Eliana did not want to move to Nicaragua. The only excitement she had about moving here was that she’d get both a dog and a horse. Both of which she wanted, and neither of which she had.
It took a few stops to farms with puppies playing around outside, but we found a dog relatively easily in the middle of October 2011 at a farm that didn’t have enough money or food to feed him. For Eliana it was love at first sight, but I was worried because he was so lethargic that he was carried out to us and didn’t move once placed on the ground. The owners insisted the only reason he wasn’t moving was because he had never seen a white person before and he was scared. But I was skeptical that that was the real reason (and in shock that he would say that to my face and then laugh). Tahoe, named in honor of our most frequented skiing/snowboarding destination, has turned out to be the perfect dog for our family. He loves to play, cuddle, and explore. He tries to help Eliana out of the ocean when he thinks she might be in trouble (because she’s screaming from having too much fun) and he is so social that he stops at his friends’ houses and barks for them to come out when we take him on unleashed walks and when he goes on outings of his own.
The horse has proven to be a bit more difficult to find.
Nicaraguan horses are smaller than the standard American horses and since they are used by the poor working class, they are shockingly inexpensive to North Americans. We cannot keep a horse inside the gated community in which we live so we needed to find a place to board a horse before we could buy one.
In November 2011, three months after we moved here, we spoke with our caretaker, Don Chico, about the going prices for horses. We learned that they sell for c$3,500 – c$4,000. The exchange rate at the time was 22.5 córdobas to the dollar, which brought the cost in dollars to $156 – $178. Don Chico also thought we could board a horse on a farm nearby for $10 a month. “Don,” by the way, is the Spanish title, “Mister”.
Shortly thereafter we found a beautiful 3 year old mare with a rusty-brown colored coat. The owner lived on a farm just 7 minutes down the road by bike. The owner used the horse for work but he needed money so he was looking to sell her. His asking price was $225. He refused to negotiate, stating that he had others willing to pay more, and that he would not lower the price. We were doubtful that locals were willing to pay this price, let alone a higher one, but wanted to see the horse nonetheless.
Fred and our new friend, Julie-Ann, an avid horse rider, rode their bikes to the farm to assess Muñeca. Muñeca was with her filly, and therefore a little feisty and protective. Fred and Julie-Ann were able to see that Muñeca was a well cared for and healthy horse, but they were unable to decipher if she would be a calm enough horse for Eliana. I went back a few days later to see the horse away from her filly so I could take her on a short ride and judge her natural temperament. She was muy mansa, as they say. She responded to commands and was gentle, tame, and trusting, letting me touch her both behind her legs and under her belly without flinching.
We hadn’t yet located a boarding place so we did not have anywhere to keep Muñeca if we bought her. Additionally, the family was asking too much for the horse and they didn’t really want to sell her, they just needed money. So we offered to lease the horse for $20 a month plus pay any vet bills, medicine, and food that may be needed in exchange for riding the horse 3 – 5 hours a week. They could keep the horse and use her for work, and over the course of the year we would paid more than the asking price and they would still have the horse. The owner countered with $50 a month, which was a ridiculous counter, so we moved on. I heard they sold the horse a few months ago (roughly a year after our negotiations) for around $150.
In December 2011, Eliana’s private school changed their Friday afternoon activity from swim team to horseback riding when the swim coach and his family moved back to the states. We discovered that Eliana could ride an extra time during the week if we tipped the ranchers so we used their horses and put our horse hunt on hold. But in May 2012, when we decided we would not continue with the school for the 2012-2013 school year, finding a horse became a priority again.
I asked our maid, Jacinta, if she knew of someone who could take Eliana horseback riding for $5/hour, which at 5 times the local hourly rate, was an appealing offer. It turned out that her brother, Gilberto, had one horse and their father had three, and her brother was interested in the work.
Just by chance, I met Gilberto one Sunday afternoon at Jacinta’s house while Eliana and Jacinta’s granddaughter, Diana, were playing in the river behind their house. It’s a common practice to get drunk on Sundays here, and when I met him that Sunday afternoon around 2:00, he was drunk. I not only had a difficult time understanding him, I was uncomfortable with him taking Eliana riding. I didn’t know if his inebriated state was due to the Sunday custom, or if he drank too much on a regular basis. Jacinta assured me it was just because it was Sunday, but it still took me awhile to set something up.
Eliana’s birthday crept up at the end of July and we needed an activity for her party. I arranged with Gilberto for him to bring 3 horses to the party. This way I could see how he interacted with the kids and the horses. He was great with both. We paid him $20, which is roughly 3 days worth of pay, and I decided I would call him again.
Over the next 3 months Eliana rode horses with Gilberto many times. Sometimes we would go a few weeks without riding and other times Eliana would ride once or twice a week. Then in November Gilberto informed us that if he continues to come with 2 horses (one for him and one for Eliana) we needed to pay an extra $5 because his dad wanted money for the use of his horse. Riding then became $10/hour and we realized we needed to get back into the business of finding a horse of our own. It wasn’t that $10 was so much. It was that if we were going to spend the extra money we may as well do this as we intended. Eliana loves to saddle the horses, clean them after riding, brush them, talk with them, and just take care of them in general. The price increase was just a nudge to get us back on track.
