Update: Raquel-The Filly

Well, Raquel finally made it here after all that went on yesterday. Read the blog: It Makes Me so Mad. She will have her surgery tomorrow morning and go to her training barn tomorrow afternoon. She is the baby in the first photo and the third. She is no longer a baby and no longer bright chestnut as the picture under Buck Almighty shows. She is now pretty big and a dark liver chestnut with white socks behind.

I can't say that I ever want to deal with the other barn again. What an unprofessional way to behave, but I guess we all have our own definitions as to what a professional is. I am just relieved she is here where I can see her and make sure she is ok. I hope, if all goes well, she will be in the show ring in two years like her big brother JC (a.k.a Buck Almighty) who is also on this page many times.

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It Makes Me so Mad

For the last 24 hours, I have had to put myself in my trainer's position. I don't envy her her job. When I think of all that people want and expect from horse trainers, I don't know how they do it. People calling constantly with expectations, dealing with the disappointments customers may have and just dealing with us crazy horse people. Not to mention all the arrangements that have to be made for bringing in horses and getting horses shipped to clinics, shows etc. That's where I learned how difficult it can be.

My trainer had arranged for our filly to come from the farm she was at to begin her training. The person that had the filly took it upon herself to cancel the truck that was coming for the girl because the filly needs some cosmetic surgery. Without ever talking to me, the filly's trainer, or my mother, this person decided what would be done. I didn't find out until 7:00 last night that all arrangements had been canceled. She had still personally not notified anyone. She had scheduled the surgery with an equine hospital as far from us as you can get without our permission.
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HORSE

I was online with a person who is a member of what he calls HORSE-Husbands Officially Recruited to Serve Equines. I started thinking about this and thinking about the fact that many of us don't give our husbands any other choice. My husband spent years trying to fight my passion for these beautiful animals Finally, he gave in. I fell in love with Buck Almighty a/k/a JC from the day he was born. I knew I had to have him. My husband bought him from my mother's business for me. Since then, JC and Brian have become very close. JC is smart enough to know that when Brian walks into his stall, he needs to put his head on Brian's shoulder.

They became very close over the winter. I had two shoulder surgeries and couldn't drive for 4 months. Every Saturday Brian had to drive me out to the barn. He took me in the worst snowstorms. After a while, he got to the point that he could tell all the babies apart. Along with JC, my family has 2 other 3 year olds at the barn. But, each time, after JC got done working, Brian would go to his stall and JC would rest his head on Brian's shoulder. For JC's friendship, Brian bought him a new horse blanket and halter with Buck Almighty written on it.
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How Quickly They Grow Up

JC has now completed his fourth show. The difference in him since May is amazing. At his first show, he was a nervous wreck. Then, again, so was I. He was afraid of everything and acting like a 3 year old. Wow, they are not supposed to act their age. It was very iffy as to whether or not he would even make it in the ring at that show. As you know, if you read the blog JC's 1st show, he made it in and did well.

His second show was at the Midwest Charity Horse Show in Springfield, Illinois. He was even better at that show. He was still nervous, but was vastly improved compared to his first show. He discovered that he liked horse shows. He likes riding in the truck and he especially liked the fact that he got carrots and other treats several times a day. Just like at home, he took his afternoon nap everyday. He didn't fret about anything and got to wear his new show blanket which made him proud.
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The Thrill of Breeding

When we first started riding horses, we never realized what an important part of our lives they would become. We started when my sister was 12 and I was 4. We started spending more time at the barn. We learned to groom horses, clean stalls (not a fun job) and tack the horses. Eventually, we learned to exercise horses, give lessons and take out trail rides. The trail rides were fun to do because we would always have guys come out trying to impress their girlfriends. We asked who were experienced riders so we new which people to put on which horses. Invariably, the young guys would say they were very experienced and there were two horses we knew very well. Each of these horses had their own tricks. One would always stop at the creek and duck his head. Experienced riders would catch him and there wouldn't be a problem. Inexperienced riders would end up in the creek. I can't tell you how many of these "experienced" young men ended up in the creek. It was a hoot. The other horse would turn and go back to the barn. Again, experienced riders had no problem just turning him back and he would continue to follow the group. Most of the girls of these "experienced" guys ended up finishing the trail rides by themselves as their boyfriends were back at the barn.

