Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday, January 9th, marked one year of togetherness for Sienna and I.

CRAZY.

I simply do not know where the time has gone. I can't believe that a year ago, I was picking up this free, little red horse and thinking a) "Did I just make a mistake?", b) "Will I be able to afford 2 horses, or will this end in miserable failure?" and c) "Oh my gosh another horse! A registered one! A paint! What will I call her?"

I called my mom to inform her of our anniversary, and her response was,

Mom: "A year?"
Me: "Yes! Can you believe it?"
Mom: "I can't believe it has only been a year."
Me: "I know! How has it already been... wait, what?"
Mom: "I would have thought that you've had her like, 2 or 3 years."

Hmm. Well, alright then.

I'd like to think that Sienna is better off from working with me this past year. I think she has made a lot of progress since last January. She is pretty good to handle on the ground and in the saddle, she walks, trots, canters, and whoas like a big girl both on the longe line and under saddle, she knows, if she steps on her lead rope (my bad), to give her face rather than fighting against it, and she has a new registered name that makes people laugh (with her, not at her).

I don't know that we will make our next anniversary, but I certainly appreciate the experience and the confidence that she has given me this last year.

My first glimpse of Sienna

Her first night home

First introduction to Chica

First haircut!

First show

First trail ride

First lesson with 2 kids who had never ridden a horse before

First time at Dr. Buff's

2012 was a good year with a lot of firsts. To more firsts (and seconds, thirds, etc) in 2013!

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Sienna's First Trail Ride

Last Saturday, one of the more ridiculously cold days of the year (I'm pretty sure), I was invited to go on a trail ride with some friends at 7IL. I have been trying to get Sienna out amongst the people, so I had the bright idea to take her. Put some miles on her, as it were.

After making the trek to Cat Springs with Teana and her gorgeous palomino, Sonny, along for the ride, we discovered that there was a competitive trail ride going on... meaning there were like a million horses and trailers already there. Fortunately everyone else in my party seemed to know where to go, so we headed to the "day rider" unloading area, parked, and unloaded. In addition to Sienna, Sonny, Teana and I, Jacqui and her paint, Outlaw, and Bevin and her paint, Nyala, came alogn. It was a colored breed fest, to say the least.

Sienna got out of the trailer looking a little too bright eyed and bushy tailed for my liking, so I longed her- during which she plodded along peacefully and only cantered because I got after her with the whip. It was literally freezing outside, which did not help matters. I ended up wearing a thick coat, thick gloves, ear muffs- if I had had a ski mask, I would have been totally prepared.

We all saddled up, mounted, and headed off through the chaos that was several hundred endurance people/Arabians milling around. I wasn't sure Sienna (or I) was going to make it. We finally got to the trail head, and I dropped a glove... so I scrambled down to get it. As I was third in our little caravan, Jacqui and Teana, who were leading, did not realize that I had dismounted... so when they saw me on the ground, they automatically assumed that I had been thrown already. Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys.

Everyone wanted me to lead because "if any kind of rodeo bucking happens, it's going to be Kristin, and we don't want to miss it", but I stuck Sienna with older, calm, golden-hearted Nyala in the back instead. I think her reassuring influence saved us more times than anyone else realized during the ride.

The ride had its ups and downs- most of the downs happened when a group of Arabians trotted past us and Sienna had an identity crisis and tried to follow them- but no one got bucked off, and no one *really* had their horse run away with them... in an uncontrolled fashion, at least. Circles were definitely our friend, and there were a couple of times our forward motion had to be suddenly thrown into a loop. But I was very proud of Sienna otherwise. We crossed streams, waded through rivers, climbed paths that seemed to go straight up, trotted (on purpose), cantered (semi- on purpose)- she accepted everything that was thrown at her. As Chica always liked to buck going up hills, I have a sincere fear of them, but Sienna handled all of them without trying to get rid of me- I just threw away the reins, hung on, and hoped for the best. Also, I would like to note, everyone would go out of their way to watch Sienna every time we had to cross a stream, hoping for a show- and she disappointed them (but not me) every single time.

The most exciting incident happened when we arrived at a large pond and decided to water the horses. Sonny, Outlaw, and Nyala all waded in about pastern deep and assumed the drinking position, but apparently no one told Sienna that the trail did NOT go all the way through the pond. Rather than stopping and taking a drink, she started hauling it out towards the deep end.

Remember, it was in the low 40s.

I started hauling back on her, screaming, "NO! NO! IF YOU GET ME WET I WILL KILL YOU!!" while all of my companions sat on their horses and laughed. I managed to turn her around, but now we were in the position of being in water over her knees and her suddenly thinking it might be a good idea to lay down. I have never kicked as fast and furiously as I did in that pond. It was only through sheer you will not get me wet determination that we made it back out of the pond in a dry state.

