Tally

My student, Tim, the shy architect bought Tally.

They hit it off famously. She didn't mind his stiff, first year rider's seat, or the insecurity of his hands. She seemed to thrive under his gentle touch. He was amazed at her level, gliding gaits and her handle. They were a match made in heaven.

 I was terrified.

I explained how green she was, that she came from a very rough past and had a rocky start, to say the least.
Tim and Tally gazed at me with calm, happy eyes, equally incapable of comprehending what I was saying. With Tim it was because he was smitten and Tally refused to be rattled or take an uneven step with him. As far as  Tally goes, well, she was a horse.

He wanted to write me a check right there, but I insisted he lease her for sixty days first. He said fine. Then I added he needed to keep paying me to ride her at least twice a week, take lessons from me twice a week and only ride Tally while I was with him for the duration of the lease. That was fine too.

So we made our tentative deal. Tally would stay with me at my barn for the first thirty days, then we would move her down to his. I had covered every base I could think of. I had trained Tally with everything I had. She had been a rock for many weeks.

"Janet," K told me, "you are not much of a horse trader."

"I don't want to get anybody killed, that's all," I replied.

"I completely get that," K said. "It's a tough call."

Somehow he didn't make me feel any more confident.

Yet they looked beautiful together. Tim fit her, and Tally fit him. They were both small and muscled, tentative and excited. He took her for long walks, he was a hiker before the horse bug bit him, and Tally was a willing companion on the trail. I figured they were doing the ultimate desensitizing walking the trails. Tim had Tally willingly passing bikes and joggers an not flying into a wild panic as they came from behind.

I started to relax.

"Janet, I want to buy Tally now" Tim said. "We're fine, and I'd feel better if I owned her before I moved her. I want her to be at my barn."

I still hesitated.

I was looking at a situation no responsible horse trainer or dealer will let happen.

Green plus green equals black and blue, no matter how good it looks on the surface. If I was really honest, which I had been studiously avoiding, my equation was actually, green plus green plus green.
I was considered very green in the cow horse world. I was in my first year as a competitor and had never ridden horses of this caliber before. Reactive, sensitive, quick legged and quick minded, I was in a mad scramble to keep up with these horses and I had a lot of riding and training years under my belt.

Tim did not. Call Tally crazy, bad-minded, dangerous, all of that was up for debate. I truly, deep down in my gut, believed she was well on the road to recovery. She was, however, all cow horse.

What finally made me overcome my paranoia and sell the horse was the tight bond between the two. She lit up like my Grandma's birthday cake every time she saw him. Besides, Tim promised to keep up our riding schedule once they moved down the pass. I'd keep riding her and he wouldn't ride her unless I was there.

It kept getting better. Tally settled right in and their unique relationship continued to flourish. Tim was a new rider in his 40's, but he was smart, athletic and dedicated. He just kept getting better. He could sit her stops, guide her through a lead change -- and actually know if he got it -- and sit through a set of spins without getting dizzy. Tally stayed solid.

We started making plans for his first show. I would ride her in a warm up show about three hours away and if all went well, Tim was going to come with me to Amarillo for our first AQHA, NRCHA sanctioned show of the year.

I had just sat in my chair with a quart of water and a Mike's Hard Lemonade when my phone started ringing. I hadn't been home for ten minutes and I really didn't want to spend the next hour talking to a client about Fluffy's progress. Jim went to answer for me, but came out carrying the phone a few minutes later.

"It's Nancy," he said.

My mouth went dry and I didn't know if I could find the spit to talk to her. Nancy was the BO at Tim's barn.

"Janet?" She said. "We had an accident out at the arena today. Tim and Tally had quite the wreck."