In January of 2013 it felt like we were never going to find a horse, until I realized that we weren’t actually looking. I informed Gilberto that we were looking and to please let me know if he hears of horses for sale. I also asked him if we could board a horse at his farm. In exchange he could use the horse for free to take clients riding. I also started asking friends if they knew of horses for sale and eventually one friend located a horse for us. It was a mare owned by the brother of one of her employees. They were asking c$4000, which, with the current córdoba to dollar exchange rate of 24:1, equaled $167. The price was on the higher end but inside the expected ballpark. Eliana liked the unnamed horse immediately and after I checked her out from head to toe, Eliana jumped on to ride her. Sporting her new short haircut and feeling excited about the possibility of having her own horse, Eliana was feeling extra sassy. I took pictures of the horse to send to Fred who was working in the states. She had rope wounds and many ticks, especially in her ears, which I knew we could repair, but her gait was a little funky. Upon returning home I asked both Don Chico and Gilberto to go with us to see what they thought.
On our drive to see the horse, Don Chico and Gilberto pointed out horses and how much they should sell for and it became clear to me that the horse we were looking at should sell for less than the asking price. As we drove up to the house, Don Chico saw the horse and told me a proper price would be c$3,000 ($125), and as we drove through the houses’s gate, he looked at me and said under his breath, “These people are family. I’ll stay in the car.” He was in an awkward position, having arrived with the intention of helping me get a fair price and then discovering that the sellers were family. I asked him to please come with me. I wanted his opinion and he didn’t need to say anything in front of them. Neither Gilberto nor Don Chico were overly impressed with the horse, but they did say it was both a good and a healthy horse. Remembering that Don Chico said c$3,000 was a more accurate price, and knowing that the seller would never agree to sell the horse to a gringa for a local price, I offered c$3,200, to which she replied it would be too hard to do. She was selling the horse for her brother who lives far into the mountains without cell reception. She had only been authorized to sell the horse for c$4000 and there was no way she could call him to negotiate. I offered c$3,500, but she still did not blink. Gilberto suggested we offer $3,800 ($158) and if the brother doesn’t want to take it to not call us, and if he does, to give us a call.
The next day I found out that the owner would sell the horse for c$3,800. I shared this information with Don Chico and asked if he would buy the horse if he were me. He replied without hesitation, “No. For us, it’s too expensive. The horse should sell for c$3000 – c$3,200. If she won’t sell it to you for c$3,500, you should not buy it.” I took him with me for his opinion and I wanted to respect his experience, but I was torn. The price difference of $23 wasn’t a lot to me, and I didn’t know when we’d locate another horse. But I didn’t like that I was being over charged almost 20%, and I felt that I needed to convey to Don Chico that I respected his opinion. “Be patient,” he said. “There are many horses out there, we can find you a good one for a better price.”
That evening Don Chico located two male horses for us to see the following morning. He told me that if we don’t like them, he personally has a tame young filly, about 1.5 years old, on his farm that he would sell to us for c$2,000 ($83). But he wanted us to see these other horses first because they are older and ready to be ridden.
We left the house at 7:00 am the next morning and drove 15 minutes to the farm where we found Tahoe. Across the street were 3 horses. The female horse was too young and not yet tame, and not for sale anyway. The other two horses were both male. One a stallion, the other a gelding. While looking at the stallion, the larger and more beautiful one, the woman walked by and said, “He still has his huevos,” which confused me. I didn’t pick up on the slang, and took her words literally. I couldn’t figure out how a male horse could have eggs, and it didn’t occur to me that the slang we use in English would be the same in Spanish, so I looked underneath to see his anatomy, and sure enough he was male. Don Chico saw my confusion and explained, “He has his testicles.” I felt silly for misunderstanding. A horse with huevos would not work because Gilberto’s horse is a stallion as well, and the two would fight for dominance. We moved on to the next horse, also male but gelded, and Eliana decided at that moment that she wanted a mare so it could have babies. Out of curiosity though, I asked how much they wanted, and he replied, c$4,500 ($187). Don Chico and I were puzzled. He, too, was asking $23 too much. And then it hit me that my white skin wasn’t going to get a normal price.
Back at our house an hour later my mechanic came to pick up my car to change the oil, air filter, and repair a bumper that was coming loose. I told him about the first horse and asked him to please drive by slowly to check it out on his way to his house. When he brought my car back that afternoon he said it’s a good horse and wanted to know how much they were asking. When I told him $3,800, he said, “That’s carísimo. That horse should sell for c$3,200. Be patient and look around.”
The following Monday I needed to drive to Managua to see the dentist, take Tahoe to the vet, and meet my cousin, Liz, who arrived from California. On our way home we stopped at Don Chico’s farm roughly 45 minutes from our house to see his young filly.
She was shy, but she didn’t try to get away or kick, and she let us pet her and talk with her. She was dark brown with a black mane and tail, a full white stripe on her face, socks on her front feet, stockings on the back. She looked like she had the right personality for us and that she would make a super great horse for Eliana. The only issue was that she is still too young to ride. She’s is only 1.5 years which means if we want to do this correctly, we will have to wait at least 6 months before Eliana can ride her. But Eliana didn’t care. She wanted her.
Once back at home, we offered to pay Don Chico $100 for the horse, instead of the $83 he asked, if they could keep working with the horse over the next month while we were in the states and then walk the horse to us from his farm. He at first said it would only take a few dollars for the horse to be delivered, but when I told him we’d like to pay him more, he smiled and graciously accepted.
We just returned from the states two days ago. We haven’t yet arranged for the horse to be delivered to Gilberto’s farm, just minutes from our house. But we did get much of the needed gear while visiting home, including a halter, lead rope, and saddle bag, (all Chaunkah gifts from Eliana’s Aunt Mimi), cowboy boots for Fred and myself which we weather proofed while on our trip to Tahoe (Eliana already had hers), and a bridal. Now we just need to find a saddle and a brush.