Meet Roman

Meet Roman

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So I bought a horse.

If you follow me on instagram, you noticed there was a new addition to the nerd herd this weekend. Two weeks ago, I went to try horses at a local farm that came up through the grapevine after I posted my honest ISO on some Texas horse groups. When my trainer and I went to go look at him, I sat on two horses. One was quite fancy with show experience and a fantastic lead change. The other was tall, lanky and a little bit awkward. He hadn’t shown, and although had been started on changes and coursework wasn’t finished.

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Can you guess which one I preferred?

I couldn’t exactly tell my trainer why, but I immediately enjoyed the big young horse. He reminded me of Simon four years ago, except he was bigger and a bit more talented. Plus let’s be honest – I’m a “fixer” and a complete and total sucker for an old soul Thoroughbred that I think I can improve over time.

We vetted him, and unlike baby brontosaurus new guy had 4 legs that worked reasonably well. As I drilled my vet over the phone about the few things we did fine, I heard my trainer yelling in the background “JUST BUY THE DAMN HORSE!”

So I bought the damn horse.

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His name is Roman. He’s a 7 year old 17hh unraced Thoroughbred, and he’s going to give Bobby some competition for blogland’s most awkward Thoroughbred. Don’t believe me? See for yourself.

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Roman is going to be more of a project than I originally anticipated when searching for my hunter unicorn, but I think that I’ll learn a lot from him. I anticipate he might be more challenging than bringing Simon along, but I’m a better rider than I was four years ago – have the nerd horse to thank for that! Plus my trainer is the best with horses like this, and if nothing else I’m good at shutting up and following her instructions.

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There you have it folks – the new ponykins is officially here. Right now the only matters to settle (besides all the flatwork issues we have to get past) is picking out a show name and a hashtag for him.

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77 thoughts on “Meet Roman”

  7. eeeeeee!!!!! i’m so excited for you!! four working legs and the cutest freaking face – i love his eye color too! can’t wait to get to know more about him!

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  11. Woohoo!!! So so so happy for you and excited to watch you guys bond and learn and grow together! You are going to teach him so much 🙂

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    1. He’d definitely be more giraffe like if he didn’t like to get heavy and stretch waaaaaaaaaay down on the flat. Sometimes I trot him and he’s like “Bai!” and there’s no horse there anymore haha.

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  18. WELCOME TO THE REDHEAD CHESTNUT CLUB!!!!!
    … it’s very exclusive. On Wednesdays we wear black (because pink looks terrible on chestnuts).

    In all seriousness, I am so excited you found a new pony. I’m looking forward to following your journey forward with him. 🙂

    Fun fact: My IHSA region had a horse that made the rounds at almost every show named Sazerac. This horse looked very like yours (but was considerably older by the time I knew him), and he was a gem. Awkward as hell, but did IHSA hunter rounds foot perfect if you just let him alone to do his fucking job (oh, and tell him what the jump order was). Here’s to your guy turning into that kind of ride! I think you can do it!

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      1. Pig will allow you to be impartial about chestnuts, as long as you agree he is “the mostest bestest redhead in the world”. Or just tell him that to his face, whether you believe it or not. The ego is real. 😉

        You’ll come around, though. Especially when you get to a show and realize how little dust that sparkly red coat shows. #groomingwin

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      3. Haha! Me too, chestnut is my least favorite color, yet…. NOW I HAVE ONE. Came complete with 4 white socks as well. 🙂

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      1. Having a horse named Larry would be kinda weird,lol. (I don’t change barn names, either. And I go so far as to use barn name as show name 🙂 )

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  23. OK, I won’t lie. I saw that giant head and thought for sure he was some sort of foundation bred QH. Most awkward TB contender for sure! BUT OMG WHO CARES LOOK HOW CUTE AND SWEET HE LOOKS!!!!!

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    1. There’s really no telling 100% since I don’t have papers, but he seems quite Thoroughbredy. He has a lot of white hairs in his coat and this little patch on both hips of tiny white spots/roaning. Maybe he’s a foundation Thoroughloosa.

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      1. I have a post in the works about weird coat marking in TBs. For example, Pig has mottled skin on his whole body.

        Can there be 2 thoroughloosas? If they were able to be bred together, would they spit out a leopard? I’m asking the hard questions here, folks.

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      2. If he has roaning throughout his coat, he’s a rabicano!!

        Congrats Lauren, he looks soooo fun. Can’t wait to hear about your adventures with him.

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  28. So adorable, congrats! I think with some weight and good muscling he’ll look fantastic. Can’t wait to hear about your adventures with the new guy!

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  34. He has such a kind eye! He looks like an old soul. Does he have a tattoo? I love the name Roman. Good choice.

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  38. This is excellent! So excited that the search finally worked out in your favor! Third times the charm, I guess?

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  50. That face!!!! AHhhh!!!! I’m so excited for you! I can’t wait for all the stories! And the new name. Do you know his registered name? Or did he not have one since he hasn’t raced?

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  53. He is a looker! I’m a sucker for a chestnut with a big white face. Nothing better in my books. Will look absolutely smashing when he is ‘ready to take over the world’

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