New Recruit

While our vet was vacationing in Florida last month, she came across a hard luck case involving a horse. The owner was sick with cancer and couldn't keep the horse. A friend took the horse but couldn't afford the stable costs and needed to get rid of the horse. The horse, named Ruger Golden Acres, could be ours for free if we could transport it to Arizona. Ruger is only three years old and green broke, but otherwise met the criteria for service in the Army. I don't usually take a horse under these circumstances. I like to see the horse, do a temperament check, ride it, and then keep it for a couple weeks so the mil vets and farrier can examine it. However, our mil vet gave Ruger an examination and declared him sound which is usually the biggest obstacle. Since the transportation costs were not bad--about $700--I decided to take a chance. If the horse doesn't work out for the cavalry, we could probably still sell it. The horse will probably arrive here this weekend but is delayed due to the winter storm raging across the continent right now. The horse is too young to begin any serious riding training with, but we can do lots of ground work with it and see if it is likely to be able to handle the cavalry environment. It will be an interesting experience and maybe we will get a good horse out of it.