Mid-Horse Crisis

While many have midlife crisis I am having a midhorse crisis.  For the life of me, I can't decide what I want to do.  There's a paint gelding I'm going to go look at.  He'd mature into a horse I could jump, or rope off of.  He will be a big boy in the 16hh range.  There's an AQHA mare I'm going to go look at.  She's cow bred with a mom who has NCHA earnings.  She has 90 days with a cutting trainer.  She'll mature around 14.2hh.  She's a horse I could trail ride, or do reining or working cow horse type stuff on.  And then, there's my history with Arabians.  I miss my Arabians.  I am thinking I wouldn't mind having an Arab kicking around the place.  Not entirely sure if I want to show but am missing that old life.

And then there's Whiskey.  When she came home to me she was lame on 3 out of 4 legs.  I babied her through the winter.  Let her foal and gave her recovery time.  She's still lame.  So I had the vet out.  Severely bruised soles and coffin bones.  So I had the farrier out.  I have to own the only pasture brood mare with shoes and pads.  The hope is the pads will protect her feet enough to let the bruising heal.  If this doesn't work we'll do x-rays.  I do think it's helping.  She's already moving better.  I'll continue to have massage therapy done on her when the therapist is in the area.

The thought has entered my head that if I can get her sound enough on her front end, I may toss a saddle on her and see what she does.  She's been a pasture ornament for years so it may be interesting.  My ultimate goal with her is to breed her next year for one last foal.  (Pending soundness.)  This would be her replacement.  I'm thinking I'd either breed to a Thoroughbred for a sport horse prospect or to an Arabian.  My concern with breeding to the Arabian is that she is a big solid mare and I'm not sure how that would cross out.  The Arab cross would hopefully be an all around horse.  Only time will tell how this turns out.