[firelizardfarm]

About 13 years ago I sold a very cute little Arab mare to a family with two yound daughters. The mare was special to me because she had helped my younger daughter regain her confidence after a very bad accident with another horse. My daughter was ready to move up and we couldn't keep that many horses, so I sold her to what I thought was a great home, with the buyers promising to call me first if they ever sold her.
A couple of years later there was an extremely dangerous fire in the area where the people who bought her lived and since they had not had a trailer when they bought her, I called to see if they might need help to move her. I was shocked when the mom told me the kids had gotten tired of the horse and they had sold her, sometime back. She would not tell me who she sold the horse to and I was afraid that she had ended up at the sale barn since in the area she lived in Arabs are not popular. I have often thought about Tess in the years since and questioned my decision to sell her and whether I was just a bad judge of people.
Tonight as I was poking around on CL, for lack of better things to do, I found an ad for a little arab mare who I am sure is the same horse. I pulled my copy of her papers and compared markings and looked at pics of daughter riding her when we had her. The kicker was when I showed the picture to my non-horsy husband and asked him if he thought the horse looked familiar and he immediately said Tess.
So my dilemma is this. I have been trying to reduce my numbers with moderate success and I really don't need another horse. BUT she meant a lot to me and my daughter and I have suffered a lot of guilt over selling her to begin with. She is 22 now and looks like she may not have had an easy life. I'd like to buy her and retire her as a forever horse. She still has the same kind face she had when we broke her as a 3 year old.
It won't bankrupt me to buy her, but I am not floating in cash either and with hay prices going up and up I could use the cushion.
Please somebody tell me I should go get her... I would be happy to return the favor next time you want to buy another horse and are wondering if you are crazy.

[ambar]

I'm happy to tell you to go get her. Go hitch up NOW. Post photos tomorrow.

Ambar, jr enabler at large

[nashfad]

Go and get her------you will be glad you did-------PM me and I'll send her a little gift

[PeteyPie]

You ask what I would do? I would get her immediately and never look back.

[dani0303]

Agreed!! Go get her, the fact that you're even considering it means that she meant a lot to you. Give her the cushy retirement she deserves

[Macimage]

Hitch up the trailer and go get her!!

[Long Spot]

Of course I'd love to say grab her and take her back home.

But...

You say it wouldn't bankrupt you to buy her. Might it come closer to bankrupt to KEEP her? Keeping in mind she's getting older, might have some expensive health issues on the horizon, need more feed than your average bear etc.

If the answer is you "can swing it" no matter what comes in her future and you wont compromise any other of your animals care (or god forbid your/your family's care) then go get her.

If it seems as though older horse health issues with her might make things too tight for your family, think of who you know that you trust who might be able to take her in.

[jetsmom]

I'd go get her. You'll sleep better. And maybe you can find someone that wants a free lease on a babysitter type horse, but you can keep tabs on her.

[HillnDale]

I'm still not completely convinced it is your horse. I'm pretty convinced, just not completely. That said, go and get her now. Seriously. A 22yr old arab who looks like she's had a hard life doesn't get to expect it to become easier. Even if all you can afford to do is have all her teeth yanked and feed her cheap sludge, that's a deal I would take in her horseshoes. And definitely post the pics!

[GotGait]

This scenario is familiar to me - only I never found my horse. So i would go get her.
>enabling activated

[candysgirl]

I'd go get her...then again, I just bought a 20something yo mare I played polo on in college who got sold to morons simply because she was a friend of mine's favorite horse back then. He died in a car accident several years so and I couldn't bear his beloved mare going to yet another bad place. I couldn't stop it the first time, but this time I could.

Now she's happy, well taken care of and giving lessons to kids a few days a week at a friends barn where they adore her. She gets stuffed with treats and seems to like the kids (if for no other reason than they always have cookies!). The grooms love her because she's well mannered and they think its cool she came from Argentina and played polo.

I've kicked myself for two years that I couldn't stop her sale to idiots the first time. When she came up for sale (because they managed to make her start throwing people...) this summer I snatched her up. Haven't regretted it for a second even though I SO didn't need another horse.

[quarterhorse4me]

You are asking us to enable you....aren't you? She would already be in my barn

[Bluey]

Questions:

You are trying to sell down and having trouble?
You want to add one more horse?
Which one will you then sell, that you were not considering selling?
Is that horse more what you want to keep, or is this mare?

Or, you can go see, if it is her, buy her and then deal, sell one more horse than you wanted to sell, try to place her in a home you approve of, lease/loan her, or keep her around anyway, if you can.

22 and in an arabian is not that old, she could be around easily into her 30's, so if you keep her, she may be a long time project and you need to include that in your considerations.

No one knows where the economy is going and that will also determine where the horse economy is going.
No easy solutions, when things are tight.

I would have been on my way to see if it was her and then decide.
With her history, the initial money to buy her should not be a concern, they can't be asking much for her.

[danceronice]

I would go see her at least to find out if it IS her. And yes, probably buy her back and if I had to dump a younger horse more likely to sell instead. Otherwise I'd be dwelling on it for a long time.

[Event4Life]

Go make sure its her, then get her if so!.....Presumably your daughter is now supporting herself, maybe she'd be willing to contribute some $ to the horses care if she needs it??

[Nezzy]

i sold a horse many years ago. i was never able to get him back. i knew who owned him but they would not sell him back to me. he was not well cared for. He became obese and finally died last year. i was unable to be with him or even visit him in his last years. i will never ever forgive myself. If this is your horse, Go get her!

[Stacie]

If she is a confidence builder and still sound, you should have no problem finding a 4-H er of pony clubber to lease her. But you have to go get her first.

[CVPeg]

Would try to envision how you would feel down the road - a year - five years from now, with all scenarios in mind. a) you don't get her, how would it affect you/your family in a year or longer?, b) you get her and she DOES last several more years in good health, or c)she lasts a short time, but with you & your family.

Try those scenarios on for size, as well as can be done with your crystal ball polished up and do accordingly.

Although by coming here, it does seem like you're looking for someone you can point to and blame when you bring her in the door. And looks like plenty here are willing to raise their hands!

[Miss J]

What dancer said. Go look at her. If this were my same exact situation, I would buy her back. Please keep us updated

[Watermark Farm]

I gave up a great horse many years ago and he disappeared -- same kind of situation. I looked for him for years. I will never know what became of my dear boy. Deeply regret ever losing track of him. It's something that will always haunt me.

Go and get her. You will be haunted by the 'what ifs' if you don't.

Great acts of kindness have a way of working themselves out.