In pursuit of happiness

It seems like I am not the only one having a rough week in the horse department. I feel almost a bit trivial writing this, because my ponies are both sound and happy. So for those of you experiencing some setbacks, you have my thoughts and prayers!

Fair warning - this is a bit of a rant..

Work has been killing me. I basically haven't been able to sleep the past 3 nights due to my brain being over-loaded with deadlines and stress. Working two jobs gets exhausting, although I continually try to remind myself I am lucky to be able to hold two jobs when many people can't find one. But all that culminated in a need to escape to the barn yesterday afternoon so that I could enjoy the 60 degree weather (yep, its pretty nice) and ride both horses before dark.

Of course, everyone apparently had the same idea. I can't blame them for wanting to soak up the weather and busy days are just part of life as a boarder. The flurry of activity at the barn put an immediate damper on my mood, as I really just needed an "escape". My horses are my "me" time, so it is very hard to have to share it with other people on the days that I really need to get away.

I went to tack up Reno and brought him into the ring with another boarder and the barn owner's daughter who were both riding. The other boarder finished up as I was coming in, so there was plenty of room for Reno and the b.o.'s daughter. Our ring currently is a giant pile of mud around the outside, leaving very little room in the center that is dry to actually get a decent workout. To make a long story short, I basically gave up trying to ride after about 15 minutes because the b.o.'s daughter proceeded to take up the entire dry part of the arena going back and forth over a cross-rail for the better part of an hour. I won't get into the lack of consideration for her pony, the western saddle or her lack of instruction over fences... She is a child, so I can't really expect her to be but so conscious of ring etiquette, etc. But the b.o. watched all this happen and failed to comment.

The b.o. is a genuinely sweet person and I don't think it even occurred to her that I was upset about not being able to share the ring. This is not the first instance that something like this has happened and it gets very frustrating. On top of that, our barn is turning into a very kid-oriented place. I am absolutely not anti-children, and I grew up in a barn with kids my age and it was a great experience. But I am not at that stage in my life currently and I am trying to bring along a young horse that needs to be able to concentrate without people running around all the time while we are riding. I really see the barn as my one place to go and relax and get my mind off everything, and I just can't seem to do that lately.

I really like the boarders at my barn (LOVE the barn manager) and my horses are safe, so I have that to be thankful for. But everything else is pretty average. The quality of hay/feed is average, pastures are average, riding facilities are average. I just am having a hard time justifying working two jobs to pay for something that I am currently not enjoying. It's hard to think about moving with two horses to consider, especially when Vez did not transition so well at first to a new barn. I still feel like he isn't loving the pasture situation (an 8 horse herd), but he is not unhappy. He isn't a fan of the new horses, and I hope they don't cause problems. We have a cute new yearling baby, which is turning out to be not so cute. I have been knocked down/run into the fence twice now by her, as she has no real regard for human life. Not her fault, she clearly needs to be handled more. But I digress... These are just all of the little things that have been culminating to make my boarding situation a bit stressful for me. I feel a bit guilty for being unhappy because it is not a bad situation, I think it is just potentially not the right fit for me. Definitely something to give some more thought to...

On a happy note, both boys enjoyed their grooming sessions yesterday.



and reno trying to escape...