My Fillies

My parents have these two older Quarter Horse geldings--Mouse and Hobbit. They are both in their early twenties and their daily ritual for the past several years has been to be taken from the barn in the morning and turned out to pasture all day to graze and then as dusk rolls around they are put back in the barn and fed goodies and hay. They have been living the life. Hobbit has earned this life--he was a world champion reiner way back (when I was in college and partying meant more to me than horses, um, I mean good grdaes--that was a brief blip in time, because as soon as I got out of school I started looking for my new horse). Mouse did not earn his retirement so much. Mouse sorta lucked out. Dad bought him as a colt and thought he'd be the next great reining champ. Well, Mouse decided he was a champ at eating and being lazy and so he was gelded, which did nothing for his energy level, although he is a gorgeous beast. Dad brought him home and thought he'd make a good trail horse and he would have but it was about that time that my father began to have some serious back problems and he lost his balance a few times on the horse--balance was something he'd always had. This scared him a lot and he stopped riding. We now know it was likely because he had developed Parkinson's Disease, which was not diagnosed for many years later. I was a mom of two little boys and a baby girl at the time and in all honesty if I was able to ride back then, I would have been jumping. So--lucky Mouse got to join his "brother" Hobbit out in the pasture.

That's been several years now (like I said) and the boys have had this same routine...until...three Thoroughbred fillies came to live amongst them. Yes, crazy me, brought home 3 yearlings last year. I couldn't help it. A man who owned a race horse breeding facility had passed away and his daughters were giving away the yearlings, weanlings and brood mares. I am not talking shoddy stock here. Even the ranch manager was in tears when Terrie and I pulled away. The next day she called to check on them and all she kept saying was, "Those girls have no idea what they have given away." The old boys at my parents' place would agree.

For several months the girls all lived in a pasture together. However, recently I decided that it was time for "manners class." I knew that Hobbit would be a great teacher. I didn't have the confidence in Old Mouse but I thought it was worth a try. I also kind of thought Hobbit (who is by far one of my most favorite animals in the entire world) was bored of the routine with his "brother." I was right. Hobbit has now taken on the role of King of the Hill. He has his herd and they listen to him. He lets them know the rules and takes no crap off of them, but at the same time he does it in a kind way. He's not nasty at all, but those fillies get that he is "the man." I have seen him gallop and buck and rear up and just have fun being the King of the Hill. He even herds them away from me when it is feeding time. He walks between them and me as if he is making sure I am okay. Maybe he is just wanting to be sure he gets the first bite of the pellets.

Then there is Mouse. Now Mouse has not completely dissapointed me. I put him in with my third filly--my shy one. He's not exactly "King of the Hill," but rather he is "Lover boy--totally enamored." Yes, poor Mouse has fallen in LOVE and Miss Bronte is clueless because she is just happy to be living in a pasture with a nice old guy (hmm...kinda creepy. I will now remove my head from the gutter). The most important thing in Mouse's world has always been food. That's what he believes humans are here for--to feed him. This is a horse who would never ever share a meal...until...he met this big TB filly (Bronte). That crazy old gelding shares his bucket AND let's her into the bucket first! Who knew? He plays with her, follows her around and you can just see it in his eyes that she is "his" girl. I think she could care less. She likes that he shares the bucket.

All I can say is that witnessing this horse behavior makes me feel so good. It's a reminder that youth or acting silly and youthful can be down right fun, and I for one, am having a helluva time watching these horses learn, play and just be. The reason I enjoy it so much is because of what I have learned by watching them. They remind me that sometimes (most of the time) it's the simple things that makes us feel the best inside.

Have a great weekend!

Cheers,
Michele
http://www.michelescott.com

Mistakes I Have Made

by Laura Crum

I posted a blog last month titled “Pitfalls”. In it I detailed the rather bad decisions a person new to horses has made when it came to buying a horse for her family. This got me thinking about the bad decisions I myself have made when I was new to owning horses. And that got me thinking about Honey.

