you've bonded, you've got a loyal partner for life.

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  8. I think that eventually it will happen, when the time is right.
    But for now I have Trax, the over achiever who longs for proper communication skills from his rider. Which has me thinking of something else. Duce is a horse that is used to having a strong leader for a human. I'm headed in that direction, but until I get there, I am probably not ready for a horse like him.

    Timing is everything!

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  9. When things are meant to be, they just happen. It's easy, it all falls into place and everything just feels RIGHT. You can't rush it, you can't push it and you certainly can't force it to happen. It will be when it is meant to be.

    That all being said, he is a good looking horse and it sounds like he has an awesome mind. Chris sounds like a good guy and we all know the horse world can use plenty more of them. Great horses aren't born, they're made, and he has obviously done it with Duce. Sometimes it is sad to see a partnership like that come to an end.

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