Exciting news

So here is the discussions:

1. Lumbar puncture
2. Silk Bows
3. Big news
4. Exciting new

 

So I got the lumbar puncture and nerve blocker. HURT LIKE NOTHING I’VE EVER FELT BEFORE!! At first. Before the numbing goes in, a blue needle looking thing has to go in. I was fully awake and aware…the second attempt. The first one gave me an allergic reaction so we had to avoid that option. So sedation was out. But the staff at University of Michigan Back and Pain Clinic, talked me through it…about horses. Different breeds, my plans with some, and what this shot meant to me. It fucking worked! I went from a size 8 shoe back to a size 6 1/2. That is a BIG difference. Also now I need new shoes. Which is the best news.  We are going to be scheduling the next one for between my shoulder blades to reset the arms. We are thinking it might be a yearly shot. Yippee.

Silk bows…one of the staff members offered to make me a custom silk bow made by HAND. Takes him 2 hours to just get the thread made. He does every part. He loves horses and was the one doing most the talking to keep me distracted during the shots. He is an amazing person. I can’t wait to thank him at the end of the month.

Big news? Ash got a job!! That was the biggest relief before the shot was that she had a new higher paying job. Me? I can’t walk on my foot still for very long. Now I really feel the glass shards when I am walking longer than a half hour (will explain to therapist on Wednesday). But the bad news attached was my mom got fired when the minimum wage went up. So double edged sword on that one. She is getting her first check tomorrow. $230 for 3 days of work. She works for Maci making $12 an hour for between 8-11 1/2 hours a day. She hates the hours but she will love the checks. She might even be working the weekends. Not sure yet. She has to ask on Friday. She hates the machine she is on because it’s hurting her thumbs but she’s made friends at her job which makes me happy.

Alright so the best news I’ve had since September….

I AM GETTING A NEW HORSE!! Before I hear the whole bull shit about why sell just to get another one, I had to. I needed to end that chapter of my life. Shadow was an amazing horse but sadly he came with some…bad memories of what I endured to keep him. Now I can start with a clean slate. I’m thinking a black or buckskin horse, maybe mare. I will be shopping and trying no less than 8 horses before I pick my new one. I’m actually going to be picky. No auction horse this time. I need a 3-4 year old who has some experience with the saddle. Green broke will be fine and just shown the saddle is amazing.

I wasn’t trying to forget this thing again. I’ve just been in so much pain in my hands that typing was almost impossible. Also my sister locked me off the internet for a bit. No big deal. She’s getting money tomorrow (only $100 but our phones are getting shut off for a week).  So this last few weeks have been complicated but I am so excited that things are finally turning around. Maybe some day I will tell you what I mean by the bad memories but first I have to let my mind wrap around having a horse that doesn’t require the same thing first.

Horse Talk

So with starting completely over. We have to start at the VERY beginning. The horses.

First we agreed 2 or 3 will give us enough for backup or pole bending or all around. Ya know options.

1. Quarter Horse: must be decent color (not chestnut) and a mare
2. Paint Horse: black and white for sure and a gelding
3. Thoroughbred: whatever catches my interest.

So yeah, we both must agree on the paint. The quarter horse has to be of a decent stature and eventually right colors. I will probably look for the right mix of color and talent.

If the right stallion comes along, I will be willing to give it a try. I am not picky.

 

The paint has to be a sight to see. A beauty that Ash loves. She has fallen for their markings and their personalities. I prefer the beauty and grace of thoroughbreds.  I want to show they are very versatile.

 

Pistol Pete

 

 

 Pistol Pete was interesting. He was born on the farm and was BLACK at birth. By the time he was given to a local rescue by his owner (pictured above with him), he was almost white.

Sire: Junior’s Dancin Streak (Junior) owned by my sister. He was a halflinger.

Dam: Patience Precious owned originally by me and then adopted by his mom. She was a Percheron.

His mom was adopted out with his sister (full sister) and we were sure was pregnant with him. The owner wasn’t sure she was ready to take on weaning of a foal (his sister) at the time let alone take on another.

The entire time he was owned by her, she never tried to break him to ride. He did have some people on his back. Ended badly. He was barely halter broke. Only reason for that was because she’d take them out the field on lunge lines to just eat grass by trees and to switch fields.

He was constantly breaking the fence and was never able to be kept in which lead to him and his sister going to rescue. He was probably around 10ish years old last year when he left.

My Little Silver Shadow

Shadow, Brat, Fatso, Idiot. Just depended on what was happening that day (mostly fatso due to his SIZE). The picture below was taken 3 days after he arrived at the farm I was living at. Not the best pasture as you can see but it was all moved out in a few weeks. You can see just how tiny he was. He is wearing a FOAL halter being supposedly a 5 year old gelding it said either he was starved half to death (they had said they ran out of food the week before the auction) or he was not his age. At the time, I didn’t think to look the gift horse in the mouth. $100 and this beautiful gelding was mine.

 

I bout him in April and this picture was taken in May. Still in the tiny FOAL halter. His hair had to be trimmed due to knots and burs.

So why him? Why not some purebred registered champion with proven bloodlines? Well…you can’t beat the price (insert random laugh) and because the minute he was led out the barn he looked at me almost like he was begging me to take my chance on him. To this day, even with the two accidents we have had, I wouldn’t trade him for anything in the world. This horse who 3 weeks before auction threw his owner, let me bring him home work with him for not even a full two weeks before I got on him and rode. I was in love.

Our first accident was partly my fault…partly equipment failure. I had just bought a bright red leather saddle. $25 saddle…not worth it in the end. I had the owner of the farm tighten the girth because I was having trouble. Lordy that was a HUGE mistake. I was on him and we walked just fine for about…15 or so minute then I asked for a trot. My mom said she could hear the cinch SNAP. I didn’t hear it and thought he was having a bronco moment so I tried to ride it out. I came off so HARD I bounced off my back to a sitting position. He jumped about 2 or so more times to get the saddle and blanket off. He’d never done it before. So I examined the saddle and sure as I was standing, the leather cinch had broke in half which meant it hit him HARD. I’ve been hit with leather and it ain’t the most pleasant thing in the world. I decided after that to use my black saddle. Not chancing that a second time.

 

 

Those were taken at his first fair the year I bought him. My nephew and sister were by him. My nephew was not even 3.

 

The second accident happened 2 years after I bought him. We were done warming. I asked him to open up and run. We were heading towards the fence. I have NO idea what really happened. My mom says he stopped and I flew over his head. I remember nothing from the minute I hit the ground till I was in the house cleaning up. I ended up with seizures from it. Sadly, the next day when I had a trainer out to check him, he refused to let her off for an hour. He felt so bad for the accident the day before. He was perfectly fine. She refused to come back and meet him.

 

 

He was a muddy baby at the fair that summer. He’s wearing my dad’s hackamore and his old black bridle. As you can see, he’s gotten a lot bigger in 2 years.

 

This pictures below are after he moved to his new farm.

 

 

You can see his is still just getting bigger. This isn’t even his biggest. He is an amazing boy. The leather halter is a pony size (I literally used it on a pony I used in 4H).

 

Below is his LOVELY stretch of his running from a dead stop. He loves to run and he loves barrel racing.

 

Picture from our photoshoot for cervical cancer awareness videos. My family has suffered with it.

 

Same little kid who rode him his first year has even learned how to work with Shadow. Caleb is happy.