1 more big change for me...

Hello blog-world.

I’ve been in my new position for 1 month today. I absolutely love what I do. I stay extremely busy but I am learning new things and I feel like I am making a difference. The job is everything that I hoped it would be (although I wouldn’t have been disappointed if the job came with a few thousand more dollars a year, but that’s just greedy). I was out of town last week (fortunately, I was in Eva’s city) and I’m there again next week (for 3 days) then next month I’m at another 3-day conference. I also have some deadlines staring me down in the next two weeks! EEEK. Fortunately, my boyfriend has been a saint and he has dinner waiting for me and keeps up with laundry to take some stress off of me.

Getting to see Granite has been difficult. His barn is over an hour away from my office (some of you won’t feel sorry for me here, but that’s a LOT for me). Then, the drive from the barn to my house is another 30 minutes. It makes it difficult to get much accomplished when, on the best of days, you get to the barn by 6 (and we don’t have lights). I don’t get home until nearly 8 and then I zonk out by 10 because I get up at 5:30 every morning. I try to work out in the midst of all of that, but it often falls by the wayside.

But when I DO get to the barn, I have seen MAJOR improvements in my horse. I’ve been averaging three rides a week (not too bad, considering). His go-to bit broke and I bought a new one from D. It fits well but its too harsh (Dr. Bristol) and he HATES it. All of my others are “normal” sized and are too small for Mr. Big-Head. So, he has to deal with a bit that makes him unhappy, but our transitions are snappy and we are getting beautiful stretchy trots. We has 3-stride simple lead changes with regularity last night.

The biggest news of all is in regards to the barn situation. You remember the Dream Barn. Well, they worked out a way to take me on at a rate I could afford. We will be in the “old barn” (I shall lovingly call it the “Annex”). There are 2 horse stalls and a ‘run’ like area for their mini horse and 2 mini donkeys. There is a washstall with hot and cold, a laundry room, bathroom, tackroom (tack lockers from floor to ceiling—and I get 2). There is also a nice concrete breezeway under the overhand of the barn with cross ties. AND we are able to use all of the facilities of the rest of the barn which include a lighted indoor with synthetic dust-free footing (also a plush lounge overlooking that ring with a flat screen tv, leather couches, fridge stocked with soda and coffffeeee maker). There’s a lovely outdoor ring with jumps. There’s a field for hill work and trails. My trainer, Jen, lives 20minutes away and I’m on the way for D to pick me up for trail rides. They show there…often, and claim that I can hop in the trailer when we want to join. BEST. OF. ALL. The place is 37 minutes from the office (my house is 35 min from the office) and then 13 min back to my house. So, if my math is correct, going to the barn will take an additional 15 minutes (not the hour its taking me now).  

Now the cons. Granite will be stalled. He has to stay in sometimes (you know, snow, rain, night time—day in the summer). I HATE that. I want him to be a horse and eat hay and grass all day. Now, I’m sure he’ll need more grain and he’ll have too much pent up energy from the extra grain and the lack of exercise. Then, he’s more likely to get injured. The barn just feels like more of a rider’s barn instead of a horse’s barn. I just feel like I'm making a selfish decision here... or, I'm just trying to find something to worry about bc thats how I operate

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But, regardless, we are giving it a shot. We are moving Saturday. Becky is taking us over. She has eased my mind by telling me that I am always willing to come back. I LOVE my barn and I would never leave if it were conveniently located. I commute to work 70 minutes a day and that extra hour is just enough to make me not want to go to the barn somedays (and that makes me sad). So, we’re going to give this a try. Granite can put on his big-boy pants and learn to be a show horse (the whole reason I got him). Hopefully he will just continue to wow me and be the most tolerant and well-meaning baby horse ever! We have our trainer and the facilities to allow me to ride much more often. We also have a way to get to horse shows and other activities to help Granite become a more well-rounded equine citizen.

I’d say that I’ll take pics, but Granite pulled my camera out of my back pocket 2-weeks ago and threw it on the concrete… so, time to camera shop again (if anyone’s counting, that’s THREE cameras that I’ve been through this year). Until, then, check out every inch of the Dream Barn’s website and imagine a big, goofy, grey guy with huge ears in the pictures J