Oh, Relax.

I had a lovely collection of images to post, but as my luck goes, my camera consumed them.

Oh well, probably doesn't matter anyway, since none included a picture of my brown steed.

Why?

Because I haven't seen him since last Thursday <hang head in shame>

It's true.

We had an amazing ride last Thursday and I was game to head out again on Friday. Except they were predicting rain for Saturday, all day.

A couple weeks back we cleared out a half-acre of underbrush in our future backyard. That's a LOT of underbrush. And with it, we hacked out more Poison Ivy than most people care to encounter in their lives. The trick with Poison Ivy, is that to keep it at bay, you need to keep the area mowed, well trimmed and grassed.

We had reached the point of...barren mud.

The only way to keep the brush and Poison Ivy from re-invading (experience tells us this does not take very long), we needed to start the grass a growing.

Since Saturday was going to rain (meaning no grass could be planted on Saturday OR Sunday), I had best do it Friday evening.

I left work early, sprinted to the property and started chopping, raking and leveling. 4 hours later, I had the *tiniest* patch of grass seed planted.

Seriously. Tiny.

And the sun was set and there was no time left to ride. No biggie, since Saturday would be a rainy day, perfect for me to enjoy the last of my indoor arena days.

Except Saturday rolled around sunny and clear.

Oye.

Which meant instead of riding my pony, I dashed back to the property to plant more grass.

I spent 7 hours out there. I got a measly little patch cleared and seeded. Then I hung my hammock FINALLY, and laid back for a moment. It was 4 pm already. I'd been out there since 9 am. On A SATURDAY.

And I was starving. So I called the BF up (who had been working all day) and we met up at a local burger and fry joint. A summer hot spot for most people.

Needless to say, by the time I had cleaned up and put all the tools away, driven to the restaurant (which was not particularly close), ordered (beat the school bus of kids thankfully) and eaten, I was exhausted.

Seriously, exhausted. When the BF suggested we just go home and watch movies on the coach, I hardly thought about my tubby pony relaxing in the sunshine in his paddock. He was as happy there as I was on my couch.

Besides, there's always Sunday!

Sunday greeted us with more blue skies. My plan was to get my pony trailer roof scrubbed clean, throw on a coat of clear coat and then head to the barn for a short ride before going to a birthday BBQ. Should be fast, right?

For starters, Blue Moss is evil. The pony trailer roof was covered in the most adhesive blue moss I'd ever encountered. I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. Skin peeled off my fingers, my nails chipped and broke, and my back ached (still sore from two days of clearing for planting grass...and picking rocks in my future pony field).

Finally the BF came over and offered me a hand. In exchange for my help on holding a screwdriver while he fixed his motorcycle. Sure! Anything to not have to scrub anymore!

I rinsed off the trailer roof and WOW. It was a HUGE improvement. Except...it's painted white. And blotchy (from factory). Dang. Now, I get to go back to the fiberglass repair place and figure out what I need to use INSTEAD of the clear coat. Oh joy. Needless to say, no roofs were painted.

I thought "holding a screwdriver" to help the BF would be short and sweet. It was already 11:30 am, and I wanted to hit the barn. And still had to buy a present for my dad!

1 pm rolled around by the time we had finished adjusting valve clearances on his bike. AN HOUR AND A HALF!

I ran inside, scarfed down food and we bolted to the mall to buy our gifts. I already knew what I wanted and that was quick and easy. Got home and surprise, surprise, it was 3 pm. Which meant I had to leave in 20 minutes for my folks.

Yes, this entire post reveals ZERO pony time. None. Zip. Nada.

Tonight however, there will be pony time. Because tomorrow, there will be none. : (

Tomorrow I'm completing the first 4 of 8 volunteer hours for Dressage Winnipeg. Fail to complete your hours results in the cashing of your $140 cheque. Yup, that's incentive! So I'm working a bingo all night tomorrow. Go me. : P

Wednesday is the next IRC Executive Meeting, which means again, no riding. But at least we get to talk horse stuff!

Thursday and Friday I aim to be at the barn, enjoying the last of our indoor arena adventure. I have to say, that I'm really, really glad that I took the opportunity to do this, and had the winter to prepare for the upcoming show season, with an awesome coach to guide me. Moon will never again be the horse that he was when I showed up at W's. Never. I'll probably never be the same rider or owner that I was either. Change = growth. Growth = adventure.

Saturday morning, we'll be packing up and heading out. I'm beyond excited to make that ride. Something about lying in my hammock for 10 minutes on Saturday, surrounded by the young grass seeds I hope will flourish, helped me distill my worries. Because really, what do I really have to worry about?

H's place is like....an opportunity to run. Stretch our legs. Moon to stretch his legs. And to be free.

I'm going to be going from hands-off horse care, to hands-on. I get to look after some feedings, cleaning of the paddocks and general care of the horses. Making that transition from horse owner, to horse care giver, which is exciting.


I'm excited because it really does kinda feel like the closest thing to coming home, as I can get without having Moon in my own backyard. This is a place, that over and over, I keep coming back to. H is kinda like that sister, who always seems to know what your thinking. I sometimes chuckle thinking back. It's been a long time that we've known one another. I'll never forget that fateful day when she asked me if I wanted to free lease a horse.


I'm not sure she ever really could get rid of me after that. Horses, over and over, drew us together, just as they do once again. I probably should have always known I'd be bringing my horse home to her. It will probably be a bit of time before we're riding the trails together, setting each others jumps, offering advice and trudging through the fields, feed pails in hand. But it will be without a doubt, fun to watch our dogs romp and play, to sneak in a quiet chat over a soda after a long ride, and to lean on a fence post watching our horses nibble from their buckets.

I find, over and over, that it is the start of spring, and the days that follow that leave me feeling truly spoiled in life. Yes, things are no always perfect. Yes, I'm tired and sore from a busy weekend, and no, I haven't seen my horse in awhile. And yes, Saturday morning will roll around and my pony will scream like an idiot and probably try to kick my dear friend's horse, and I'll realize all over again just how incredibly silly horses can be.

But I'll shake my head, look over my shoulder, and there will be a friend, watching and shaking her head too. So who cares it if the move-in isn't "perfect"? It's not the move that matters; it's the friendship that you find when you get there that matters most.