Honey was the second horse I ever owned. I did not do a spectacular job picking out the first one, either, though I give myself a break on that—I was only fifteen at the time. My experienced uncle, my trusted advisor, selected my first horse, a somewhat cross grained gelding named Jackson. Jackson seemed an appropriate choice—he was fifteen years old when I bought him and appeared sound and gentle. Well, it turned out he was sound, but he wasn’t all that gentle. Jackson was prone to vertical rears when under pressure and to kicking out hard. He kicked me in the head once and laid me out cold. In short, he was not my dream horse.

Still, I rode Jackson and learned to deal with him. If only asked to walk, trot, lope in an arena, he was pretty much an easy ride. Two years later, when he and I were both seventeen, I sold him to the riding school where I learned to ride. (And yes, I checked on this horse—he was a success at the riding school and remained a well loved lesson horse until, several years later, he was kicked by another horse and had to be euthanised, due to a broken leg.)

Now, by the time I sold Jackson, I had helped my uncle break and train several colts, and I wanted to buy a young horse I could break and train myself. I shopped around a bit, and, as an eighteen year old, I bought an unbroken four year old mare named Honey. Honey had excellent cowhorse bloodlines (she was an own daughter of Leo Bingo) and she was a good looking sixteen hand bay mare. She belonged to an older lady who had raised her from a foal and simply let the mare run loose in the pasture. So Honey wasn’t really spoiled. But she was a hot-blooded four-year-old who had virtually never been handled.

Was this a good choice for an eighteen year old who had never broke and trained a horse single-handedly? Not so much. But my uncle liked this big good looking mare, and so I bought her.

Long story short—I got Honey broke. She didn’t hurt me; I didn’t hurt her. She developed a bad vice along the way—when she didn’t want to do something she backed up. Relentlessly. I couldn’t cure her of this and my uncle eventually took over and backed the mare until she fell down, then asked her to take a step forward. He had to go round and round with her awhile—I had her thoroughly confirmed in this vice—but eventually Honey could be talked out of backing as an evasion.

I took Honey off to college with me, intending to ride her every day. But I didn’t. There were too many other things to do, and I never really trusted Honey. I could walk, trot, lope her, take both leads, ride down the road, but she always felt resistant. I didn’t enjoy her. When winter break came around, I took her home and asked my uncle to sell her for me.

I heard she went to be a broodmare, but I never checked on her.

To me, in retrospect, this is a sad story. My intentions were good, and had I gotten some good advice, I probably could have been steered to a project horse that I might have enjoyed much more. I certainly would advise an eighteen year old girl with the experience I had at the time to go for perhaps a greenbroke horse of an obviously cooperative disposition. Not a hot, completely untouched four year old mare.

I did not ruin Honey, I don’t think, but I didn’t do her any favors either. I wanted to love her and keep her forever (that was my idealistic vision when I bought her), but I found her frustrating and sold her a year later. Not the happiest horse story in the world.

This “mistake” did not turn me off to horses. After Honey was sold I bought a little green broke four year old gelding named Hobby (another story), that I did manage to train such that he became a successful showhorse for the people who bought him from me a year later. Because, once again, Hobby and I were not a good personality fit. This story has a happy ending, because the people who bought Hobby kept him until he was a very old horse, loved him dearly, and euthanised him when his time was done. However, at the time I was just disappointed that yet another horse had not worked out for me. And then I bought Burt, a five year old with only thirty days of riding, whom I kept until his death in his late thirties. Burt was my first forever horse.

After Burt I bought two more horses that did not work out for me and that I subsequently sold. So I was in my mid-twenties when, with the purchase of Gunner, I began to be able to conciously choose horses that would work for me.

Thus, when I write about other people’s mistakes, I always try to remember that I made plenty of mistakes myself. I chose horses that weren’t suitable for me, and when I didn’t enjoy them and felt I didn’t have time for them, I passed them on. Today I am able to choose horses that work for me, and when I do place a horse in another home, I check on that horse and make sure he is doing OK. I am, I think, a responsible, competent horse owner. But I wasn’t born knowing how to do and be this. I had to learn through my mistakes.