Three hours later, we arrived where we started. Sienna finally got back into her normal frame of mind at around the hour and a half mark, except when other riders passed us. I think with more experience, she could be a good trail horse. She did not balk at any obstacle, and she did not tire easily. She just needs to get over the "OTHER HORSES!" excitement, and she will be golden.

There is nothing like a cold, cold day, hundreds of horses, dogs, and people, and random trail obstacles to throw at your horse for her first trail ride. Maybe our next outing should be, like, team penning. Or goat tying.

Making a move on Outlaw

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What's a girl to do?

So last weekend, I took both of my ponies to Katy for a horse show (more on that later). I decided that rather than bring them back home, and then right back to Richmond a week later, I'd save gas and just leave them for a couple of weeks.

Last I heard, they were enjoying the pampered lifestyle. They have large stalls right next to each other, and they get turned out into a herd of mares each day. Apparently the first day they went out, Chica blazed a trail for the two of them straight to the round bale, and none of the other mares even questioned her.

Perhaps they remember... what a $#&* she is. Since Sienna is her friend, I'm hoping she will defend her from the masses, as Sienna will not defend herself.

As I was getting ready to take my dogs and leave Sunday night, my dad casually mentioned that I could leave Romeo with them for the week if I wanted (there was no invitation for Fiona). I decided that since next weekend I'm going to be bringing a cat, a mouse, a Corgi, and a lot of luggage, it would be easier to not have a 70 pound lab in the mix as well, if they were offering.

So now, it's just me, Fiona, and Ramses. And the house has never been quieter! Fiona really misses her big brother... I find her laying in his bed, looking sadder than any Corgi should ever look. I fished out a ball for her yesterday so that she could at least entertain herself (since she does not have his face to chew on), and once she learned that it was not something to be afraid of, she had a ball (ahem) with it.

I'm sure I'm going to pay for her not getting to chase Romeo around once she sees him again this weekend. Why do I think that? I let her outside this morning into the cold, blustery day, and a gust of wind hit her- causing her to bolt and run a lap around the yard before finally doing her business.

There's a lot of Corgi energy brimming there beneath the surface.

And for any nay-sayers who think that there's no way an animal can miss another animal, allow me to present you with this evidence:

Fiona always has to sit on Romeo...

...lay on Romeo...

...or, in some fashion, lay against Romeo...

...

...

...hence, she misses her big spoon.

Meanwhile, Ramses will have to do for now:

I don't think he *hates* it...

And as a random aside, DANG MY CAT HAS BIG FEET!!

I really miss riding. I had gotten into the habit of riding every day, and now I feel like a lazy bum. I'm sure Sienna is enjoying the time off, but I feel lost without my ponies! Soon... soon.

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Sick Children Are No Fun

There's nothing like sitting up late into the night with a sick 1100 lb animal to make you rethink your life.

"Remember how easy it was when you boarded, and there was always someone else around to check on your horse?'

"Did I really need that nap while she was out grazing and getting into who knows what?"

"If I have to call the field services vet in, this is going to get really expensive... why do I own these animals, anyway?"

On the other hoof- er, hand- it is an amazing feeling knowing that said 1100 lb animal trusts you enough to find comfort in your presence.

Chica possibly had a touch of gas colic last night. I let the dogs outside around 8:00, and I noticed that she was laying down in her pen. I walked over and looked at her, and she did not look abnormal. That's when I noticed that she had not eaten all of her hay.

Ring, alarm bells. If there is a horse that eats her hay (and then some), it's Chica.

It noted that it was unusual, but then she clambered to her feet, walked over, and started munching on her hay again.

I watched her for a few minutes, and she seemed ok. She was eating maybe a little lackadaisically, but she did have gut noises, and she was eating.

I went off to the store to pick up a few things (mostly completely unnecessary things- aka 3 movies from the $5 dvd bin in Walmart), and when I got back, Chica was down again.

Saddest picture of Chica ever, due to her blinking at the flash on my phone's camera.

Interestingly enough, so was her buddy:

Sienna was also blinded by the light.

There was still a pile of hay left. At this point, I was really getting worried. I sat next to her and stroked her face for a little while, talking to her and praying. Eventually she stood back up again. Her stomach was making lots of loud gurgling noises- which seemed better than it not making any noises at all- but occasionally it would make these rumblings that sounded like they moved from her gut up through her chest, to her mouth. She would make this groaning sound, almost like she was burping with her mouth closed- if horses could burp, that is.

