I was first tossed into the saddle upon Tony, a mannerly aged black gelding who was retired from service in the United States Calvary, in the 1930’s or 1940’s. He was old. I was two. By the time I was four, I was exploring the fields of my great uncle Sheldon Stoddard’s dairy farm at a canter, provided I could motivate Tony to do so.

Like much else, the horseman’s education is never finished.

Are you quite spellbound at the thought of investing in a horse? Then it is time to explore and plan. How does one prepare to secure this investment? Let the education begin!

Preparing for the first step:

There is excitement and reward in investing in a really nice horse, a horse with the promise of a future.
Before you do, though, be pretty sure about what excites you regarding the performance of your investment.

Is it the sales ring, where great and lesser progeny may trace through time to world class bloodlines, spelling out the word ability as you nod off tonight? Imagine owning income property that wafts sweet scent as it lazily nibbles hay and rests in your box stall. You would linger and become refreshed in the presence of the horse.

You are at the sale, you are seated at the sale ring. The smell of kiln dried pine shavings competes with that of oiled leather and perhaps cologne, and in the din and under the lights the crowd falls nearly silent as you observe an impossibly sleek, powerful individual with the look of eagles about him. He falls under the hammer--too suddenly, for you have not yet drunk enough of him in. Then he is gone through the door and you catch sight of his hip number and hurry to flip open your catalogue, breathing hard and realizing you have not been breathing at all. You have been spellbound.

This is the tipping point, for you have, for better or worse, just "...recognized with despair that (you are) about to be compelled to buy a horse."* *

Watch for the next article on About a Horse by Barbara Gill.

* * Some Experiences of an Irish R.M., Sommerville and Ross