It's not you, it's me

I sent the breakup letter.

You know, the "Hey, um, I'm moving my horse. Buh bye. It's not you, it's me," deal.

Hamps doesn't care where he lives, as long
as he gets his mid morning naps.

I feel sort of guilty since the current BO has been very nice to me and I do consider her a friend. She had told me that the barn was losing money and that they need more boarders. Which then made me feel more guilty.

*sigh* But in the end it is my horse, my money, my life.

So we are moving. Looks like Monday is the day. :)

The job doing chores in the morning is going well so far. It's just 4 days a week but I think that is enough for me. Yes, I'm exhausted and sore but in a good way. (Thankfully my newspaper job only requires that I sit at a desk.) It has been a while since I have cleaned 16 stalls each morning. I'm looking forward to getting nice and fit for the summer. As you can see, I am writing in simple sentences because I am damn tired. :)

So until we get moved, Hampton gets a little mini vacation. I simply don't have enough time to do chores, drive to the other farm (about 20 minutes), tack up and ride and drive home in time for work. I'll ride him this weekend though - hoping to run through First-3 and see what we have.

In the meantime, I've nailed down a couple of really super opportunities. First, we will be participating in the Christoph Hess clinic in May (hopefully!). And then in early June, we will be attending the adult dressage camp at Forrest Hill Farm. I have my eyes on some shows, too, but that will depend on whether I move or not. So that is on hold for the time being.

More on those later. But as I am slaving over stalls in the morning, I keep my eyes on those goals. Extra money = good thing. I also need new contacts and a visit to the dentist ... but, uh, my extra funds will go toward Hampton first. Duh.

The job situation has had some nibbles, too. I have a feeling this will be a busy month.

Goodbye, Sparkle.

I had a great lesson on Hampton today, but unfortunately I also received news that my old Morgan mare, Sparkle, died this morning. She had a severe case of colic. The vet said she would likely not survive the trip to Purdue (the closest large animal clinic for surgery ...)

She was euthanized.

You can read more about Sparkles HERE.

She was easily into her 20s and had enjoyed a wonderful retirement with a great family. Before that, she gave my family 2 gorgeous fillies. And before that, she gave me and my sister more victory passes than I can count. (Including a World Champion title in 1998).

Sparkle was there through college, graduation, numerous boyfriends, 2 jobs and other life changes. She was really part of the family. I am so sad, but know that the family did the right thing for her. She was never sick a day in her life before this.

She had the most unique, sassy nicker at feeding time. I remember how quiet the barn seemed when she had left to her retirement home. She hated cats and once picked up a calico and flung it out of her stall. She also hated shots. You had to pin her against the wall and hope for the best for vaccines. But for everything else she was perfect.

I will miss her.

Spice O Life Sparkle Plenty

Indiana All Morgan 

Mid-A Regional in Hershey, PA

Gold Cup Regional, Columbus, Ohio

You got peppermints sir?

Sparkle let my dad lead her around while I tortured her baby.

When Sparkle was in heat, she would sit on the doors.

T-Bone, Sparle and Corinne at Triple Creek

licking my glove

Corinne, her first baby

and then she had Piper. :)

Piper nommin' her leg

I have a baby now? When did this happen?!

Ft. Wayne Indiana

YES!! You DO have peppermints!

Fuzzy Sparkle.

To move or not to move?

So other than being slammed with a nasty flu bug this week (what happens when you take 2x the amount of recommended Mucinex? Guess I'll find out!) ... my life has been pretty busy and interesting.

The potential new barn (and job)

So I have been offered a part-time job at a barn across town. It's just basic farm chores for 5 hours in the morning. Pay is not great, but would certainly give me enough extra cash to pay for Hampton's board there and a little extra for my pocket, too.

Aisle

The indoor

Moving to this new barn has several advantages.
• Indoor arena (!!! YAY!!). It's a nice size, with good footing. Plus poles and standards to use.
• Outdoor arena (pretty big - more like what we are used to now. Also good footing.)
• Hampton would have a stall with regular feedings. The hay was GREAT. Nice and green and fluffy. This barn is very well organized on how the horses get fed and turned out.
• Nicely lit barn. Cross ties with rubber mats to groom on.
• Trails around the neighborhood (the barn is in a neighborhood subdivision).
• My current instructor can teach there.
• Horses get turned out 8+ hours a day. In at night.
• Friendly people (my first impression.)
• Place to park my trailer.
• It's actually closer for me to drive there from home. (Takes the same amount of time, though, since I have to drive through campus)
• Lots of other eventers ride there.