So today I want to ask if some of you, like me, have made some big mistakes in your journey to becoming a good horseman. Or perhaps you were able to get good advice and make many less mistakes than I did. Does anybody want to share their path?

An Editor's Job

By Verna Dresibach

Since its publication, I have been asked a number of questions related to the anthology, Why We Ride: Women Writers on the Horses in Their Lives. Many writers are either creating a collection of their own, or hoping to get published by submitting their work to any number of anthologies. Some writers (and readers) believe that editing an essay collection is relatively easy. If you’re solely choosing stories and sticking them together in a book, then sure, that’s easy. I doubt it will bring much success or positive reviews, so I’d advise against it. An editor’s job is tedious and time consuming. One of my primary goals was to make sure that the stories I chose were diverse and unique enough for an entire collection, one that would keep the reader entertained and not feeling as if they’ve read the same story over and over again, 27 times. I had an innumerable amount of “first horse” stories and stories about horses that helped their owner through a traumatic event such as an injury or health issue. An editor is also at the mercy of the stories that are submitted. Because there were so many similar stories, I had to search out stories for a greater variety. Unfortunately, this is typically at the end of the submission period when an editor discovers that there might not be enough of a variety. And, if there’s a deadline to the publishing company, it can be a stressful time.

Of equal importance is to choose stories that are written well. As an editor, we have the option to include a wonderful story that isn’t written as well as it could and take a greater role in the writing of that particular story. An editor can’t do that for every story. There just isn’t enough time. I had to balance my time between those that needed very little editorial help, with those that I would have to ghost write myself. Only a few were submitted in near perfect condition. I did happen to have two writers who refused to make any changes to their stories and subsequently, they were not included in the publication. I didn’t feel as though they had gone deep enough into their story, lacking that necessary connection that would make enough of an impact on the reader. We can all enjoy our horses, but I was looking for the stories about the horses that helped shape us as women – helped to change the way we looked at the people and the world around us. As you can imagine, my job as an editor is far easier when I’m working with writers who are willing to revise and edit their pieces. And, my job as an editor is to work in conjunction with the writer so that they feel they’ve maintained the scope, purpose and voice of the story intact throughout the revision process – if it’s a major revision. All of the writers in the collection who worked with me and made the revisions themselves believe that they walked away from the experience with a stronger story. It is truly a collaborative effort and I enjoyed the experience immensely. I also believe I walked away from the experience a much stronger editor. I am grateful to the many women I worked with on this project.

Thank you!

If you missed the opportunity to submit to Why We Ride, you do have the opportunity to participate in the second annual Why We Ride contest sponsored by the San Mateo County Fair literary arts division.



DIVISION 337 – THE VERNA DREISBACH “WHY WE RIDE” NONFICTION

Sponsored by Verna Dreisbach

AWARD OFFERED:

$100.00 for the winning piece

Special Note: Verna Dreisbach is an author, educator, and literary agent. She is the editor of the Seal Press anthology, Why We Ride: Women Writers on the Horse in their Lives.

Eligibility: Submit between 2,000 (minimum) and 3500 words (maximum). Open to all writers. Share an inspirational, funny or touching story that speaks from the heart and demonstrates our unique bond with horses. Submit according to the same entry guidelines for the general writing contests, using standard manuscript formatting, 12 pt. font, double-spaced; include word count.

Note: If you are new to writing, please review Why We Ride or other anthologies and literary journals to get a sense of the type of work that is being published. Website: www.vernadreisbach.com and Blog http://horsesandwomen.blogspot.com



Here is the latest link for the literary section: http://www.sanmateocountyfair.com/competitive-exhibits/departments/literary-arts. They are in the process of building a new and much better web site that promises to be user friendly. The catalog is being printed and as soon as that is complete, they will also post the actual entry requirements online. The deadline for entries is April 29th, no exception. I am told that submissions are accepted electronically, as long as they are also mailed in hard copy to the fair office, or “walk in” until 7 pm on April 29.

Here is the address:

San Mateo County Event Center

2495 S. Delaware St, San Mateo, CA 94403

650 574-3247



Good luck. I look forward to reading your stories!

