Happy Gotcha Day!

Today marks the 3rd anniversary of Mia's time with me. Happy Gotcha Day!  She really has turned into a nice horse, not that I doubted that she would.  I mean, I literally picked her up out of a locked pasture with virtually no info.  And these were the sale ad pics.  Yeah....  

Who doesn't love a sale pic like this?

A nice blurry sale pic that would make anyone want this mare

When I insisted that they provide me with a conformational shot before I would agree to look at her, I got this.

Okay, not bad

I mean, yeah, she wasn't much to look at, but I thought she had potential.  Skinny necks can be muscled up. No hindquarters can be muscled up.  The crap feet can be fixed (I didn't take good pics of how bad they really were, you can see the right front in the above pic but it doesn't show the flatness of the rest of them).  Weight can be fixed.  And that TAIL can grow LOL.  She had a good base on her.

Seeing potential

Lunge test

 My only "test" was being ponied around her "pasture" and trying to lunge her.  And she didn't know how to lunge.  But she seemed very willing, very responsive and was calm.

First ride on Mia!

Even after the saddling incident.  The sellers were holding her by the fence while I started saddling her (with my saddle/pad and a old, unsafe girth they found) and she hit the electric fence.  She ripped out of the sellers hands and did a VERY impressive bronco impression for about 30 seconds.  At that point I decided I wanted a handler when I hopped on, especially because the sellers refused to get on her.  Safety first!

Very quiet for a horse who was a bucking lunatic about 5 minutes prior

Why yes, that is a cemetery in the background.  No foreshadowing at all.

The impressive part was that she let us catch her easily and then carried on like it was no big deal.  Now that is what I wanted in a horse!  And there was actually no need for the handler, she couldn't have cared about being ridden and was a very good girl.

Good pic showing the mess of a mane she had and how short her tail was.

She didn't know about anything but she caught my attention and I brought her home.  After running from the cops.  Twice.  True story.  It has been a long ride but so far it has been worth it. Happy Gotcha day Mia!

Go home?  I don't know about that.

The introduction was seamless

The old married couple ever since

Those who nap together, stay together