Yes, I saddled him and rode him Friday morning. I wanted to make sure the bridle and saddle fit him, so I made adjustments on both.
@seedcorn he did do a little gait, then broke into a trot. So I believe with a little work, he'll do just fine. You are right, he'll be worth every penny we paid for him.
@ducks4you thanks for the info and advice. He is a little pushy when fed, but who can blame him? He's hungry! So I stand between him and the feed tub until he stops trying to go around me and stands still. I scratch his withers a few minutes, then step aside and tell him Take it. He is already standing now when I pour out his feed.
Well, it was a complete surprise! We really pulled it off. My husband went to pick up our grand daughter and 2 of her friends from school, they were going to spend the night. He went on and on about the surprise. We had planned it all out..... I was hiding behind the big wood chipper trucks that we let the power line cleaning crew park on our place for the weekend, with the horse. He made the girls shut their eyes and get down on the floor in the backseat of his truck. He drove up to the chicken coop, got them out one by one, making sure they kept their eyes shut. It just so happened that we did get some new pullets the day before....LOL He finally told them to open their eyes and shouted SURPRISE! He kept talking about the new chickens, keeping their attention on the chicken coop while I snuck up behind them with the horse. I got right behind them and DH said, "Now turn around and see your REAL surprise." Grand Daughter yelled "Y'all got a new horse?" DH-"No, YOU got a new horse!" Grand Daughter yelled in disbelief, "You mean he's MINE?" Me-"Yes, he's yours."
Three little girls launched themselves at the horse, screaming like banshees, grabbing and hugging him. A sensible horse would have whirled around and ran like wolves were after him......but he did nothing. he stood like a champ while the girls shrieked their delight, smothering him with hugs.
We put her on the horse. She threw up her hands and yelled, "I got a new horse AND I got chickens!!! This is the best day of my LIFE!"
We saddled him up and they all rode him. Basically I just walked around and he followed me. They were excited and they loved it. One of the girls had never been on a horse, I took her picture and texted it to her mom. We unsaddled and the girls brushed him again, loved on him some more and I showed our Grand Daughter how to feed and water him.
Then began the name game. I suggested Dandy or Beau. Nope. DH really liked Dandy, but the girls voted it down. Stormy. No, he's not stormy. Spirit!! Oh I love Spirit! That's my favorite horse name! But he's not spirited, he's calm and gentle and sweet. We need a name that fits him. We continued to toss names around, then Grand Daughter settled on Tempest. Tempest it was.
We also were keeping our two younger grand daughters, age 2 and 5 months. And they threw in the dog for good measure. It was a lively weekend.
I just wasn't satisfied with Tempest, so I started the name game again that night. Dh didn't like Tempest either, but she stuck to her guns. I threw out names, the girls shot them all down. They were watching a Harry Potter movie and there was a scene with a Phoenix bird. It hit me. "What about Phoenix? A Phoenix dies and is reborn again to a new life. The horse was in a kill pen, headed for death and slaughter. Now he has a new life." Thumbs up on Phoenix. It was unanimous. Horse has a new name to go with his new life. Phoenix.
The girls played all day Saturday. They ran through the woods, played on the piles of wood chips, played dress up, cooked our lunch (ramen noodles and grilled cheese sandwiches) and later, they made brownies. The baby felt bad, she was fretful, so I pretty much held her all weekend. The 2 year old would smile and say, "I love you Papaw" and Papaw would do anything she wanted. She is working him over already. The girls Moms came and got them Saturday evening.
This morning, we loaded up the kids and took them to Whataburger for breakfast. First time we ever took them all three anywhere. We told that to the lady that brought our food to the table. She laughed and asked if we wanted her to say a prayer for us, and she did. We took the oldest to a friends to spend the day and took the little ones home with us. Our DD came and picked up the little ones this evening.
Our oldest Grand Daughter fed Phoenix and watered him Saturday evening and this morning. Phoenix has started his new life.
Lucky Granddaughter , Lucky You. 