Verna

Verna Dreisbach and WHY WE RIDE

Meet Horsewoman Verna Dreisbach: Verna Dreisbach is an author, educator and literary agent. Her stories have been published in EQUUS Magazine, Bernie Siegel’s Faith, Hope and Healing and Calaveras Station literary journal. She is the founder and president of Capitol City Young Writers, a non-profit organization dedicated to the education and inspiration of young writers. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in English with honors from Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society. Verna lives in California with her husband, three kids, and myriad animals.

Verna and Chicklet

Verna's most recent project has been as author and editor of the book WHY WE RIDE: Women Writers on the Horses in Their Lives (Seal Press/Perseus 2010.) Here's a description:

Women and their horses — a symbiotic relationship based on trust, camaraderie, friendship, and love. In Why We Ride, Verna Dreisbach collects the stories of women who ride, sharing their personal emotions and accounts of the most important animals in their lives — horses. This collection of 27 stories includes the heartfelt thoughts of a range of women — those who rode as children, those who spent their girlhood years dreaming of owning a pony, and those who have made a lifelong hobby or career out of riding. Each story reveals how horses have made a difference — and an impact — in the lives of these women. The bonds formed, the paths ridden, and the hills climbed all combine in this provocative, compelling anthology. With a foreword by best-selling novelist Jane Smiley, Why We Ride offers a reflective view on the relationships between women and horses.

Here's an excerpt from the book - to whet your appetite:

I have been in love with horses since I can remember. And I know I’m not alone as I remember images of that first glimpse, sensations of that first touch, and ultimately the exhilaration of that first riding lesson. As a young girl - I was hooked. But it wasn’t until junior high that I found my true love.

Like dog owners who profess their breed of dog as the only one they’ll ever own for reasons ranging from loyalty to intelligence, personality or “just because of the way he makes me feel,” horse owners are no different. We choose a horse for her beauty, her ability, or for what we see of ourselves, reflected in her. I found beauty in the racehorse, the thoroughbred racehorse - a beauty that captured my heart long before a boy ever did. Enticed by their long, slender legs and narrow faces – I treasured the climb upon their back, the long view down from above, and the effortless movement of their long strides, the sensation of the ground passing under us as if Pegasus had taken flight. But mostly, I love their passion to run and how their sweaty bodies glisten in the sun, sweat dripping from their bellies to the ground - a passion so intense that it seeps through every bead of sweat that tickles their skin, in every muscle that twitches. The prancing, the inability to stand still, the glaze in their eyes as they near the racetrack – that reveals their spirit. That tells their story.

Wow. Can anybody relate to that? I know I can. To learn more about Verna, please visit her website www.vernadreisbach.com We hope to hear more from her in the future, and in the meantime, try and find a copy of WHY WE RIDE. Sounds like a winner!

A Controversial Subject

by Laura Crum

Today’s post is on a controversial subject in many ways, be warned. A lot of you may have strong feelings about this topic. I want to bring it up because its something I think about and wonder what the best answer is. I don’t have a simple solution, but I do have some ideas. And I think they’re worth talking about.

First off, I want to say that one reason I think about this topic as much as I do is because I occasionally read the blog, “Fugly Horse of the Day”. Its listed on the sidebar for those who wish to check it out. And, in fact, I have been reading this blog (and others) more often lately because I am in the midst of churning out my twelfth novel. I am in that particular stage, familiar to all authors, where I must simply generate the bulk of the material. I have a plot and characters and an outline; I have written the oh-so-enjoyable first few chapters. I am about halfway through the book and now I must steadily pour out reams and reams of story (or so it seems to me right now). Those who write novels will understand that this is not always a delightful, joyous, creative occupation. Sometimes it feels like trudging up a steep hill—with a long way to climb ahead. But I must persevere, because I have a deadline looming. So I spend many hours, nose to grindstone, or rather keyboard, typing away. And when I get stuck, or need a break, I have a tendency to click around reading horse blogs. And often, I read the fugly blog.

