Oh the changes that have been made over the last few weeks. Some good and some better.

I have moved back home with my parents, not exactly where I wanted to be when I was almost 40 yrs old but it can't be helped at this point. I have been living at the barn for a year and a half, it was good the first few months but as they started being more dependent on me to do all the chores it got stressful. What with trying to graduate with my BS in anthropology and work in addition to all the barn stuff and lessons I was a stressed out crabby bitch. I never got to ride, which is tragic. My horse had most of the last 2 years off. He has enjoyed it, I did not.

I decided that I had to start riding again, it makes me happy. Well, my horse has other ideas about being put back to work. In fact he was told me in no uncertain terms that working sucks. I started taking lessons with my previous trainer. Things were going pretty well. I decided to go to a clinic with a fancy trainer at a local barn. Not sure what possessed me to do it though, had no real business going at the level we are currently at.  We went anyway, he was a LUNATIC on the Friday night before my first lesson. Running, bucking and rearing, so big and high that I had never seen him do. Didn't realize that he could get that bulk up off the ground like that.

My goal for the first lesson was to just get on and walk around the arena without throwing up on my horse or the trainer. It was close there for a bit but the trainer, Richard A. G. Watson, was great, put me at ease as best he could given my nerves/fears. He even had us trotting by the end of it. I was thrilled, we did not learn anything new but by getting on and walking around and then trotting I won the lotto. Every time I went around the corner at one end of the arena I could hear all the railbirds telling me to breathe. They all had my back and were pulling for me. I had not felt that much support in a very long time, it never occurred at the old barn.

I am happy with the move, Charmer has a girlfriend in a little Welsh pony mare named Maggie. She is a fine little mare. I have "free" time, with only feeding one horse I have time to get school work done, hopefully this will allow me to be able to pass this semester. As a provisional student I have to make B's in all my classes. I think that it will take a miracle of epic proportions to pass my Civil War class. I am going to attempt it but I may have to research other opportunities in getting a higher education.