Molto Bella

We found her. My horse. And she is beautiful. Her name was Bell already, but when Mom misunderstood and said her name was Bella I knew immediately it was perfect. Bella.

My first two times to ride Bella did not go well. In fact, I was pretty disheartened. Frustrated. John seemed to have no problem getting her to do what he wanted, but she seemed to want to take off with me. The opportunity to ride her a third time, this time down the road with another horse and rider, came up and I almost did not take it. But I did. And it was the best decision I could have made. I would like to say it was magical immediately, but I cannot. We got out the gate onto the road and I still felt like I was having trouble getting her to respond to my commands. But the girl riding the other horse coached me along, told me what I was doing right, made suggestions for other ways of doing certain things. Specifically, she told me to act like I was riding Red Man, my dad's horse whom I love to ride and whom Bella resembles in many ways. I adjusted the way I was holding the reigns so that I was holding them exactly as I would on Red Man...and I relaxed. I honestly did not realize that I was not relaxed the first two times, but the difference was so obvious. She responded well and I actually enjoyed the rest of the ride. So much so that when we finally made it back to the truck, I absolutely could not keep the smile from my face. It just was not possible.

She is a bay mare...the people we bought her from are uncertain whether she is a Tennessee Walker or a Missouri Fox Trotter, but she is definitely a gaiter. She acts a lot like Red Man so we have reason to believe she is a Missouri Fox Trotter. She stands 15-16 hands.

Now I have to go shopping for a hackamore and an English saddle...