Disadvantages?
• Board is more expensive.
• Working 5 hours in the morning means less sleep for me (since I am still going to work my regular 3-11:30 newspaper job for now). It means I will have to be at the barn by 7 a.m. in order to do chores and also work Hampton. I will have to be prepared to be exhausted. But ... this could also be good for me.

It isn't that I hate our current barn. But you all know that I am not happy with the hay provided and also some of the drama that goes on. Frankly the only reason I was staying there is because two of my closest friends were also boarders. They are both gone now and I spend most mornings riding alone (like, not a soul on the property) which makes me nervous for my safety.

What do you guys think?

***

In other news - lesson tomorrow! Guess I better suck it up. I hate being sick.

Home.

Made it to Kansas and back safely with no major complications.

Lilly settled in and promply fell in love with a 2 year old gelding who lives next to her. I guess I will have to break the news to Hampton that he is yesterday's news to her.

Lesson this week and going to try and ride as much as I can.

But now, bed.

One for the road

On Friday I am taking a road trip.

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know that I love road trips. In 2009, I decided to drive to California on a whim to see a Phish concert. That was more than 30 hours in my Chevy Colorado. Bless that little truck for getting me there and back safely.

ANYway ... this time I will be hauling my best friend's horse, Lilly the Walker, to Kansas for her. (She moved there and abandoned me. *sob*)

Lilly and Hampton on a trail ride last summer.

And I am stressed out. (Remember I am already stressed from my job ... another story for another day ...)

Like so nervous my acid reflux came back and I can't sleep. As you all know, I have mild freak outs when I need to haul Hamps an hour away. This is a 9-hour trip with a horse that's not even my own.

Every single possible horrific, catastrophic event has been playing through my mind. Last night I had a dream that the trailer came unhitched from my truck on the interstate. I literally woke up screaming.

I have had 2 events in my life that have made me terrified of horse trailers and the act of hauling.

One was in 2009 when my previous horse, T-Bone, almost killed himself when he tried to jump the divider in a slant load and ended up straddling the divider between his back legs. He was stuck, then went into shock and became unresponsive. His eyes turned grey. I was smacking him in the face trying to get him to lift his head. NOTHING. I was literally on the phone with the vet hospital when for some reason, he woke up and backed off the divider. He came away with a bruise in his crotch. He was very, very lucky.

And then there was college. When I was a student at the University of Findlay, there was an accident on I-75 involving a 3-horse trailer. The horses were directed to the school's vet school. I happened to be at the farm that evening when the horses arrived. I was 19 and had never seen anything like that EVER in my life.

One horse was already dead on the trailer. Me and a couple of other students were asked to remove the horse from the trailer while the surviving horses were cared for by vets, vet students and the staff. The inside of that trailer was covered in blood. The surviving horses ended up having stitches all over their bodies. Poor things.

So see, my weird fears and anxiety problems aren't just out of nowhere. The best I can do is to be as prepared as I can for various situations. I'm also bringing along ... let's call him, Friend of the Male Persuasion, who is the next best thing to MacGyver himself. So I won't be alone.

I know I will breathe a huge sigh of relief when he arrive safely and Lilly is off the trailer and healthy.

And then I will need beers. Lots of them.

My furry Valentine

Ladies I have the most awesome Valentine this year!

He is such a stud. (um ... except he is missing a couple of things).

Let me tell you about him.

He is BRAVE in the face of danger! Like feed bags!

I actually was going to rattle the bag at him to get him to trot pretty for photos. fail.

Don't worry human, I smash noisy bag! Save yourself!

He is handsome! And cute .. and snuggly ...

Someone needs his mane pulled.

That's Pamela the photo-bomb.

Most importantly, ladies, he has a nice butt!

squeeze me.

He is dorky and smart. But still a free spirit.

you toss that mane, hamps.

He is kind and forgiving.

lazy trot.

geez Hampton whoever did that clip job needs lessons.

He is honest.

He doesn't complain about my cooking. He likes beer and long trail rides. He watches out for me.

Are you done taking fotos? Iz hungry.

He has a sense of humor and knows how to flirt. (for treats. any. treats.)

I just look past the fact that he:

• has terrible table manners. (throws his food and bucket, spills food, etc.)

• has zero restroom etiquette

• costs a lot of money

Details!

Ok so my Valentine is a horse. DON'T JUDGE ME! :)

SDTDEDDA Award. ugh

Today's Such a Dumbass They Don't Even Deserve a Darwin Award:

Um.
This one is bad. I feel so sorry for this little horse, who appears to be MAYBE a yearling. Possibly an older WEANLING.

I don't have anything to say except these people are really fucking stupid. Sorry, I try to keep my blog mostly clean but there are no words except: fucking. stupid.