The enthusiastic leading the blind

A gentleman I know just somewhat ruefully informed me that his family is acquiring a horse. Not in itself a bad thing. He and his wife have two young children still at home, both of whom are very excited about said horse, as is his wife. He's mostly resigned, I think.

The horse is "free" - although, after shots, wormer, fencing, barn renovation, random, necessary equine paraphernalia... they may be rethinking the "free" slightly!

He's evidently a well-aged (18?) roping horse that needed a new home before he ended up staying somewhere less pleasant... and more briefly. His present owner took him in for the same reason, but can't afford to keep him indefinitely: she has enough horses of her own to support.

I'm pretty sure they don't know exactly what they're getting into. They're all newbies at this whole horse thing. But in the plus column, I'm assuming the he's healthy and sound, as he's currently residing with a vet. Too, they've done a fair amount of work to ensure the old boy will be comfortable in his new home. They've also had the girls take some lessons with him at his current residence. They've had a couple of months to see him handled, and presumably at this point he's been deemed gentle and quiet enough for them to deal with on their own.

Too many horses out there don't get this chance when their first career is over. And if I'm cringing just slightly for the pony - who'll have a trial and error existence for a while, at least - I'm also happy that he's getting a shot at being an ambassador.

The family is doing a good deed, and my fingers are crossed that their first horse experience will be a positive one; that this gelding will be a kind teacher, and the girls - and their parents - will enjoy him. I'm also hoping the girls will continue to take lessons so that they can learn to care for him and ride him properly.

If all goes well, the work and expense of their "free" acquisition will be more than worth it.