Third horse, yes or no?
Pros
Next Generation – Even if both horses pull their socks up tomorrow, Rodney is entering senior territory, and at best I will be sharing Milton. Time to have one in the wings.
Resources – Sufficient pasture, time, money. Thankful for these.
Third Time’s the Charm – Maybe I’ll get it right this time.
Cons
Numbers Game – A third horse would be exponentially more hassle than two. As it is now, we can each grab a horse to do whatever is needful. Three horses becomes herd management. Not impossible. People manage herds all the time. Definitely different.
Search Party – I wouldn’t know where to begin looking. The good ones sell by word of mouth before they have time to hit the classifieds. Local hunter/jumper/dressage/eventing trainers are too busy with their own clients to be interested in helping a stranger of unknown seriousness and unproven pocketbook. Jumping/all-purpose Saddlebreds exist but it would be a matter of stumbling upon one. Having utterly failed to turn Milton into an eventing star, I sense that Fairy Godmother is not an option this time.
Rider Error – Given the scrambled state of my psyche, I can’t envision a suitable horse outside of a holodeck. In a related matter, given my increased reluctance to ride new horses, I have no idea how I would try out a possible addition.
Bottom Line
So, I’m not so much horse shopping as letting the universe know that I am open to a unicorn trotting up my driveway. We’ll see how that goes.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Virtual Brush Box 
May the horse be with you.
Don’t let your reluctance deter you. You don’t want to end up in a place where you don’t want to get on any horse. Just look around, pretend you aren’t looking to buy, you might just stumble onto something. The fairy godmother might just be looking after you.
I mean, if you’re looking for a unicorn ANYWAY, you might as well let Miss Courtney know that you’re open. What if a saddleseat saddlebred came at you??? OOH or a westerney one???
Yes!…and I will second keeping eyes open for a sporty saddlebred. If you want a sound, sane, safe, fun horse that can do it all…run, jump, dressage, drive….ASB is the first place I’d look. I say this from experience, because I have one, and just got my USDF Bronze medal, first year showing rated shows…unicorns exist, believe. 😉
Joan: Good one.
debandtoby: Fairy Godmother was a specific person who helped me find Milton. I hope fairy godmothers in general are looking out for me.
buffy bourbon: Jump. Jump. Jump. Jump. To the tune of Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam.
anonymous: ooooh, I want details. Guest post? rodneyssaga@gmail.com