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~Above is me taking lessons after 4 years on the school horse Bullet~

When we came to Australia in 2011, horses were the least of my problems. I completely forgot my love for them as i tried to learn a new language and fit in to a different way of life. And of course, i turned 13. As a new teenager all i cared about was music, friends, piercings and how to get out of school. I moved schools 5 times in the past 5 years iv'e been here. There was always something missing in those years though and i never knew what it was. I never had an escape from life, the occasional walk with the dogs helped but it was never enough. In year 10 my anxiety reached its peak and i refused to talk to anyone at school except for teachers and 2 of my only friends, then we moved to the other side of Sydney to Cronulla and while i went to a public school, my mum looked for better options for my last senior years. Again, i don't know how it happened but something sparked and i begged my parents to let me have lessons again as we moved 20 minutes from a reputable riding school. Eventually, they agreed. So i got on a lazy flea bitten grey pony named Luke who, despite his stubbornness, taught me a lot. After my first 40 mins ride on Luke, lots of trotting and even a canter, i was back in the horse world. I had found that escape that i needed, the freedom and love that i was missing. I had lessons once to twice a week on different horses, i even got on a 16hh TB who was the sweetest horse iv'e ridden. I went to the beach with Luke one time and had a canter there, we had a couple of trail rides and i learnt how to jump...more or less.

So time passed and christmas came, my instructor (who had taught me how to tack up a horse, name of different tack and horse coats) asked what i would be getting for christmas, i said i didn't know and she jokingly said "maybe your parents will get you a horse". She should't have said that. That day, i went on gumtree, horsedeals and facebook pages to look for a horse that was affordable ($2000 or less) and who was safe and good with beginners. I showed my parents the ones that i liked (despite them being green or even unbroken cause i didn't know what all that meant) and after a couple of weeks of begging, they agreed. I found a small agistment place 15mins from our house which had a free spot and i started going to try out horses while simultaniously spending my nights reading as much as i could about horses. My parents were impressed by the effort i put into the research and they drove me around Sydney whenever i found a horse that sounded perfect. There was a stock horse mare named Opal who a very dodgy dealer wanted to sell me (the riding school told me that she was one of the school horses and bucked everyone off), then there was a beautiful buckskin Stroker, a QHxSH Beau, another stock horse mare Serabi whom i nearly bought and a paint Romeo who got sold the day before i scheduled the vet to come and see him. I was heartbroken when i found out. 


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