I called Texas A&M's large animal clinic, and I have to say, I was impressed. The lady with the answering service was very courteous, and the doctor called me almost immediately after I spoke with her. She was polite and gave me lots of advice, free of charge. She even called me this morning to see how Chica was doing today.

I stayed up fairly late and kept an eye on Chica. She seemed to perk up around 11 PM- she wasn't quite as lethargic, and she took notice of what was going on around her more. Her stomach was still quite loud, but she was passing gas, so things were moving along in the intestinal tract.

I looked out my window around 12:15 AM or so and checked on her again, and she was still standing and walking around a little. At about 5:30 this morning she was scrounging around, looking for dropped hay. At feeding time, she was pacing from the feed shed back to her feed pan, wondering why she wasn't being fed. I gave her a flake of hay, and then checked on her during my lunch break. She seemed pretty much back to her normal self. Her stomach was still making some noise, but there were poop piles all around.

Colic can be a scary thing in horses- it is a situation that can come on and then deteriorate rapidly. I thank God so much that it did not get any worse and that Chica trusts me enough to let me poke and prod her, take her temperature, walk her around and around, hug her- all while she's not feeling well.

And I was so impressed with Sienna- rather than wonder off by herself and graze, she stayed with her the entire night. I knew Chica was feeling better when I got home from lunch because Sienna was no longer next to her.

Apparently my horses share a bond that was deeper than I realized- how can I ever separate them now?

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Astronomy lesson

A little known factoid about me is that I really like space. I loved astronomy in grade school, and I considered joining the astronomy club in college, but it met at night (for obvious reasons) and... yeah.

I love to look at the stars and try to make out constellations. I think it's amazing that we can see something that is so far away and so, well, alien to our daily lives.

And if you're wondering, my favorite planet is Neptune. Because it's pretty. And cold (like my heart... muahaha).

Anyway, I was laying on Chica tonight, gazing up at the sky while she grazed. I was feeling sorry for myself, and I was asking God why certain aspects of my life are the way they are. I had been staring at a couple of familiar stars, trying to make them into a known constellation, and failing.

After praying and staring at the sky for a good 10 minutes, it was like my perspective suddenly changed, and I suddenly became aware of several more, very distant and faint stars in the constellations I had been looking at. Turns out I was staring the big dipper and the little dipper in the face, but not seeing them.

Is there a lesson to learn in this?

Focus only on the attention-seeking, glaring problems in your life, and you'll lose sight of the big picture. I was trying to make something out of only what I could easily see, so I was blinded to what I could not see.

I was humbled by this parallel to my life- I realized that I was concentrating so hard on my petty issues that it took my focus off the invisible- God. Perhaps if I spent more time looking at the whole picture of His will, the things that are less clear will reveal themselves.

Space, in its infiniteness, is awesome. But God, our Creator, is even more unfathomable and awesome- and yet He will still take the time to teach me a lesson, even one involving His least known creation yet- the final frontier.

Look out your window tonight. No matter if you live in the city, and the stars are hidden by lights, or you live in the country, and the stars are hidden by clouds, you know they are out there. The same is true of God; perhaps He is hidden from your view due to your situation, or your responsibilities, but He is still there. And He longs for you to discover Him.

And if the night is clear, and you see a very bright star- that's Jupiter. So cool!

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We interrupt this program...

...to present a small rant. Sorry, not sorry. Feel free to skip if you don't agree!

I knew what this was when I got a solid paint bred horse. I knew the prejudices on both sides of the argument, the lack of opportunities, etc. I know that until more people get out there and show their SPBs, it's going to be very difficult for SPBs to have a strong voice.

But it's kind of a no-win situation. When shows offered SPB classes in the past, no one showed up. So now, shows only offer the bare minimum. And for someone who wants to get out there and show their SPB, it is SO FRUSTRATING.

I have been waiting for the show schedule for the Houston Paint Show to come out for months. I finally got a notification from a friend that it was out today, and so off I went to see what solid classes were being offered. This was it:

Hunter Under Saddle
Halter Stallions
Halter Geldings
Halter Mares
Western Pleasure
Reining

That showmanship class I was looking forward to? Nada.

I emailed show management, because how else will they know "what the people want", and this is the transmission:

 HLS&R: At this time, we are not offering the SPB showmanship classes.

 

 Me: That’s too bad, it was kind of a make or break it for me. Can that be looked into for next year?

 HLS&R: It is possible that it will be considered, but I can’t say if it will be added to the show schedule. 

