It seems SO UNREAL. I'm getting a horse.

He's nothing like I was looking for. He's only been ridden English (and I ride Western), he has no feeling in his neck due to a pinched nerve (so I can't neck rein, something almost essential to Western riding), has no feeling in the back two-thirds of his feet due to having been nerved*. His name is R-gyle, as in a creative spelling of the socks. We think he's a warmblood**: He's at *least* 16 hands high (meaning about five feet tall at his front shoulder) and his legs and feet are thick-boned and MUSCULAR. His back is about level with my eyes. :-P He's bay with four white socks and a star and stripe on his forehead. And he's got the thickest coat I've ever seen on a horse. He looks like a big fuzzy bear right now. (I was trying to put up photos, but my computer is not cooperating. ARGH.) I got to ride him yesterday. SO SMOOTH. My coach is going to help me teach him western (which is funny, because warmbloods are dressage and jumping horses and never *ever* go Western).

He was one of Fresno State's lesson horses (lent to them by his owner), but because of some recent events (that ironically don't have any real connection to R-gyle), the school's administration is making the team give him up due to legal concerns. The coaches were going to ship him back to his owner, but his owner said it was a shame to just put him in pasture and suggested giving him to a team member who might be looking for a horse. The owner will keep up the insurance and retain ownership, and should I ever need/want to give the horse back, the owner will take him back.

So I fell in love. Over winter break, my coach is going to help me re-train him Western (he's already making great progress) and teach me how to take care of a horse on my own. He's coming home with me middle of January, the thought of which makes me alternately all YAY WARM FUZZY HORSEY LOVE and OMG HYOOJ RESPONSIBILITY PANIC. I think I'll stick with warm horsey fuzzies for now. ;-)

La"To do: 1.) Put up fence. 2.) Put up run-in shed. 3.) Purchase all the fun supplies SHOPPING YAY! 4.) Con--er...persuade--one of the team girls to trailer him out to my place..."Zorra

* "Nerving" is an operation in which one of the nerves to the hoof is severed. It's performed to provide relief of pain for horses with a foot problem called navicular (caused mostly by wear-and-tear, I think--R-gyle used to be a jumper). Navicular's a serious problem, but several horse experts I trust have told me R-gyle is currently and should continue to be safe and fine to ride, especially for the comparatively light riding I do.
** A cross between a "cold-blooded" draft horse, like a Clydesdale or Percheron, and a "hot-blooded" horse like a Thoroughbred or Arabian.