Considering my options...

Show season is coming up. Who else is nervous?

I've been doing Hunt Seat for the past three years and I've found that I suck at it. I can walk and trot around in circles and that's about as far as my riding skills go. It doesn't help that I haven't ridden in months and I've lost all my riding muscles. I also can't jump worth a bucket of spit. The tiniest cross rail is a huge challenge to me. Not that I don't love hunter/jumpers, I'm just not good at it.

I've been wanting to switch to dressage for a long time. I think both my horses and I would be better suited for it. But I don't have any dressage equipment, my horses have no experience with it, and I don't know any good trainers. In my area, equestrians are few and far between.

I will find a trainer eventually. ;) If I got good at dressage, I figured my hunter/jumper skills would probably improve. Until then I'll just stick to halter classes and trail riding.

Some things really make you count your blessings.

There's a really old Arabian mare at the barn who isn't doing well at all. She's having problems with laminitis and she can barely walk. But she's alert and has a good appetite. She's actually Mitch's horse, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he's been taking good care of her and keeping in touch with the vet. I think it's finally sinking in that horses aren't play toys and once they're dead, they're gone for good. Cynthia is another story, but at least Mitch is starting to see the light. I hope.

Decision time sucks. I hate losing pets. It never gets easier. I'm grateful every day that my horses are strong and healthy. I hope they stay that way for a very long time yet.

I'll never understand people like Cynthia. Horses have comparatively short lifespans anyway, so why would you want to speed up that process? Most people would have their pets live forever if it was possible.

*Phew*

The vet was out the other day to do teeth and coggins and I had him look at Vic's old injury. It's this hard plate-thing on his left hip that was from being kicked by another horse when he was a foal. It had been weighing on me for some time and I was worried that it might start to bother him as he ages. All these horrible scenarios were running through my mind. What if it does cause problems and he's lame for the rest of his life? How would I keep him fit if I couldn't exercise him? What if I had to retire him at such a young age? Could I afford to keep a horse that's going to wrack up tons of vet bills? What would happen if I ever had to sell him, God forbid?

However, the vet said it's just scar tissue and he doesn't think it'll ever affect him. THANK GOD.

That made my day. I've never been more glad to feel silly for worrying over a small, superficial thing. There's nothing like the relief you feel when you find out you worried for nothing.

I've also learned to never buy a horse without a pre-purchase exam again. I don't know why we didn't have a vet check when we bought him. What if the owner had been lying about it? Definitely not a smart move on my part. Especially since she lied about his age and training. She told us he was eight years old and was trained for eventing. I only found out years later that he was actually only five at the time. Just a baby. Which explains why he was a naughty little schmuck when we brought him home. But it worked out for the best. Buying him was the best dumb thing I've ever done. Go figure.

Your early horse-crazy years

I don't remember exactly when I became obsessed with horses, but I remember having a closet full of equine merchandise from very early on. I had My Little Ponies (the original ones, not those new, stumpy, weird-looking critters), Fantasy Fillies, and a battery-powered Barbie horse, among other things. I still have the pink Fantasy Filly and the Barbie horse. I think I still have most of my toy horses, actually. My poor Barbie horse had a rough life. He used to have a long mane and tail, but I took scissors and cut it all off. I guess I thought it would grow back. Now he has a cropped mane and a little bobtail. Poor thing. He still works, though! I probably had around a hundred toy horses at one time, and I had names and personalities for all of them. O.o

Our old house was a small ranch on about an eighth of an acre and I thought I was going to keep a mini horse in the backyard. I thought if I got a little tiny horse, I could just put a leash and collar on him and walk him around like a dog. He would be about the size of a large dog, so no one would have a problem with it, right?

I after I accepted that keeping a pony in the backyard wasn't going to work, I upgraded to Breyer horses and used them as an outlet for my horseless-ness. I couldn't have a real horse, so I collected as many model ones as possible.

Now that I have my own Real Little Ponies, I'm not as enthusiastic about Breyers. That's probably a good thing because I don't have money for Breyers anymore! When I have thirty-five bucks laying around, it usually goes toward feed or the farrier. lol

An almost-paranormal experience

Well, more like a mystery. I went out to feed this morning and there were several bales of hay that had been strewn all over the ground and destroyed. There was also a pile of poo in the isle and one of the horse's stockings had been raided of all its cookies. All of the horses were secure in their stalls, no kicked in doors, and no busted stall guards. It was weird.

But then we saw that one of the bolts that held Levi's stall guard had been torn out of the wall and someone must have come after we left and put him back in his stall.

I watch too much SiFi channel. I watch that show on Animal Planet where animals experience paranormal phenomena and my imagination goes wild.

However, the original barn had burned down a long time ago and they just dug a hole out back and buried the rubble. We frequently dig up pieces of concrete and metal pipes that are remains of the old barn. Sounds like the perfect spot for some ghosties to hang out. ;D

Does anyone ever feel like they get paranoid for no reason?

My grandma grew up on a farm and they had two teams of plow horses, and a little cart pony, Dickie. My grandma wanted a riding horse for the longest time, and her dad finally bought her a mare named Lady when she was a teenager. The horses were in the same pasture as some of the other animals and there was a creek running through it, which was the animals' water source. My great-grandfather went out to feed them in the evening, but Lady didn't show up at the barn that night. He found her by the creek, and she had fallen and broken a leg. He ended up having to shoot her. My grandma, understandably, was devastated.

Now, I told you that story to tell you this story. We have some older horses at the barn and sometimes when I go to bring them in for feeding, one of them might not be waiting at the gate. I immediately think the worst and I start to feel sick. I think of Lady every single time a horse goes "missing". I eventually find the straggler hiding in some odd place, but I can't help it. I don't know why I'm like that. I have to say that one of my worst fears is going out and finding a dead or dying horse, and I especially worry about the super old horses. Particularly in the winter. Even if I was at a "normal" boarding facility, I would probably still worry if a horse didn't show up for dinner on time.

Just a little rant. Pay no attention.

I heard that Cynthia was talking to Katie (new boarder with Dixie, the appy mare) and I guess Cynthia told her that horses are just farm animals to her and the other boarders go overboard.

I think it came up because Cynthia's little demon child had Dixie and a couple other horses in the arena (who also did not belong to her and they did not have permission) and was running them around for a good hour and a half, which was supposed to be their eating time. It's no secret by now that Cynthia thinks she's entitled to do whatever she wants with the horses (I don't think she would touch mine; she knows that I would personally shove her ass through a wood chipper if she did).

Now here comes the rant, and I think I speak for all of the other boarders as well.

~~Cynthia, everybody knows that you see horses as nothing but livestock, as it's perfectly obvious from the way you treat them. However, everybody else here values their horses as FAMILY MEMBERS (that includes Reba!!!) and you need to respect that or stay the FUCK away from them. If you can't treat other people's horses with the same care that we do, PISS OFF and keep your disgusting paws off of our babies, you filthy PIG.~~

... *phew*

I feel better. I just needed to let that out somewhere. I would tell Cynthia to her face, but that would probably get me into a lot of trouble.

OT, but things have gotten better now that Lorena is back at the barn. Katie is on the same page as we are, too. We all just kind of look out for each other's horses. It works pretty good. =)