Well, in that case, "I can't say it I will be patronizing your show in the future", I wanted to say. Having only a mare, that would give me 4 classes that I could show in, were my horse versatile enough to do all four of those disciplines. As it is, I could reasonably enter 2 of those classes, HUS and halter, only one of which I would expect to be competitive in. So, let's say that I am a broke horse owner with only so much money to splurge on showing (ahem), so I decide that it's only worth it to show in classes I actually care about (aka not halter)? That gives me one class to pay the $74 fee for, which doesn't include the cost of the class itself.

I know that breed shows are more expensive; I've been counting on that since deciding I might like to show at Houston. But if they are not going to offer the classes I want to do, then why should I fork over my hard earned money, not to mention fight Houston and rodeo traffic with my horse trailer, for one class?

Suffice it to say, I am very disappointed that they are not offering showmanship. I would have happily paid whatever to be able to show in it and hunter under saddle. Heck, I may have even splurged more and entered the other classes that I have no chance in, just to have a shot at the SPB High Point award.

At this point, though, I think I'm going to have to pass on Houston this year. It would have been a fun experience, especially getting to show with my other paint friends, but I'm just not sure it's worth it.

We now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

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Movin' & Shakin'

I'm probably going to have to name a future animal the above title, because I feel like I've said that phrase these last few weeks more than any other thing I've ever said. Which is impressive (but not the kind with HYPP).

I feel like my life is alternatively movin', shakin', and then doing a lot of... nothin'.

On the one hand, I register for classes in less than 2 weeks. I think and hope that maybe then it will hit me that I'm going back to school. I signed off on my degree plan last night and mailed it to UHV this morning, which was a little surreal.

You know what this means, right? It means that whenever I'm answering "What is the highest level of education you have achieved?", I'm going to be able to answer the celebrated "graduate school". And that I'm about to spend more money and have even less time to do the things I love.

I'm very excited, and I'm a little nervous. I think I am definitely making the right decision, and I'm very happy that even though I'm going back to school, I don't have to actually go to a school- I get to do everything online. Having lived in a college town the last 3 years, in addition to the 4 years that I was in college, I'm a little more than ready to not be anywhere near one for a while.

I'm nervous because of the aforementioned financial and time expenses, but those generally come with any new venture. Those things are in God's hands, and I feel like this where He is leading me to be- so with God for me, who can be against me?

On the same hand, I've had lot of sudden interest in Sienna from potential buyers, which comes on the heels of me deciding to hang onto her until the spring (of course). A lady came and tried her out last week, and she was very impressed with her temperament and training- which made me feel very good. She wasn't quite where she needed her new fox hunting prospect (yes, fox hunting) to be, but that's ok. Another lady is coming to look at her this weekend.

If this lady doesn't decide to buy her, I think I'm going to go ahead and take my advertisements down. I'd really like to get some more shows under her belt and get some more miles on her on the trail. My plan originally was to sell her in the spring of 2013, and I am going to stick to that- unless I randomly win the lottery and suddenly can afford to collect horses. I have a good idea of what I want next- in fact, I've already met a prospect that fits my requirements- but right now it is nice to have two horses that are ride-able.

The "nothin'" part comes in on the job front. I have no idea how many applications and resumes I've sent out, but I have only received responses (in the negative) from 2, which is wildly discouraging. One of those two even required an animal science degree, and they still told me I didn't meet their requirements. I'm under the assumption that the person who sent me that rejection letter was either a) drunk or b) rushing home from work for the weekend, and therefore did not actually read my resume, but who knows.

I still have a month and a half to achieve my New Year's Goal for 2012 of finding a new job, so I'm trying to not let it wound me too badly. At least my current job affords me excellent holiday breaks for both Thanksgiving and Christmas- the latter of which will be spent in my parents' new home in another city, which will be strange. And I have people championing me all over the place, so I feel like things are bound to click into place.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'm going to end this post with a few things I'm grateful for:

-all of my family, and the opportunity to be together at Thanksgiving
-getting to meet up yesterday with my older brother Brandon for the second time ever
-my bff Patricia, who is always so supportive and encouraging of me
-my bff Kaitlin, who adopted me as her bff before we had even met in person
-my bff Elizabeth, who immediately volunteers to help in any emergency even though we no longer live in the same town
-all of the factors that made the wreck my roommate and I were in much better than it could have been
-the fact that Chica is now running around like a banshee, no longer in pain
-finally having a direction to head my life in
-a scorpion-free house for a little over a month now (thank you, cooler weather!)

I just have a lot of feelings! Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention being thankful for all of my animals, whom I'm grateful for every day- even when I come home to a brand new toilet paper roll shredded all over my room.

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