Trainer time

I got back from visiting with the trainer that I'm thinking about sending Never to, and I have to say that I like her. It's an hour and a half drive to get to the barn, but I'd only need to be there once a week for the lesson, so it's not so bad.

She took me on a tour of the farm, introduced me to the horses and told me about their training, and also about her methods. She's into natural horsemanship, but also classical dressage, and she's pretty nice and easy to talk with as well. I watched part of a lesson with a beginner, and she explained everything clearly and didn't lose patience or get frustrated with the student. I was very impressed.

She charges $275 a month for training, and the barn charges $200 a month for pasture board, a total of $475 that I have to come up with for 1 to 3 months, depending on how well he does and how trained I want him right off the bat. He also needs his Coggins test and vaccinations updated, so that's another $100 up front. It'll be worth it, though, to have a nice, calm gelding that understands what I want him to do.