After years of borrowing horses, working to ride and catch riding, I finally have my own horse, a spicy chocolate mare...but also a demanding day job (who doesn't?), a nerdy husband, a soccer loving kid who needs to be parented (by me, duh), and the ultimate trail buddy, a chocolate Labradork!
I’m writing this particular dispatch from my new reclining camp chair (snapped up from Costco), three quarters of the way through a can of 14 Hands wine. Tarma slurps her dinner in her corral next to me, and my belly is full of my friend’s excellent Shepard’s pie. The puppy is sleeping in the kennel […]
I was hoping to write a different post, but I promised myself I’d be honest and real here. Last night I pushed Tarma too hard, trying to work through her fear of fly spray, and today was the fallout. I used every trick and method I’ve learned, I was striving to reach a solid stopping […]
Thank you everyone who commented with empathy and understanding after my last post. Cliché as it may be, it really does help to not be the only one stuck in between this particular wretched rock and a hard place. Unfortunately nothing is going to change that situation but time. Thankfully there’s always horses. I had […]
I was not a good mom today. It’s only now, sitting in the dark listening to Tarma slurp her dinner (I feed it wet to avoid choke) that I’ve figured out why. Kade hasn’t been doing anything differently than he has all summer, although I did give him the last two weeks of summer “off” […]
The husband is home from his vacation now, so I seized the remaining day light, left him to watch the kid not watching the puppy, shoved Tarma’s boots on (Scoots on all four now) and squeezed in a short ride. We’re lucky to have private timberlands to ride on with volunteer maintained trails a short […]
Having my husband home is a boon in so many different ways, not only because I love him but because I was able to sneak in Tarma’s first lesson with my trainer this morning. I took the puppy but left the kid at home, still sleeping. Tarma handled herself so well, only throwing mare face […]
Through a combination of Herculean effort and light sleeping, I can officially declare it’s been one week since Benny’s last accident in the house, and he’s never had one in the kennel. I know we’ve only had him home just over two weeks, but I’m celebrating the wins as they come. I’d known going into […]
Welp, my husband is at 37,000 feet and heading towards Iowa, leaving me to single mom it for a week with a baby shark, a mare with a heel bulb injury and a 10 year old who needs to get to soccer camp every day. I’ve informed said husband that’s he’s not allowed to do […]
Normally, after I’ve been working on a blog post for over a week, something mostly coherent and possibly pithy will be produced. After a week with no stretch of sleep lasting more than five hours, this attempt is heavier on the photos than the words. Everyone, meet Bernard (nicknames so far include: Benny, Bernie, BB, […]
Tarma did such an exceptional job up in the mountains this weekend, plus the four hour trailer ride home, that she got the week off. I’m happy to report that when I palpitated her back and hips two and three days later, she just yawned, so no soreness! As a heavy weight rider, tack fit […]