Tell you a funny story that this reminded me of. A girl I knew after high school wanted a horse in the worst way. She saw an ad in the paper "Horse for sale" and she convinced her boyfriend to take her to see it. You have to keep in mind she was 19 and in college but she wanted a horse even though she really had no place to keep it. But he humored her and went to "look at horses". So they get to this farm, kind of a hobby farm place, maybe 20 acres, half a dozen horses, barn, chicken coops, goats. So she knocks on the door and is met by a little old man. She asks about the horse and he says "Let me get my boots on and I'll walk you out there".
So he walks her out to the pasture and calls the horse over. He told her, "He's blind but if you call to him he will come to you". So she called to him and he came right over to her. She was smitten and had to have that horse. Now, there were 5 other horses there that were younger and healthier but she knew she couldn't afford "a real horse" but this blind old stud could be ridden and was sweet as could be. She told the old man she was interested and asked how much and he gave her a number and she said she would have to arrange things like a place to keep the horse and a trailer and feed and vet care.
The boyfriend was dead set against her getting the horse but she had already decided she was going to get that horse come hell or high water. And she looked into it and discovered boarding horses was expensive and caring for them even more expensive. She thought about it for a week and drove out to tell the old man she just couldn't manage boarding the horse and everything else. And he told her, "Well if you buy him you can keep him here and if you take care of him and the other horses when you can, I won't charge you board". She bought the horse.
Now, this set the boyfriend off, they were supposed to be a team and she had gone off and bought a horse without his consent. And that was the end of the relationship. So after school and after work and on weekends she was taking care of the farm. This went on for about 2 years. She would spend every minute she had that she wasn't in school or working at the farm. And she graduated from college. And then the farmer told her that he and the Mrs. were moving away. She was devastated, she'd never be able to keep her horse because she would never find another place to board him "for free".
She went to the farm expecting the world to be yanked out from under her and the old man gave her the keys. Keys to the house, truck, trailer, all the other horses, the whole shooting match. She had been doing the hard part of the work around the farm and living there it would be easier to do. The old man and his wife moved to Florida and she got the farm. Last I knew she had found a deserving man and had a couple of kids and raised them on the farm that she bought for $400. That was the price of the horse. The old man knew he wouldn't be able to keep taking care of things and it just worked out they met each other. No one else was interested in the old blind horse, some even said he wasn't worth taking to the dog food factory but the old man knew that someone who wanted a horse so bad they'd take care of the old worn out horse and the rest of the farm deserved it. They were really well off. Owned hotels, many hotels. But they knew they couldn't just walk away from the farm without knowing there was someone who would take care of it.
And no she wasn't my girlfriend, I'd have wifed her right out of high school.