As time went on, my mother bought us each a horse. Our first horses were killed in a barn fire which destroyed most of the horses. A man started the barn on fire. That is my worst memory of our beginnings. Once the barn was rebuilt, mom again got us horses. Through the years we have had the good, the bad, and the really ugly. But, we have learned from each and every one of them. One horse my mother got my sister was a mare who got hurt at a very young age and was never able to trot sound after that. We didn't know what to do with her. The trainer we were with suggested we breed her as she was a mare out of Status Lovely who was a daughter of Status Symbol. That was the beginning of the rest of our lives.

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Decorating Horsey for your Teen

I decided to get my children involved in horses at a young age. I have always loved them and they have been such an escape for me from different things throughout the years. I started taking them to the barn when they were very little. My daughter was 3 and my son was 5. They learned very quickly what to do and what not to do around horses.

As my daughter became a teenager, she became absolutely crazy about horses. She had to have everything in her room related to horses. After all, horses and horse related items became her "signature". Every item of clothing she wore had to have a horse on it. Even her backpack had a horse on it. She also had a horsey purse. She even got a t-shirt with her horse's picture on it. We did a lot of shopping to get this horsey wardrobe.

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What Horses do For Us

I have been on a lot of horse forums lately. The number of stories I have heard about how horses can help one maintain his or her sanity amazes me. I thought it was just me. Everyday I would go to work just to get to Saturday. It was the day when I could see the horses and I knew that that day would erase all the insanity of the week. No matter how stressed out you are when you walk into the barn, it seems to melt away when you look into the eyes of these wonderful animals.

When I was a very young child until the time I was a teen, I had a weight problem. I wasn't able to participate in a lot of sports as nobody wanted me on their team. I was always the last one chosen. I would feel really bad about myself, but the one thing I had was the horses. They never judged me or turned away from me because of my weight. Riding horses was the only thing I ever thought I was good at. I even got to use it for some of my physical education credits in high school. I always knew that the horses would have to remain apart of my life no matter what.
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Your Horse-Your Partner

Getting along with a horse does not come automatically. There are some horses that, no matter what you do, you will never win them over. I know. I have had a few of those. But, for those horses that can become your friend, you have to remember he will also become your partner. You have to be partners in what you do as you are working together.

In order to achieve this partnership, you have to gain the horse's trust. That can take time especially if it is a horse you bought. When you buy a horse, he doesn't know you and you really don't know him yet. This is the time to start getting to know one another. You may ride differently than he is used to. You may use a lot of leg and this is a horse that doesn't like a lot of leg. Further, maybe your hands aren't as quiet as he would like. Give it time. You need to listen to what he is saying to you.
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Considerations of Horse Ownership

Lately, there has been a lot of discussion about horses that have been left neglected and starving due to gas prices, costs backyard breeding and other factors. As I thought of this, I realized that many people do not really sit and think about all that is involved in owning a horse. First of all, a horse is not a dog or a cat. You can not keep a horse in your house. A horse is generally kept in some sort of barn.

Second, there are completely different expenses with a horse. When your dog, cat, gerbil, hamster, or what have you gets sick, you put it in a carrying cage and take it to the vet. This is not the case with horses. Either the vet has to come to you and charges for a vet call or you have to load the horse into a trailer and truck the horse to the equine hospital. In order to do this, you must make sure you have certain supplies to be able to safely trailer the horse. You will need a lead rope, halter and probably a blanket to truck the horse. If you do not own your own trailer, you will have to pay someone to ship the horse to the veterinary clinic.
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