Another quick snapshot,

I don't feed Friday and Saturday nights or all of Sunday. So when we have a short day on Friday, I'm in bliss.

Yeah, yeah. I've got saddles to scrub, water buckets to fill, but all of that passes time so quickly. So now I'm going over the barn for anything I might have missed. Singing.

"I've been waitin' all week just to have a good time, so bring on those cowboys and their pick up lines." Every horse hangs their head over their stall doors, amusement and curiosity playing on their faces.

I kiss each whiskered noses as I go, still singing away. When I collapse into Clark (my camper), I can't help but think that a warmblood is far more reliable than a cowboy any day, and a nicker the most sincere endearment ever.

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A snapshot of my life:

It is the end of the second longest day I've had to work. Sweat makes my face slick and grimy. Saddle soap clings to my knuckles and between my fingers. I discard dreams of attractive waiters and finishing my grocery list. All I can focus on is the stall I'm cleaning.

I turn my wheelbarrow to the next stall, where some naughty horse has spread out every pile of poop. I spill some nasty words as I get to picking up each individual piece.

Midway through, almost done. I scoop up two pieces and turn to fling them into the wheelbarrow. And one leaps off my fork in protest.

I stop, staring at the lively piece of poop. Did I hallucinate this?

Then the frog hopped from the stall, obviously not impressed.

I almost died.

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Prelude to: Girl, Glitter, and One Giant Pasture

Now, I've been getting hate mail from some of you for not posting recently. You know who you are! It is NOT nice to text me each day...
"Still no update."

So what have I been up to, you ask? Where has the oh-so elusive Girl gone?
Walking.
Miles and miles and MILES of walking.

Let me tell you my personal work day horror story..

Mondays are the Boss Mare's day off. You cannot find her dragging the arenas or perching on her stool. You can't even find her if you follow the resident barn Jack Russell (usually a surefire indicator that the Boss is near). She leaves a list on the blackboard of things for me to do and heads into town.

Last Monday was not any different. She wrote a short to-do list - feed, fill water tanks, lunge all our working horses. I finished early and curled up to nap the afternoon away.
It was perfect.
I'm telling you.. I was over the moon about this day and how wonderful it had turned out.

[part 2 coming soon.. must sleep or not survive tomorrow! it is a Monday, afterall...]

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Horse Goes To Daycare

Now, I will write a HUGE post on why I did not post Monday (and believe me, it'll be worth reading...) But right now I don't want to jinx my evening feeding by recanting that horrible (and apparently hilarious) tale...

Today was Horse's first day out with her "herd", two quiet older horses. Once I got the Boss Mare up on her first horse of the day, I caught my baby and started the long trek to her new home. She placed her nose on my elbow the entire way, a worried expression on her sweet face. "No biting." I reminded, but she didn't even try.

Horse has been up in the closest paddock, by herself. She nickers when I pass, walks with me on the other side of the tape. I am her herd. She is my Horse..
Needless to say, I was not thrilled about turning her out, but I knew it had to happen.

We got to the gate. She blew nervous air on my skin.
I hoped she would not get hurt or picked on or ignored.
I hoped she wouldn't be "that weird kid" or stupid.
I let her go.

She wandered around for a while, sniffing clumps of grass and eyeing the pond. The other horses didn't seem to notice her. When all seemed okay, I turned and headed back to the barn. I made it about a quarter of a way before she noticed. She whinnied.

Now at this point, you are supposed to not turn back because that makes it harder on you and your baby, but I couldn't help it. I stopped and glanced back, and she whinnied again, hanging her head over the gate. She pushed against the metal. My heart cracked a little.

She whinnied again when I was passing her old paddock and once more when I went into the barn. When I went back out to catch her to ride, she met me at the gate, but she didn't seem upset.

"Did you have fun at daycare?" I asked. She nipped my fingers.
I guess so.

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