After two test rides I signed the papers to lease Geronimo.  It's month-to-month so as long as I can remain somewhat detached, I can stop or switch to another horse with no penalty.

So here's what I know about him so far.  He is a registered paint, approximately 16 hands, and has one blue eye.  He is a cribber, which is not curable.  Because of that he is very thin.  He is also very out of shape.  According to the ranch owner (not G's owner) he is ridden only about once a month.  A girl at the ranch occasionally turns him out because she feels badly for him.

The first I rode him in the arena and he walked following my commands pretty well.  It was very difficult to get him to trot and nearly impossible to get him to maintain a trot.  I didn't try to get him to lope.  A few days later, yesterday, I rode him on trail with the ranch owner.

He was well behaved on trail, but obviously not in the same shape as the other horses.  He spooked and did a little spin when some minis ran up to a fence we passed.  I was easily able to get him under control and calmed down.  He was a little spooky when a loose dog barked at us from a distance. but this time I was ready and we had no spinning.  I was actually glad to see he had the energy to move so quickly.  We went over some long low inclines which was hard work for him, but he did it.

Geronimo is easy to groom and he picks up his feet to have them cleaned.  He's barefoot right now.  His coat is flaky and shedding, but regular grooming will help.

All in all I think I will gain confidence riding on my own 3 days a week.  G will gain muscle and become more responsive with regular riding.  I'm guessing I'll be ready to "move up" to a better horse in several months.  I just hope at that point I'm not too attached to G.  I also hope if he's in better shape, they will find someone else to lease him when I move on.

My new horse schedule is ride Geronimo Wednesday and Friday after work, Saturday a lesson at another ranch on Danny, and then Sunday back to Geronimo.  G is at a ranch only 8-10 minutes from home.  Danny's ranch is 20 minutes away.