SCORE! Free lease!

I have some great news.  I was on a horse group on Facebook and found a free lease in exchange for cleaning stalls!  The horse is a 2005 TB, willing and safe for beginners.  The owner has two horses on her property but is attending college and does not have time for both of them.  She seems very nice.  The only downside is it's about a 45 minute drive.  But I think it's worth it, since it's free. 

I am talking to the owner now and we are figuring out a time for me to come meet him.  Will update soon!

I don't know how to title this

Long time, no see!  Again!  I am horrible at staying committed to this blog....or anything, really....

Anyhoo, I haven't really done anything horse-related in the past few months.  The lease did not work out.  Mainly because I was concerned about the excessive barn drama I was about to become involved in, and the owner did not want me to use Amber for lessons if I leased the horse, bla bla bla, I just got overwhelmed and decided not to do it.

If only I could have my own pony...

That's not realistic, though.  Never really has been.  Hopefully one day.

The reason I'm writing this blog post now is that I really don't want to give up on riding, I've never wanted to give up necessarily.  It's just expensive, mainly.  And there's drama, and that always scares me away.  I'm not that good with people. 

I've been thinking about horses constantly for the past few weeks.  I started looking online for leases, places to board, lessons, perhaps, horses for sale, anything.  I also brought the idea of riding again up to my mom.  She likes the idea, and she's willing to help pay, but I obviously have to pay a majority of it.

A few minutes ago I came across an ad for a horse for lease.  This horse happens to be from Possum Creek.  I texted her, and actually found the owner on Facebook as she is friends with Megan, so added her there.  Still waiting for a response so hopefully this may lead to something.  If not, oh well.  Worth a shot, though.

What's that I hear? A lease? For real?

Not volunteering at Possum Creek. BUT... I am...leasing...a morgan cross gelding at Conference! (Named "Whiskey") Let's just say I am SUPER excited!

Let me catch you up!

 So, a while back I made a post on a Facebook horse group, saying I was looking for a lease. I didn't really get any responses, but there was one from a lady who knew a family that was looking to buy a horse. They would immediately want to lease out the horse for half the week. But the lady (Jessica) told me that they were still looking for a horse and it may be a few weeks, but that when they got it, it would be at Conference. I basically forgot about it until yesterday when Jessica messaged me saying they had gotten their horse and was looking for a leaser.

 Suzanne is the owner, Faith is her daughter. We met them today and we met Whiskey. They were both very kind, and Whiskey was very lovable and sweet. I didn't get to ride today (as I wasn't wearing proper shoes) but will be riding him tomorrow at 4ish. Suzanne is wanting me to take lessons with somebody when first riding him as she wants to make sure I'm riding properly and whatnot, which is understandable. I'm hoping to take them from Amber, of course, as that's who I'd feel most comfortable with.

 I'll let you know how riding tomorrow goes!

Possum Creek with Megan

The other day I did end up going to Possum Creek with Megan. It was nice to be out there with the ponies! I didn't end up riding, but I watched Megan ride Sammy and I got to pet the ponies and chat with her. It was nice. Am talking to Elaine about volunteering again, so hopefully that will work out. Sorry, a short post!

Sorry For the Absence....

Once again, I have been absent. And I'm sorry.

 Why is life so hard at times? Why is money so hard to make and save and spend? (Wait...no...it's easy to spend. Ha!) All I want is to have a stable time riding horses. Stable, and consistent. Where I am leasing, taking a good amount of lessons, etc. for months and months. Nothing is seeming to ever last and it's terribly annoying, and discouraging. I love horses. They need to be in my life!

 Anyways, I have not been doing anything horse related as I just don't have the money. Not sure if I mentioned I had a job at McDonald's but I just couldn't take it and quit. It was terrible. Being the second time I worked there, I had enough. Luckily, I got a job at Barnes & Noble. And guess what? I absolutely love it! Have never loved a job this much before. Have worked about 12 days so far within three weeks and it's going really well. I am working in the café but will move onto bookseller and cashier in the future (I'm excited for that!) Unlike any job before, I feel secure. I feel like it's going to definitely be long-term and it's going to continue to go well. I really do love it. I'm very confident that it will stay.

