Thursday, July 3, 2008

Finally joining the revolution!

So here I go. I'm finally doing it. I've been addicted to reading blogs for a while now and I think its time I start my own. Not because I have any useful information or to keep my self accountable for anything but because I tend to have alot of crazy stuff happen to me. And someone out there just might find it interesting. Doubtful but you never know.....
The majority of my postings will be about horses. I've loved them my whole life but up until a year ago I had never had my own. My parents never had the money or means to let me have one so I suffered through collecting model horses and living vicariously through my friends whose parents were able to let them have horses or take lessons. There was even a time in my desperation to own a horse that I showed my collectible Breyers and had a great time of it although now I won't admit that in public. I did take lessons when I was 12 and worked them all off by cleaning stalls, feeding chickens and general barn cleanup but unfortunately at that age I just didn't have the work ethic it took to continue doing what I was doing. These days at 25 almost 26 years of age I have finally grown up and thanks to my wonderful, amazing, and tolerant husband I now have a horse of my own. Its the greatest thing on Earth. But the journey to get here was an ugly one. I learned alot though and even though my mare isn't perfect to industry standards, she's perfect for me and I love her.
Summer is a 5 or 6 year old Quarter/Paint mare that a friend found for me last year. She was not registered at the time and I knew absolutely nothing about her background. The lady I bought her from is a Paint breeder and although she loved Summer she just didn't fit into her breeding program so she decided to sell her. I had already had some bad experiences with 2 previous horses I had leased (more info later) so I was really nervous to go check out Summer but my friend said she was a really nice quiet mare that just needed more time put on her. Amother thing that worried me about her was that she was bred and I had NO IDEA what to do with a foal. I drove out there anyways. The first time I rode her was scary. She was a fast walker when she's nervous and had almost no "whoa" because her mouth was really HARD. She also had this horrible habit of tossing her head and chomping on the bit constantly. Her name then wasn't Summer but Beauty and it just didn't fit her. I wasn't ready to buy her right then because of our financial situation but wanted to free lease her with the option to buy. I went back two more times after that and rode her both times. Each time we both calmed down a little more and by that 3rd ride I had already decided her new name would be Summer. She has this gorgeous thin blaze on her face that looks to me like a lightning bolt and the first thing I thought of was how lightning looks during a summer storm. So after that 3rd ride I had tied her up and was finishing untacking her when I went to pull her bridle off. At that very same time she turned her head, looked me in the eye and then laid her head on my left shoulder. Right then and there I knew she was mine. I brought her home on July 3rd of last year, so exactly a year ago today. We had a lease contract where I would keep her for 2 months and then decide whether I wanted to buy her or not. If I decided I liked her I would make payments and then have her paid off by March of 2008. She is now fully mine and has a 3 month old filly at her side. We'll be going to our first show in August at the county fair and I am so excited. And scared to death. But thats a post for another day.
Well tomorrow is a holiday and I'm leaving for Washington tonight after work so I won't blog again for a few days. Have a great 4th of July!

1 comment:

KD said...

awwww, how cute - your little 'deciding moment' where she rests her head on your shoulder. I've never heard that story.