I’ve learned once again never to say “never.”

I have sold the best trail horse I ever owned, one I thought I would never sell. Lizzy will be going to a new home tomorrow. It will be a good home with an owner who will care for her well and will ride her often, doing what she loves and does best: trail riding.

I guess I’m not really cut out to be a horse trader. This past winter the opportunity came to me through a good friend, to sell a couple horses and try to make a little money to support my horse habit. The deal was that I would take these horses, tune them up and sell them, and the profit would be mine as payment for training and exercising his other horses. As I put miles on each of these horses and began to refresh their former training, each one became special to me in some way. I found myself not wanting to sell them at all!

Turbo, as her name implies, was a real go-er. A grade Missouri Fox Trotter, she loved being out on the trail and was absolutely fearless. She wouldn’t even slow down for obstacles that most horses wouldn’t attempt…much less the riders.

She inspired confidence and I never doubted, even once, whether she could handle an obstacle or rough terrain. She went to a fellow who said he was getting on in years and wanted a horse that was steady, sure-footed, and could keep up with his riding buddies. I expect his buddies are now working at keeping up with him.

Oreo was a beautiful registered Tennessee Walking Horse mare. She was a true sweetheart, but she didn’t like being caught. Lacked a little confidence, but once caught, she was perfectly mannered. She needed a little refresher course, but she began to recover her training quickly.

She was a pleasure to ride. She ended up with a young lady who took her in trade for Apollo, a TWH gelding that was just a little more horse than she was comfortable handling. Apollo is now my primary mount. We’re both happy with the trade.

J Golden, my grade TWH gelding, became a casualty of the trade for Apollo. At least in part. J hauled me around many a mile and was an exceptional trail horse. He’s the horse I took with me to Alaska last fall. But after meeting a couple in Richfield, Utah, who needed a good, solid trail horse, I felt like I had found a wonderful home for him.

They wanted a good solid trail horse and thought they might like to try a gaited horse. After riding J Golden once, they knew they wanted a gaited horse. After allowing them to try him out for a week or so, I just couldn’t take him away from them. He has a great home, where he is as happy to be there as they are to have him.

I just sold Chance, another registered TWH gelding, to some folks from Oakley, Utah, up near Kamas, who have some experience with Walkers and were in need of a new trail horse. They came and both of them did a short test-ride on Chance.

They liked him, despite his little bit of anxiety at being separated from other horses. I think Chance is going to work out well for them. He’s a puppy of a horse, who loves attention, even leaving the rest of the herd to come nuzzle his human friend and get his head scratched. Out on the trail, I found he would come to me when I whistled. I love that!

Now, I’ll be delivering Lizzy tomorrow to the same family who bought J Golden. She will go to a fine lady who had an accident last year, in which she was thrown from a horse and was badly injured. She is working hard to overcome her fear and trying to get back her confidence as a rider. I have taken her and her husband on a couple trail rides, during which I let her ride Lizzy. I knew Lizzy would take good care of her and help her get her riding spirit back. All the while, I told her I would never sell Lizzy and that she shouldn’t let that thought settle too deeply into her head; I was looking for the right horse for her.

Well, a couple weeks ago the thought came to me that maybe Lizzy was the right horse for her and that she and Lizzy would make perfect riding companions. Having gotten to know her a little and knowing the care and love she and her husband give their horses, and knowing how much they love J Golden, it just seemed like the natural (and right) thing to do.  I just could not shake the thought, no matter how hard I tried. It kept returning to me again and again, until one evening I floated the idea to the couple. They not only accepted the offer, but were over-joyed about it.

Damn! I hate it when that happens!

I bought Lizzy as a coming four year-old in 2015. I have over a thousand miles on her back. She carried me most of the way from the US/Mexican border to Flagstaff, Arizona and I thought she would be the horse that would finish my Mexico-to-Canada horse pack trip with me.

She is the best trail horse I have ever had. Her Fox Trot isn’t the best, but she has an excellent rack that really covers ground. Her walk will outpace just about any horse I’ve ever ridden with. Whenever I take her out for a trail ride, her ears are forward and she is anxious to be heading out. I love that! She has learned to watch her step in the rough stuff and seldom takes a misstep. She is an excellent pack horse as well. She is willing to try just about anything. She is never “mare-ish” and I seldom even know when she is in season.

Eighteen months ago she gave me Chief, a very handsome colt that eventually will end up being my primary horse. Over the years I have trusted Lizzy with the care of my wife, family, and friends, while I have ridden and trained my other horses. She is simply a wonderful horse and I have loved every minute I have spent in the saddle on her back. I doubt I will ever find her equal as a trail companion for me.

While I’m sad at letting her go, I’m sure her new owner will enjoy her as much as I have. I’m happy to have found her a good home. The truth is, I have been spending so much time riding other people’s horses that I have had very little time to ride Lizzy in the past year.  It doesn’t make much sense for me to have her sitting in the pasture when there is someone else who would love to be out riding her and for whom she could do so much good.

So, this evening I decided to take Lizzy out for a final ride. We hadn’t gone more than about a mile, when it started to rain.

I guess that was fitting. Still, I enjoyed the ride.

Here are a few of my favorite photos and memories of Lizzy.

TH