How Much is That Horsey in the Window?

By Amanda Moore

It was Thursday evening about 7:45, when I received a voicemail on my phone from a very serious horse buyer, who then followed up the unanswered phone call with a text message.

Lola called because she was ready to purchase her favorite horse at the ranch and she couldn’t wait any longer. She had $96.58 and wanted to take ownership of him immediately.

Lola’s desire for this majestic animal was not new, it has been blossoming for some years now. When Lola was just 3 months old, her mom placed her on her favorite horse’s back and he walked her around proudly. This was Lola’s first ride… and his too. He took to Lola as much as Lola took to him.

Over the last four years when Lola has visited the ranch throughout the week, her favorite horse would always be standing at the fence waiting patiently to see her. If she walked into the paddocks (with her mom), he was generally the first horse to greet her and follow her around. They appeared to have a very special bond.

When Lola arrived at the ranch last week to make her purchase, her Ziploc container had a variety of quarters, dimes, dollars, fives, twenties and even some cash from Jamaica. Lola told me that this was all her birthday money and her life savings in one box — to buy Traveler, her dream horse. She was beaming from ear to ear and so excited for her purchase.

I told her, “Yes, Lola, this is enough to purchase Traveler, but now you need to raise about $5000 to train him, get a truck to haul him around and buy all of his hay.”

She replied with a big grin… “ok, I will work on it!”

For some strange reason, I have a feeling she’s going to follow through on her word. Stay tuned for the rest of the story!