Solo Flight

After a month of snow storm after snow storm, below 0 temperatures ... and a little bit of first time jitters ... I tacked up and rode Sunny today ...

I loved (almost) every second of it ... he is such a sweet, forgiving, handsome boy.

Sherri and her horse, Dylan were our riding buddies and I'm looking forward to nicer weather so we can bring our guys out for some trail riding.

And except for a few moments of being nervous when I thought we might be mauled by Bill the goat, the ride was absolute heaven!!!

I love this big guy ...

Sunshine & Hollywood

I couldn't be happier ... my husband loves my horse ...

There is that moment when you decide that you're going to have a horse and you know that you're going to have to convince your significant other that you're really doing this ... and that it's gonna be an expense, and that you're not always gonna smell very nice ... and that you may spend too much time at the barn and that ... well ... life is going to be different!

I knew it was all going to be okay yesterday, when my husband was doing the weekly grocery shopping and he called me from his cell phone to ask, "Do you need carrots for Sunny?"

Today, he took me to the barn and instead of dropping me off, he hung out while I groomed, changed winter blankets and took Sunny for a walk.

He made friends with some of the other horses, asking about their names, breeds and histories ... of course he liked the OTTB who bites, cuz "He's got attitude!!!"

Then I got to take these photos ...

Checking out the mares:

And what girl doesn't swoon to see her two "best guys" sharing a moment ...

They BOTH have stolen my heart!!!

Who Pays To Lease A Horse In New England ... In February???

So far since I've written the check to lease my Sunshine ... it has snowed, and I mean SNOWED!!! We're currently up to 103 inches of snow ... yesterday the temperatures were 30 below zero ... and I'm paying to ride a horse!!!  Yay me!!!
Seriously,  I couldn't be happier ... I've spent my time feeding carrots and  butterscotch treats, adjusting blankets, checking water buckets and taking Facebook horse selfies ... and praying in the middle of the night that Sunny and all his friends on the farm are warm enough ...

So basically, it's BLISS!

Bring on Spring, because I know Sunny and I are gonna ROCK IT!!!

It's Always "Sunny" at the Barn

I stopped by to see my boy tonight ... just to give him a couple of cookies, straighten out his blankets and refasten a few buckles and mainly just kiss his nose!

After finishing a great book this morning: 

Falling for Eli: How I Lost Heart, Then Gained Hope Through the Love of a Singular Horse 

by Nancy Shulins

Sunny and I have some similarities to the author and her horse Eli ... we met 'later in life', we're a little too generous with the treats and maybe a little too timid with the discipline ... but it was very clear that there are other women like me out there who have awakened that deep love of horses that never really left our little girl hearts!

But the ONE huge difference in our stories (besides the fact that my friends Beth and Cindy would never allow me to get a thoroughbred!!!) is the experience with trainers ... I understand her situation and remember a riding instructor when I was was a girl who scared the shit out of me and most of the horses around her ... but now I have the best trainer ever ... he's gentle with me, he knows that what I really need now is confidence building and the only time he's strict with me is when he reminds me to BREATHE!  

It's a Marvelous Night for a Moondance

Oh I miss my mare ...

My crazy, big headed, tongue-lolling, silly girl ...

Moondancer, aka Moonza-Doonza ... that one special horse that I was lucky enough to be in love with and have that love reciprocated ...

I can tell you what a pain in the ass she was, how many times she dumped and left me in the woods because "something touched my back leg, mama", or the sheer terror of trying to stay on her whenever she came across the worlds scariest creature of all ... the friendly cow!

I can also tell you how many of my tears she dried with her long beautiful mane, how she never ran out of kisses for me, the happy whinny that I got every time I showed up at the barn and the fierce, flat ears back look that she gave her best horse friends when they came up to me ... I was hers and she was mine!

Moon, every horse I ever meet will always be compared to you ... and no matter how great they are ... they'll always be one pecking order place behind you my dear!

xoxo

I'm SO sick of SNOW!

Wow, I just read that headline and had to laugh ...

I'm missing my Sunny today ... too much snow ... when it occurs to me who the horses in my life have been ...

There was my first horse, the one that was truly all mine ... I was 12 and my parents bought me my very own horse ... my dad built a big stall in the unused garage and set up a nice pasture in our backyard.  She was a silly looking appaloosa, only six years old ... and I loved her to death!!!

She came with a western saddle, a pair of western boots (for me, I'm not kidding) and I was IN LOVE!

I caved into the peer pressure of all my friends and somehow miraculously we trained her to be a little english hunter girl, because none of my friends "rode western" ... (cue a gentler version of mean girls here!)

