I found Hidalgo from a “quality horses” website after having to put down my elderly mare. At first, I was on the fence about keeping him because he had bad manners and wasn’t 100% sound. When he arrived off the trailer, his legs were locked up from the long drive, or so I thought. The first thing he did was grass dive and then try to bite me on our way to the barn. We called the vet to do a check as he did not have Coggins. We found that he had a locking stifle and a cracked tooth.

We worked for months trotting and loping to get him muscled up, work on some basics and to get rid of the stiffness. But as I began riding him, he had a terrible vice…rearing. If you asked him to go somewhere, he did not want too, better hold on! We tried problem-solving and found out he did not like to be ridden in a bit! So now it is bitless and/or bridleless!

Fast forward. Two years of blood, sweat, and tears, I have an amazing barrel horse. Hidalgo is a ham for the camera and loves to do liberty and racing. He comes running and nickering when I call him and is in my pocket! He will take my phone out of my jeans and drop it because he wants to take a picture! Little children love to ride him around and he is a saint for them! Hidalgo is my heart horse. I am so glad I kept him because he always takes care of me.

What #RightHorse means to me

Having a horse is a partnership, where both sides work together. The right horse is willing to work as hard as you to reach the goal you have set for yourselves.