Mustang filly won!

I won the auction, I won my filly!!

Ok, so I was the only bidder on my filly, but I still won the auction on her. Hardly any of the yearling Mustangs that I was watching got above their $125 initial price. I can't tell if anyone bid on them or not, the BLM listing shows a lot of info like height of the horse and its location, where it was gathered, but not the number of bids on a it.

I paid within minutes of the auction closing, and now I'm waiting for the BLM to send me the final paperwork to sign. Once that is signed, returned, and approved I will be able to make an appointment to go pick her up. It will take two days, since it is over six hours from Pocatello to Hines. I found a local place to rent a small stock trailer that fits the BLM's requirements, but I lost my driver and his truck (I got the news just after I won the auction, in a "Congratulations! And oh by the way . . ." sort of way), so I am having to explore other options (read as: frantically searching for a truck and driver in my area).
My dad and stepmom have volunteered the use of their truck (Mom or I would drive), but they live on the coast in Washington, and it is not particularly nice for them to have to drive from the coast to Pocatello, ID to get the trailer, then to Hines, OR to pick up the filly, then back to Pocatello to deliver her to the stable. We have also looked at finding a trailer to rent somewhere near Burns, OR so they can pick it up right where the filly is, then we will drive it back to Poky, and they will take the trailer back on their way home. But that makes their trip mostly about getting my horse instead of visiting, which was what this trip was about before I got the crazy idea to bid on a horse at auction.

Simply put, I'm still working on the truck situation.

Do used car dealers ever rent out their cars/trucks?

Truck issues aside, I BOUGHT A HORSE today! This is the first horse that I have bought on my own (I have owned and/or worked with many horses, but never purchased one for myself until now).

I have never worked with a Mustang, but this is a very young Mustang. She is just about the age where any horse that was born at pasture is weaned and brought in to be worked and trained, so in many ways she is not much different than any other horse her age that was born and spent its first months out away from the barn and humans.

I have decided to name the filly Stella, the Midnight Star. She is billed as a Black and she has a big off-center star on her forehead. The name comes from the movie Silverado. I grew up on that movie, and I always admired and respected the strength of the character of Stella.

I hope the BLM sends me the final paperwork to sign so that I can make an appointment and pick my filly soon. Should I wait until after the fireworks on the 4th? Hmmm, maybe that would be best for her. I have 30 days to pick her up.

<<EEEEEE!!!!>> I BOUGHT A HORSE!!!

Mustang Dreams

I'm not sure if I'm going crazy or finally coming back to myself (I've had horses my entire life except for the last 4-5 years), but I am going to adopt a mustang. At least, I hope I'm going to adopt a mustang. The BLM Online Auction ends tomorrow at 4pm Mountain Time. Then, if I have the high bid, I will have won a mustang. So far I am the only bidder on 4590, a little black filly with a big white star. She still has quite a bit of her baby fur, so while she is billed as a yearling (over 1 year old but not yet 2) she is actually a weanling (old enough to be weaned from her mom, but not yet a year old). From the looks of her, she is the youngest horse in the auction. Right now she looks like a dark bay, but her muzzle is dark, not brown, so once she sheds out into her adult coat she may in fact be black. I don't care what color she is, as long as once the auction closes I can say that she is mine.

Well, at least, say that she will be mine pretty soon. I will have to pay for her as soon as the auction ends, then submit the final paperwork to agree that I will take good care of her and follow the BLM's rules. Once that is done and the BLM OKs it, I can make an appointment to pick her up. And then she will be mine. I have already been out to look at a stable and talked to the owner (who is really nice, by the way, and doesn't get weird and nervous about having a mustang in his stable). Once I have an appointment set to pick up the filly, I will tell him when I'm going to start boarding her. (I have kept him in the loop on the adoption proceedings as things have progressed; I fear he may be getting tired of receiving messages from me).

I'm pretty sure I have a driver and truck arranged, and we will be renting a small stock trailer. For an un-gentled mustang you have to have a stock trailer, since it doesn't know how to ride in a horse trailer yet. Of course, for a weanling, it doesn't know how to ride in anything yet, really. I've been looking for somebody with a truck AND trailer to give my pony a lift (compensated for time and gas, of course), but the trailer that goes along with the one and only driver I found is having electrical issues, so can't go on this run. Thus we will be renting a trailer. At least Isaac was cool enough to volunteer to do the driving (and would have used his trailer too, but it isn't quite working right). The filly is in Hines, Oregon, and I am in Pocatello, Idaho. It is about 6 and a half hours one way. Right now the plan is to drive to Hines one day, stay the night in Burns, OR (which is really close to Hines), then pick up the filly in the morning and drive back to Pocatello so she can get settled in before night.

So, I've got a truck and driver, I've got a stable lined up, and I'm going to rent a trailer. Now all I need is the horse! Fingers crossed!! I will know at 4pm Mountain Time on Tuesday (aka 6/26, aka TOMORROW!!!)