Now, Fugly is a controversial subject in and of herself. Many of the “horse bloggers” hate her, others love her. Me, I neither hate nor love Cathy, the blogger, nor her blog. I think she does a good job getting a lot of important info out to the public and she is a clever writer—and I also think her heart’s in the right place. This last means I think she is doing her best to reduce the suffering that goes on in the lives of horses and all animals. That said, I disagree with her on many points and I’m not always nuts about her attitude. However, guess what? Its that very attitude that has made her so successful as a blogger—that’s what people read her blog for. They like to hear her bash people. And she’s smart enough to know that. And one of the things that Cathy/Fugly is vehement about is being anti-slaughter.

Since reading the fugly blog I’ve learned a lot about what the slaughter business amounts to right now, and it is all horrific. I am totally anti-slaughter, too, as it exists today. But I think the underlying problem is deeper than Cathy or others who are simply anti-slaughter are willing to consider, and I’d like to put my views forth here and see what you all think.

First off, I am a person who does her best to treat all animals with respect and love. I retire my old horses and euthanise them when their time comes; I am aghast when folks I know take their horses to the sale (to potentially end up going to slaughter), and I tell them so. I have been known to rescue other people’s retirees and give them a home. I love all my animals, and I will allow no harm to be done to the wild animals on my property, including the troublesome ones. So I guess you could say I’m totally on the same page as the anti-slaughter people when it comes to wanting to prevent animal suffering.

I raise my own beef—partly because I want to know I’m eating healthy meat, and partly because I want to know that the steer I’m eating had a good life and a peaceful death. And I do ensure this. My steers live to be 5-7 years old in a big pasture. They are never penned up; they are killed by a professional ranch killer as they stand there grazing. One moment alive, the next gone. No hauling, no feedlot. No suffering.

Now I have had vegetarians tell me that I am evil for killing these steers, and I am a bit puzzled by this. The steers will die in the end. We all do. Death cannot be avoided. Suffering can be avoided—not death. I did not bring the steers into the world—I don’t raise either cattle or horses. By buying these steers, I saved them from a short life and a nasty end. If I let them live a great deal longer, they would simply be faced with the various maladies of old age. Why is it wrong of me to give them a peaceful end to a very good life and eat their meat? I think its win/win. And I honestly think that the best answer to the horse slaughter conundrum is not to ban slaughter but to create a program that is in some ways like the program I have for my steers.

The problem with saying that horse slaughter should disappear and that everyone who no longer wishes to keep a horse and can’t find a buyer should cough up the money to euthanize the horse, or at least shoot it, is that many, many people do not regard horses as pets. Very many people regard horses as livestock, and they do not consider livestock to have any feelings worth considering. I’m not defending this point of view; I’m just saying that its pretty common. Fugly has said that in this society horses are pet animals and should be treated as such, and I think that’s a gray area. We might wish this were so, but historically, in this society, horses were not very often pet animals. They were a means of transport and then a means of making money (racing, horseshows/horse training, trading…etc), and having fun (horse as sporting equipment). It has always been the exception rather than the rule that a horse owner loved his/her animal and took care of them when their working days were done. Given this situation, I think it makes more sense to find a solution that incorporates the point of view that horses are livestock like cattle—something to make money on—rather than pets.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t agree with that view. I love horses and I don’t want to see them suffer. But I know tons and tons of people who do treat horses as if they were cattle, just something to make money on (or sporting equipment—to be got rid of when it doesn’t work any more), and who don’t think that either horses or cattle have “feelings”. The fact that I believe these people are totally wrong (or fugly believes that, or any of us) doesn’t change the way such folks think. And by the way, from their point of view, I treat my cattle as if they were horses.

What if we all just agreed that an unwanted horse is better off dead than suffering and that there is no harm in using his flesh, as long as he is killed humanely. What if there were pastures and ranch killers set aside for this purpose, and there were strict rules as to how the procedures could be done. What if “horse killers” could thus raise “clean” meat such as I raise my steers (by keeping the horses on good pasture and hay for several months) and then sell the humanely killed horses for top dollar to the markets that want such meat. What if they could make a good profit this way?

