Skinny Legs and All

You've probably noticed that my last few posts have had absolutely nothing to do with horses. I decided to do a 30-day book challenge (roughly the length of my supposed recovery) instead. That's because I'm sitting at home, up to my eyeballs in pain-pills, trying to occupy my time. I also have no real updates on my girl, other than she's happy and healthy up at Steph's. Steph did tell me that she had a pleasant ride on her the other day, which was nice to hear. She also told me that she thinks Dee's getting a bit too ribby for her taste (not surprising, she's back in hard-ish work and probably feeling a little stressed). She asked if I'd ever fed her Ultimate Finish. T be honest, I can't remember if it was Dee that had that, or Tango. One of them had it and hated it. However, if it was Dee who hated it, she would have had it when I first got her, and she was a lot pickier then. Now, she'll munch down doxy pills whole, eat her gross powder supplements, and pretty much fish through the pockets of anyone she thinks might have cookies for her.
Somehow, my horses always turn into treat-hounds (Kess excluded) even though they don't get fed treats very often! Sierra once stole a cup of hot chocolate out of my hands (thankfully it was cooled off) and indulged himself in that. Dusty once rummaged through some woman's bag because she smelled carrots. We were at a show and it was pouring rain... I was holding Dusty under the overhang outside of the indoor waiting to go in, and there were a bunch of spectators standing with us. I was turned around, talking to someone, and when I turned back, Dusty was ears deep in some lady's bag. She didn't earn the nickname "Pig" for nothing.

30 day Book Challenge: Day 3

Day 3: Book that makes you laugh out loud


Magical Thinking - Augusten Burroughs
"True stories that give voice to the thoughts we all have but dare not mention"

I just love Augusten Burroughs. He's my go-to when I'm looking for a good laugh in a book.

30 Day Book Challenge: Day 2

Day 2: Least Favorite Book


Hands down, least favorite book. I had to read this in my Junior year of high school, which may have contributed to my hate for it, but I just remember feeling like giving us that book to read was some sort of punishment. To be honest, I don't think I even bothered to finish it. If I read it again today, I might enjoy it, but it left such a sour taste in my mouth, that I will never be inclined to pick it up again.

30 day Book Challenge

Day 1: Favorite Book


Right this moment, it's Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas by Tom Robbins.
"a baffling disappearance of a 300-pound psychic, the fall from grace of a born-again monkey, the intrusion in your life of a tattooed stranger intent on blowing your mind and most of your fuses, mysterious African rituals, legendary amphibians, tarot-card bombshells, street violence, your own sexuality and outer space."

This was a fabulous book. It was a bit of a different style than Tom Robbins' usual books, being that it was written in the second person. It adds something very interesting to the book, especially since you're being asked to identify with the heroine, who is kind of horrible. However, you end up taking a journey with this horrible person, and watch her slowly (SLOWLY) evolve. Then, there is all the other wonderous stuff.

Back

Went in for surgery on my back this morning. I am now home, safe and sound (though in some pain).

Count Down

Well, in less than 24 hours, I will finally be getting my back fixed.
I'm terrified. Hopefully all will go well!

Dusty and Dee

FINALLY, some proper video of Dee! She's not being very respectful of the little jump (she seemed more concerned with playing around before and after. The jump was just something to get out of the way of). Steph agrees that she probably needs to be challenged a bit more in that department.
That said, I've got some hard decisions to make. After talking to Steph, my parents, and even some of my friends, it seems that the general consensus is that I would be stupid to keep her through school. I'm not sure that I disagree. My main trepidation with leasing her is that someone will take her on lease and then decide that they don't want to keep leasing her. At that point, I'll be stuck trying to take care of a horse when a) I have no time, because law school is pretty all-consuming and b) I have no money, because at least for my first semester, I will have no job. Then what do I do? I don't want to end up in a situation where her well-being is compromised. I desperately want to keep her, but maybe I'm just being selfish. My other worry is that the job market out of law school isn't great, and I'm going to be in debt up to my ears. Can I really be sure that I'll be able to support a horse and myself on top of paying off loans? If anyone reading would like to weigh in, I would GREATLY appreciate it.

Now, with all that weighing on my mind yesterday, I headed over to Stoneleigh-Burnham School to visit the best mare ever - Dusty! I was so excited to see her. When I got there, I stopped someone who was bringing horses in and asked if he knew Dusty. He said no, the name didn't ring a bell. Then he checked the stall-listing, and there was no horse named Dusty on it. Hmm. Ok, well... maybe they changed her name. I went to the office to speak with the head of the program.
Before I go on, I would like to add that Jen sent her an e-mail the day before telling her I would be stopping by, and to call or e-mail if that was a problem.
Well, apparently it WAS a problem, but the woman just didn't bother to tell Jen. The problem? They SOLD Dusty. SOLD HER. They never even sent Jen a message or gave her a heads up. The worst part of that is that Jen had specifically told them that if Dusty didn't work out for their program, that she would take her back. She didn't want her to just be sold on. To add insult to injury, when I asked the woman who they sold Dusty to, she told me she didn't know! Now, between Jen and the people who used to lease her, there were plenty of people who could have worked together to find a nice home for Dusty, and it was specifically requested that they be notified if Dusty wasn't good for the program. I am appalled that Stoneleigh just sold her on without ever contacting Jen.
Jen is going to try to get more information about what happened to Dusty and why she wasn't contacted, and I will update as I find out.
The moral of this story? Don't send your horse to Stoneleigh.

Dusty, I hope you're ok, wherever you are!