So some of you may know, but I’m sure most of you don’t…I’ve been investigating moving abroad for a few years now. I’ve finally submitted paperwork to get citizenship (in the United Kingdom), and my tentative plan is to move over by early-mid 2010.
(Note, before anyone panics, this shouldn’t impact FF in any way. Except that I’ll be on a different time zone, obviously. )
What it will impact is my horse…after a lot of searching (2+ years’ worth, as some members may recall), I bought an adorable Thoroughbred gelding last fall that I named Kellar. He wasn’t doing anything super special when I bought him, and due to various circumstances, we haven’t done anything super special since, but he’s just…fun. He reminds me a lot of my first mare, who I call my “horsey soulmate”. (They’re actually distant cousins, which is part of the reason I bought him.)
I’ve been putting it off, but today I finally posted “real” for sale ads for him (with pictures and everything). I looked into moving him with me, but cost of living is higher over there and salaries are lower…plus there’s the minor issue of the $10,000+ cost to ship a horse overseas. ;) I also considered leasing him out, but I don’t know that I’d trust anyone to work with him for a year and not neglect/mistreat/overwork him, especially since I would be on another continent and not able to check in on him.
So…that’s the major downside to the move. I can bring my (littler) furry friends with me (though flights for them are pretty pricey, too), but bringing him isn’t a realistic option right now.
Anyway, just wanted to vent a bit to a crowd who’d be able to sympathize. My coworkers have been calling me “the horse dealer” thanks to all the buying and selling they’ve heard me talk about. (Which has actually only been 3 horses total since I worked there…one mare free to good home, bought/sold one gelding, bought this gelding.)
Oh, Shanthi… It’s always hard to let a loved horse go. I’m so sorry it’s not practical to bring him with you, but if we weren’t bound by practical limitations, I would totally have Ginia living in my living room (I mean, it’s not like my roommates and I entertain, much). I hope you find a good home for him, someplace where he’ll thrive. Good luck with your move, etc. It’s an exciting stage in your life, and I totally think it does people a lot of good to live abroad for large chunks of time. A whole new perspective (and Europe’s only a chunnel-ride away) and all that jazz.
Best wishes finding a job, an apartment and all the nitty gritty things that we take for granted. I’d love to hear about your experience.
In the meantime, cherish the time you have with Kellar, since you know that it does have to come to an end. The horses I’ve loved tend to get sold out from under me, and so I’ve never had the long-extended romance of goodbye. (Ginia’s sound and off with a new girl on a two-week trial period…I was hoping she’d wouldn’t find a new home until Christmas. No such luck. The love-bug.)
Enjoy your time together. Take pictures–for you, not for sale ads. =)
So we went to our first show together today, and I am so proud of him.
I was running late because getting up at 5am is so not my strong suit. Nevertheless, we got to the show, warmed up (could’ve easily done with another 20min, but he was good), and did our Beginner Novice A test. He was surprisingly good (given the abbreviated warmup), except for one little incident…when I asked for the right lead canter, he ignored me, so I asked harder and he bucked his way into the left lead canter instead. So then we had to come back to trot and ask again (which he did beautifully, of course). The rest of the test was a bit sub-par because we’d gotten off track from losing half our canter time. We still scored below my goal (mid-40s) with a 44.2. I’m guessing that if we’d picked up the canter well the first time, we probably would’ve been in the 40-41 range, possibly even below 40, which is awesome. (We’re still working on how to be consistent with the contact/frame.)
So, that was a good start, and then we went out and practiced most of their beginner novice cross-country course. The only thing he batted an eye at was the ditch in the woods, and that was thanks to a ton of bugs flying into his ears the minute we entered the woods. We did a bunch of coops/houses/logs, the other ditch in the field, practiced going through the water, and he was really awesome.
So, happy day. (Even though I have someone interested in trying him out this week, which is both good for the possibility of selling him, and not-good in that I’m having fun with him. I’m going on the assumption that she won’t buy him, though, just due to law of averages.)
[Looking at this, I realize how often I say “awesome”…what can I say, I grew up in California. Plus, it’s a neat-sounding word.]
Someone came out to try Kellar this evening and really liked him, I think.
Hearing her rave about him made me extra-sad to sell him, though. I’m pretty confident he’d have a good home (and will check references just to be sure), and I’m doing a buy-back guarantee so if she goes to college or something and wants to sell him, I could potentially get him back. Still, it’s one thing to know that selling him is the right thing to do, and another thing to do it.
We’ll see, though, she might not want him after all. She said she wants to try him cross-country, and she may come to the show this weekend to watch.
His new owner is a girl from Pony Club, so I’m sure he’s going to have lots of fun doing shows and rallies and such. I went to see his new home and he should have pretty good digs, including an indoor ring (jealous!).
I’m a bit sad, but I’m confident he’s going to a good home, and I have first right of refusal if they ever decide to sell him in the future.
As a bonus - that’s one (major) step closer to moving abroad! Now to sell my truck and horse trailer, and rent my house…
I know how hard it is to hand your horse over to a new owner, but it sounds like he’s going to a good home and having the right of first refusal in the future is great for peace of mind. Good luck on selling the rest of your horsey things - it’s amazing how much stuff horse owners can accumulate over the years
If you don’t mind sharing, what part of the UK are you hoping to move to?
Its sad that you had to part with Kellar but Pony Club kids usually take impeccable care of their horses. So that has to make you feel a little bit better about letting him go its great that you get to go to the UK though. It’ll be a whole new life thats for sure. and last time I checked they still rode in England so horses shouldn’t be terribly far away. Good luck Shanthi!
Haha, yes, definitely. Thanks to the differences in salary/cost of living, I doubt I’d be able to afford to have a horse of my own, at least at first, but I am looking forward to riding over there. And who knows, maybe eventually I’ll get another horse…there are some very nice Thoroughbreds, warmbloods, and Irish draughts/sport horses over there.
we lived in England for 4 yrs and horses still have the right of way in a lot of places just like here in Germany, there will be plenty of places to ride i think they even have hack rentals in one of the london parks. even so take the underground to outlying towns and there is always a stable somewhere. i hope you have a great time we loved to go into London, and the underground aka subway , is so easy due to the way they color code it all. sorry you had to sell you horse , i know what thats like , someday when hub retires i hope to get another, as far as your other pets make sure you get all the paperwork , vet stuff right on their specific dates or they won’t let them enter (not sure about quarantine times if any now, it used to be 6 months) any how good luck , if i can help with any questions just give me a shout. tho with fam there you prob will be all s.et
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I also considered leasing him out, but I don’t know that I’d trust anyone to work with him for a year and not neglect/mistreat/overwork him, especially since I would be on another continent and not able to check in on him.
My coworkers have been calling me “the horse dealer” thanks to all the buying and selling they’ve heard me talk about. (Which has actually only been 3 horses total since I worked there…one mare free to good home, bought/sold one gelding, bought this gelding.)
So then we had to come back to trot and ask again (which he did beautifully, of course). The rest of the test was a bit sub-par because we’d gotten off track from losing half our canter time. We still scored below my goal (mid-40s) with a 44.2. 