I think that the horror in horse slaughter comes from the dreadful hauling conditions and feedlot conditions and the equally horrible way in which these horses are killed. There is no horror in a quick painless death while grazing, such as I give my steers. In actual fact, it’s a more reliably peaceful death than euthanasia, when executed by a competent professional. There is no horror in using the meat for food.

So I want to suggest that rather than taking up the somewhat unrealistic position that everyone should regard horses as pets, that all horsemen adopt the position of trying to create a truly humane way to “process” unwanted horses. One that is good for both the horses and the people involved.

And yes, I agree that it’s a shame to kill a young horse that has never had a chance, and if someone can give that horse a chance, more power to them. But starving backyard horses are not getting a life that’s preferable to my proposed slaughter program, in my opinion.

Also, I have not touched at all on the other aspects of this subject, such as people breeding horses for which there is no market, and the harm done by failing to have young horses trained such that they are capable of a useful working life. At the moment, I’m just trying to focus on the one problem. There are many unwanted horses who suffer and their current end through the slaughter industry is horrible. I think we should try to make a positive change and I think my idea makes more sense than banning slaughter. Well, we did ban slaughter and what came of it was just as bad. Horses hauled further, to die in worse conditions. It isn’t working. Lets try something different.

Ok—there’s my ideas on this subject—I’d welcome hearing yours.

Have a Little Patience

So I went to England for a few days, but didn’t see any horses. The video of the pretty liver chestnut I fell in love last week with didn’t impress my trainer, and when I looked again with a slightly cooler head I could see where she was coming from. Yes, it’s a pretty horse, with pretty paces, but for the price demanded, and the level of training stated, the video didn’t show nearly enough. Not by a mile. Also, the horse is apparently mega whip shy, to the extent where it doesn’t even like the rider to carry a whip, which turns me off somewhat. Not that I’m a heavy handed, whip wielding horse thrasher. Not at all! But I do like to carry one to encourage a haphazard hind leg, or to make a point once in a while. Nevertheless, I’ve asked for more footage, so we’ll see. Patience is a virtue, right? As Take That say in their wonderful song: “have a little patience”. I’m playing that song a lot lately. Not sure it’s helping!

I’ve seen a few more videos from Holland and selected a couple of contenders. Both are mares. I’m not sure I want a mare, as I’ve had one and they can be a bit of a pain, don’t you think? Mine was a grouch. I loved her to bits, but she was definitely a grouch. She didn’t like to be fussed over, didn’t like to be saddled up, didn’t like to be blanketed, and had strong opinions about the most trivial things. Of course, not all mares are like that, but experience has made me mare-wary. I mean, I know what hormones do to me, so I can relate. We’ll see. Have a little patience.

Which brings me to a non-equestrian topic. I actually wasn’t going to London to look at horses, at least not in the first place. I went to see a concert, and I took my Mama. She’s 72, it was her first pop concert, and she loved it! We saw Gary Barlow, the lead singer of Take That, at a small venue in Shepherd’s Bush, packed with two thousand love-struck, ultra-dedicated Gary fans. But what made this concert super special was the fact that it was a public celebration of Gary’s fortieth birthday, so you can imagine the atmosphere!

The evening was one long exhilarating sing-along from the moment the party boy came on stage. There were special guests, too, including an endearingly shy Chris Martin (Coldplay) who accompanied Gary in the massive Take That hit “Back for Good”, then ran offstage like he had tummy ache or something. Midge Ure (remember the Eighties group, “Ultravox”?!) was also invited, singing his heart out to a new Take That song inspired by his stratospheric hit, “Vienna”. Brilliant! The rest of the “Thatters” were there too (Jason, Mark and Howard, gotta love them!), singing and dancing up a storm, apart from the fickle-faced Robbie Williams (who recently rejoined the group after causing mayhem for them back in the Nineties) who contributed by sending Gary a video-taped, bare-bottomed birthday greeting from Los Angeles. Personally, I found this a little OTT, but that’s just me. I guess Robbie will always be Robbie. Pff!

