Lazy Summer Dayz..

Not a whole lot to update. Being unemployed is allowing me more time with my CJ (see above), and I'm not convinced that he's as grateful for it as I am. When I ride, he has to work properly....when students ride, he just has to behave. I love the dude, though. He's good for my soul. (See how short my hair is? And, that's a couple of months of growth...no kidding)

Sunshine, my beautiful old dog, had to go to the vet today for some eye trouble. I noticed yesterday afternoon that they were puffy and had some pus going on. Gave her a benadryl to see if that would knock it out. Well, it knocked HER out, and she slept good last night, but woke up this morning with even more swelling. So, off to the vet we went. $100 later, she has some eye drops for conjuctivitis. Goofy mutt must've stuck her nose in some weed that is pollenating or something. Always somethin..

I'm getting a new kitty today. We have one already, a small female that our upstairs neighbors didn't want when we moved here...last of her litter. She's a total brat, but we love her. My dog, Sunshine, thinks Takashi is HER kitty. Our new kitty is a Norwegian Forest, and is 6 years old already. I'm getting her from a friend who works at a vet clinic. Poor thing was dropped off to be euthed. A doctor and his wife had owned her since a kitten,. She had stopped using her litterbox and they were selling their home. They said she wouldn't be able to adjust to new owners so they wanted her put down. They wouldn't take her to a no-kill shelter, either. So, the clinic had less than two hours to find her a home. She'll be with me. :) As if I need more problems, huh?

Not a cloud in the sky today, though, and I'm blessed to have food in my fridge, a roof over my head, and some great friends. We'll see what tomorrow brings...

Happy Trails, All!

Touching Base..

We meet again, my long-lost (and long-missed) cyber friends. A lot has changed in my life, and I thought I should post a short summary of happenings. I apologize for being quiet for so long, but I had to wait for the roller coaster to slow in order to hold my pen and write...

My divorce was final last Wednesday. We wrapped it up one week after our 15 year wedding anniversary. I have relocated to a nice quiet little town, where I can hear coyotes and crickets at night, instead of gangster rap and sirens and freeway traffic. I brought my good little dog, and even obtained a cat (good grief). My dog loves the 2 acre yard she has to run on, and the puppy who lives next door. She has found renewed youth here, and I hope to find it, too. After so much drama and court proceedings and restraining orders, I have placement of my youngest daughter, who I of course brought with me to Little Town, USA. She likes it here. She is discovering a lot of new things about herself.

I am hopelessly in love with my best friend, and have to most past that...somehow.

I quit my job to save my career (long story) and am currently un-employed officially, just getting by on the few bucks I earn with my riding lesson program. I still have CJ, but he couldn't tolerate being barefoot anymore...he was getting heel sore, and I had to shoe him. He's still adjusting, but is doing very well. He celebrated his 13th birthday in April. I took a good look at him, and wished for him to be able to get a break from the lesson horse gig. If I get the job I'm trying for, my wish for him may come true.

I cut all my hair off, and put a ton of blonde in it.

I lost weight, and gained it back.

I now drive a VW Beetle, and love it. :)

I am starting over. Wanna come with me?

Wise Words

"...and I whispered to the horse: trust no man in whose eye you don't see yourself reflected as an equal." - Don Vincenzo Giobbe

Still Kickin!!

I really have been  MIA for a long time. It just hit me not too long ago that the only reason I hadn't blogged was because I've been just THAT BUSY, with my horse life and with my personal life. I apologize to any of you who have been waiting with bated breath. (HA!)

I assure you, firstly, that CJ is doing incredibly well. Ever since we moved to the new place last October, he has really blossomed and flourished. He is seriously in the best physical condition that I've ever seen him. And he's still barefoot. ( Insert ridiculously goofy happy dance here) We have even hit the trails that are on the farm a few times, and it was wonderful!! It's fun to be reminded of just how sensible and fun he is outside of an arena setting. CJ has a bevy of students who lavish him with love and attention as he guides them on their path to horseback riding enjoyment.

Toi, however, never fully recovered from his mystery injury from last fall. It must have occurred in the trailer , when we were stopped by a train crossing in front of us en route to a horse show. It was really rocking back there, and when we unloaded, he had placed some pretty significant dents in the side of the steel trailer. We were informed that he had some type of stifle injury as a foal at the time of purchase, but he has always been fit as a fiddle and sound as could be. While showing that day last fall,  he just wasn't right. Not lame. But, definitely crabby. He would sull up a bit at the lope in his western classes, and was really throwing out his left hip. After vet-recommended hock injections didn't nip it, X-rays revealed a lesion on his stifle. Re-injured in the same exact area as when he was a foal. So, the vet injected his stifle, we rehabbed and tried to go back to work over the winter....no improvement. Ugh. Surgeon wouldn't touch him if we didn't nerve block to be certain, so that was done last Friday, July 1st and  he went for surgery on the 5th.

Doc cleaned and scraped the lesion, injected some bone marrow, and now he's back on stall rest. This horse is the most intense work-a-holic that I know....stall rest is torture. However, the wonderful BO is kind enough to offer a much larger stall, complete with rubber mats on the walls in case he kicks in frustration, two windows, and a lovely view of several pastures. We can hand-walk him 10 minutes each day. After 30 days, he can have a small paddock for 60 days, then back to light work. That puts us around October 5th before I can swing a leg over. Poor Toi. And, honestly, poor me. I enjoy working with him, training him, spending time with him. And, his owner is a pretty cool chick, too. We've become closer during all of this trial and tribulation with Toi, and I'm grateful for the chance to get to know her better. She's turned into a good friend over time, and who can have too many of those???

Remember Dancer? 1/2 Perchie mare? Well, she's at the same lovely huge barn as the rest of us crazies, and she's also been "off" for a while. I suspect an adjustment is in order (she's never had one, and she's a BIG girl) so her mom has lined up the chiro for her on Monday the 11th. I'll post an update. She's happy in her new home, though, and I love being able to love on her and ride her whenever I want to. She's so FUN! :) It goes without saying that we have a bond....I've known her, and have been her trainer, since she was 6 months old. She's 6 years old now. We have history, baby! :) I'm sure you're not shocked to hear that I consider her owner a close friend, as well. Our daughters even hang out together whenever they can. The horse world really is one huge, odd circle. I have a love-hate relationship with that danged circle. Maybe all of us psycho horse people do???

As far as other items of interest, I left my husband for a month and came back home.
My father passed away at the end of March.
My oldest daughter graduated high school.
Someone special (we'll refer to them as J) who had recently re-entered my life after being gone MANY years....well, let's just say that this person has become more important than I ever dreamed. And I'm happy about it.

That's all I have for now. Happy Trails and best wishes to anyone who is still a reader!