Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Home Again

I'm back from my business trip to Houston. Now to pick up the pieces around here.

On a good note, our new costume and accessory lines were very well received and the costumes I submitted to the fashion show were some of the stars of the show! I thought our Humpty Dumpty "egg-on-the-wall" costume was the most entertaining out of all our competitor's offerings!!

And now I am back to my quandry about finding a new horse. Thanks to all who have expressed concern for me. Part of my distress with all this is I need to find a horse quickly in order to keep my stall at the barn where I board. I can pay another month's board to keep the stall, and hopefully find an occupant in that time.

Around here on Long Island, we have a dwindling number of boarding barns left. Development has been steadily swallowing up farm after farm and now this economy will probably eat up most of what's left. There isn't another place like this close by my home and with my kids and job, this location is just perfect to fit a horse into my busy life mix.

Losing this stall and taking a stall in someones back yard or another boarding barn in the same area is not an option for me. I need the freedom of the flexible hours, familiar boarders, the security of this stable's level of quality horse care and the location.

The owner has a waiting list of people to get in. I have to pay full board to keep the stall, even if there is no horse in it to feed or clean after because that's what he would get for the stall anyway and he has people wanting in. I can't take the chance of losing my stall, and then there being no openings months later if it took that long to find a horse.

So I'm stressed, bad. I don't want to get just any horse, then be stuck with problems I didn't know about because I rushed it. This horse has to fit my riding needs and pass a vet check for the riding career I want for it. But I AM rushed, and I hate it. The frigid weather is not helping me.

Someone had asked why I wouldn't consider Belle. She's a nice horse, and I appreciate her owner's generosity in letting me ride her but knowing horses as I do, I don't think she's what will work for me in the long run. And I know better than to grab the first horse that comes along.

My friend E.W. bumped into my dressage trainer Miss D at the local tack shop that Miss D's mother owns and told her what happened with Monty. According to E.W., Miss D was very upset and said she wanted to help me find a nice horse. I'm going to call her this weekend.

3 comments:

OnTheBit said...

I am glad you had work to keep you busy and totally understand what it is like to live in a high population area where good boarding barns are hard to come by. I know it is annoying to pay money for an empty stall...but I think that it is worth it for this monty. Give youself a time limit though...like if you don't have a horse _ number of months then you will just have to risk loosing the stall. To me it is money well spent becuase it is keeping the hope alive that the stall will get a new and lovely horse in it soon. What happened to the horse a few hours away you were going to look at?

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear about Monty.

Regarding your sitch . . . With this horse market there has got to be a large number of great horses available so on one hand, that's great! On the other hand, it must make your search difficult, with too many choices.

I agree with On The Bit, give yourself X number of months. But, because you are being rushed, any horse you take I would suggest taking it on trial so that if it's not a fit after all, you're not stuck with it and the money you're spending on the stall will at least go to something other and you'll be able to ride.

Best of luck finding a new equine friend and partner!

Rising Rainbow said...

Good luck in finding the new horse. I know it's a pain to have to pay for a stall you aren't using but buying the wrong horse because you are rushed will be more costly in the long run. It's something to think about.