Anyway, as concerts go, this one was one of the best I’ve seen as far as the feel-good factor is concerned. There’s something intensely satisfying about belting out one great song after another with two thousand other people, while doing all the accompanying moves. It’s fun! It’s uplifting! And I don’t care about the snide remarks I get from the musical snobs in my entourage, they can diss Gary Barlow as much as they want. He writes great, melodic pop songs, with tunes you can sing, not just repetitive risqué lyrics with boom-boom-pow thunderous bass lines orchestrated for bottom wiggling. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for wiggling my bottom to the risqué boom-boom-pow stuff when bottom wiggling is called for, but there’s something to be said for a great melody and nice, romantic lyrics, don’t you think?

Besides, Gary Barlow’s “Patience” really speaks to me at the moment. It’s a song about a embarking on a new relationship after losing a very special one. Horse-wise, I’m there. So thanks, Gary, for a wonderful evening.

The New Horse Bug

Earlier this week, a fellow rider posted an ad for a horse for sale on our barn Yahoo loop. For the heck of it, I clicked on the Craig's List link. That was my first mistake. Now, I'm not really an Arabian person, but this handsome fellow looked like a small warmblood with a quality head, nice big body, and was about 16 hands. He'd had some professional dressage training (very little, but some). He'd been shown at Arabian regionals in various classes and done well. Even better, he was only $3000. A major bargain for the bucks. But then, in this economy, there are most likely tons of bargains.

I fell in love. In fact, I fantasized over having a sound horse again. For the first time in 13 years, I got the new horse bug. I mentioned my by now future horse to a co-worker of mine, who is constantly trolling Dream Horse and Craig's List for horses. She knew exactly the horse I mentioned then proceeded to burst my new horse bubble. Unintentionally, of course. It seems I overlooked one very large fact. He's ten years old.

Maybe that doesn't sold too old for many people, but for me, it was the deal breaker, not that I'd even seen the horse to make a deal on him. Especially considering he'd really not been trained in dressage so he was probably 4-5 years behind the curve for his age. Nope, not going to work for me.

A few days later, I had a lesson on Gailey. She was stiff and felt a little off. Not enough to quit riding her, but enough to know she isn't ever going to recover enough to do upper level dressage, even at home. I talked to my trainer (who is also a long-time friend) and mentioned I'd actually considering the Arabian posted by one of her students earlier in the week.

We talked at length, since the lesson after mine had cancelled. We discussed what I'd do with Gailey if I bought another horse. I have options. One is to bring her home, but then I'd need an additional animal to keep her company, and I really don't want to take care of two horses. Another was offer her as a lease to someone who might be interested in breeding her. Even my trainer said she might toy with the idea herself as Gailey is such a nice mare.

Then she told me about a fellow student of hers who is having a "fire sale" because of a divorce. She has a well-broke five year old going 2nd level I might be able to get for cheap or at least on payments. I immediately went to the student's website and looked at a video and fell in love again (I know, I'm fickle). Here, I made another mistake. Instead of calling on the horse, I emailed about it. A few days later, I received an email back stating two others were already looking at the mare, and she'd let me know if it didn't work out.

I'm pretty sure I lost out on the chance. :(

I can't decide if it's a message from a higher being to forget the new horse for now or if I should keep plugging along. It's really bad timing for my hubbie and I. He has recently found out that he may possibly have a debilitating disease. We'll know more next month when he goes to Seattle for 2 days of tests. Our kids have asked for our help in buying a house for their growing family, so any cash we have will be tied up in that, which we're more than happy to do. Is it really the time for me to be horse hunting?

I've avoided looking at Craig's List or Dream Horse or the local horse magazine, Flying Changes. I fear if I do, I'll be obsessed with purchasing a new horse even though I have no money to buy one.

I'm trying to convince myself I'd be better off buying some Arthri-Eze to help Gailey with her arthritis and ride the horse I have. Such is my life right now.

Yet, for a brief moment in time, I got excited about riding again, about showing, about giving all of this another shot. If nothing else comes out of my brief foray into purchasing a new horse, at least, I now realize the horse bug is still alive and well inside me. I'll just have to live through Francesa for now as she hunts for a her next dream horse.