But when all was said and done, our main mode of riding was bareback with just a halter and lead rope ... lazy summer days playing in the hay fields ... riding, munching grass, and just basically being best friends ...

And her name ... Snowflake!!!

I guess I really love snow after all!!!

That Face!

I have always been a sucker for a big blaze ... it's definitely the first thing I notice about a horse ...

But I look at Sunny's blaze and all I can think is ... God created this perfect blaze, but the horse was so sweet he couldn't wait till it dried before he had to pat him ... and so it's more of a "blaze with a smudge'!!!  PERFECTION ...

HA!

I went to the barn today wearing a tank top tucked into my underwear, then a layer of underarmour pants and long sleeve shirt over nylon socks ... then jeans with gray itchy wool hunting socks ... then an underarmor sweatshirt with thumb sleeves ... then a hoodie sweatshirt (kinda thug like) and then a vest ... I can barely move like the little kid in Christmas Story ... I don't even RIDE, I just "LOOK" at my horse ... I come home, I get out of all my "horsey" apparel ... and I still end up with a piece of hay in my underwear ... YUP ... I'm a horse girl now!!!

(no photo ... you're welcome!!!)

Good Morning Sunshine!

Yes, the very first thought when I opened my eyes this morning was, "I HAVE A HORSE!"

I feel like I'm a little girl all over again ...

I dressed in 73 layers, went to Dunkin's and bought a hot chocolate and then went to the barn to "stare at my horse" ...

Sunny is a great sport, he didn't seem to mind that a crazy lady found sheer joy in watching him eat hay ... occasionally he'd stop to sniff my hot chocolate (could he smell the chocolate cherry Bailey's nip that I put in it, hmmm ...)  He emptied my pockets of all the molasses, peppermint and butterscotch treats.  He didn't seem to mind when I fussed with his blankets because they were crooked.  And he decided that taking selfies on my phone was kinda fun!

We're Officially a Couple!

I signed all the paperwork, we're officially a couple ... it's a lease, so technically we're only engaged, but that's okay ... 

There was some careful thought and planning that went into this big decision ... like how I was going to afford him ... of course I can't really afford him, who CAN afford a horse!?!?

I went through my spending habits to see what I could cut out, what do I spend unnecessary money on each week?  It was hard to find that one thing ... ahem ... okay so it's the wine!

YES, I have decided to give up buying bottles of my favorite red wine in order to afford a horse ... I think it's a good trade off ... and I may even lose a few pounds in the process (I've always lost weight at the beginning of a new romance)!

So far so good ... I mean, I can do this, right?  (Okay, I may have bought a "box of wine" for the weekend, but that's ONLY because we're getting a three-day snow storm and I'm not crazy enough to think I can survive that without a little sip here and there ... right?  RIGHT!?!?!?

First Date

I finally broke the news to my husband last night that I'm going on a date ... with a horse!  He took it quite well, I'm pretty sure he saw this coming a mile away ... The funny thing is, my (no horse experience) husband so far is the ONLY one who thinks it's great that the horse is 17.2!

I arrive at the barn and there he is, waiting for me on the cross ties ... looking ... we'll looking ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!  First impressions are very important, I notice that he has a huge blaze and one amazing sock ... He notices that I come with pockets full of horse treats ... we become instant friends!

I brush him a little and then his owner and I take him out to the ring (which is filled with 100 feet of snow, since we're having a very snowy winter) ... I watch her ride this big, beautiful boy and he is the perfect gentleman ... then it's my turn ...

The view isn't as scary from up here as I expected ... in fact it's rather nice, in fact IT'S AWESOME!!!

He's just as sweet for me ... and I know that he is THE ONE!

(I even got a kiss on our first date, Sunny's smooth ...)

Answered Prayer (in a very big way)

The house is quiet, my husband has gone to sleep, I'm playing on Facebook and BAM! I find him!!!

Suddenly I'm dancing around the room ... I call the number, I leave a message, I text the number, I dance some more ... and then I get a response ... I have a date with a beautiful gelding for the following Sunday!

I text all my horsey friends ... and then it hits me ...

This horse is 17.2!!!

Want Ad

I feel like I'm writing my ad for a dating site ... but instead of a date with a guy, I'm looking for a date with a horse!

My dream horse is:

15.2+
Has a blaze (socks would be the icing on the cake)
Sweet and practically bombproof

I want to go on long lazy trail rides
Maybe work up to competitive trail rides
Wear sparkly outfits in a western pleasure show ring

He (or she) needs to love hugs, kisses and treats

Looking for a relationship ...