I think this is the longest since I’ve written in a long time. Returning Trophy to his original owner was more upsetting than I thought it would be. Wally’s mother’s death was really more upsetting than I thought it would be.
So, I’ve been laying low. Spending a lot of time with Wally and his family. I’ve also been searching for an affordable replacement for Trophy. We looked at a lot of duds as well as some nice horses, most of which were more money than I could afford. Given that the market for horses is so bad, I had hoped some of these people would be willing to reduce their prices for a good home, but for the most part, that wasn’t the case. On Sunday, we took one home from a local guy, luckily on a ten day trial period because he failed the vet check miserably. The people we got him from were filthy liars and I’m so glad I insisted on a ten day trial. I think they were expecting me to get so attached to the horse that I wouldn’t return it. I almost did; glad the vet insisted that I return him. Such is the business of horse trading.
Thank goodness for my crazy-as-a-loon barefoot farrier. She has a heart of gold and knows a lot of people in the endurance world. She found me a kick-ass horse in my price range. My first ride on him was beyond thrilling. Rode with his owner (Jessie) who just so happens to be #1 in endurance standings in the southeast. I can see why. He rides like a bat out of hell and he has some really, really nice horses. When I rode with him, I rode like a bat out of hell too. I’ve moved on from riding ponies to real horses and this horse carries me like I’m lighter than a butterfly. Thank goodness for people who will let horses go for for way, way, way less than they are worth in order for them to go to good homes where they’ll be loved and used. For as tough as Jessie is on his horses, he obviously loves them. He teared up when we came to pick the horse (his name is Sudi).
Unfortunately, the weather has not been conducive for riding. Tomorrow, work is going to interfere. Oh well, there’s still Sunday.
As I write this, Wally is down working on the fence in the paddock so that we can move the gate to the lower part of the paddock which will make going in and out of there when it is wet and muddy a lot safer. I’m waiting on stuffing to cool down enough so I can stuff it in the bird and then get it in the oven. I’m cooking Thanksgiving dinner for us today. We went to Wally’s sister’s house last night for a lovely dinner which consisted of a deep-fried turkey. That’s a first for me. I think I’ll stick with the Yankee-way of cooking a turkey.
While things have been difficult this past year, I have a whole lot to be thankful for.
Until later …