Been trying off and on to get back into lessons or a lease but it never seems to work out. I think I may have my first lesson back with Amber this week, however. I'm hoping to have a lease pretty soon, and supplement it with the lessons. If I just have lessons, I never have the ability to practice on my own. It's hard to get very far with that. I really wish the lease had worked out with Jade... that would have been perfect.... But as Dumbledore says, "It doesn't do to dwell on dreams, and forget to live." (Yes, I'm a HUGE Harry Potter fan.)

 I'm excited for my lesson this week. I think it will be Saturday. And that's good, as I will be paid on Friday. Just in time! Also, call me crazy, but I may try to volunteer at Possum Creek Stables again. If it's one of the only few ways to be exposed to horses, I'm all for it. Megan claims Elaine is in need of volunteers so she'll probably take me back even though I stopped showing up last time. I'm about to text her and see.

 As usual, will update you when I can. Thanks to anyone who is still following my blog! I can't wait until I have actual interesting horse-related stuff to post, and not just "my-life-sucks-I-never-get-to-ride-horses-posts" haha. See ya!

"You're Putting the Cart Before the Horse"

As my mom likes to say to me, "You're putting the cart before the horse."

Funny how we are talking about horses when she says that.

So let me catch you up...

Found an ad on Craigslist for a horse that was either for sale or lease.  The horse is a 4 year old, bay quarter gelding.  He's very handsome, and seems like a very good horse for being so young!  Here he is...

The price of the horse was $1000, but a partial lease is $250 a month and full lease $400 a month.  Here is the actual ad text...

"Diesel is a sweet in you pocket 4 year old gelding turning 5 in the spring. He is 14.3 - 15 hh and is a super easy keeper. He has great feet and up a date on all of his shots, he loads like a dream. Anyone can ride him on the trail, my 9 year old takes him out by herself, he is a babysitter on the trail. I have yet to find anything that spooks this horse. He has been shown in 4-H western and the DLSC in ground poles and cross rails. He would make a great barrel horse as well. i am also open to an on site lease at Greenstone Stables, full lease $400 and partial for $250, this will include two lessons a month if you like. We run dslc hunter showes at your barn and would be great for anyone wanting to get into horse riding of any kind."

So there you go!  I showed Megan and she seemed to think the ad looked good.  So she said she would check him out with me.  I got in contact with the owner, Nate, and he seems very nice.  He has daughters that ride the horse.  He says he's got 6 horses and this one is hardly ever ridden so he wants to either sell or lease.  He basically said with supplemental lessons, this horse would be fine for me and my experience.  

Also, Greenstone Stables in Germantown is apparently a great place to board, according to Megan.  I checked out their website and it appears very nice and is only 20 minutes away.

I am interested in leasing "Diesel" (don't like his name very much...).  I may start with a partial lease, and if I want to do a full lease or buy in the future, I can.  I was on the phone with the owner tonight and had the door shut, my mom comes in and freaks out and I make her leave.  When I'm done on the phone I go talk to her and she just gets upset and says I'm putting the cart before the horse because I don't really have money at this point and will get my first check this week.

I'm annoyed.

I think I can easily afford the $250 a month.  I am supposed to be working full-time, and even if I were to only get 25 hours a week I should still have enough.  I mean, she has a point, I guess.  Maybe it's good to save a little money before I start, but at the same time, I remember how good it felt mentally to be active and riding horses.  I need more activity and exercise in my life.  I truly believe, as I've stated before, that horseback riding is good for me, both physically, mentally and emotionally. 

Megan may come with me to check Diesel out this week, probably Thursday or Sunday.  I will have to check my work schedule first and double check with both Nate (the owner) and Megan first.  I really hope I can see him!

A Random Post

I've been staring at this blog for a while, admiring how many posts I have so far, and wanting to write more, but I don't really have anything horse-related to talk about at the moment!  So I'm just going to start this random post and see where it goes.

Firstly, I did contact Kate back and told her I would be interested in leasing.  Unfortunately, by the time I got back to her, he was already leased.  That was quick!  I was disappointed.  It's like the cheapest lease option ever.

I'm currently on Facebook chatting with some friends and drinking my Diet Coke (which I'm addicted to, by the way...LOL!)  I was supposed to hang out with a friend today but I don't think it's going to happen.  I don't work today, either, so I really don't have much to do.  I really wish I could be out riding.  Unfortunately, I don't have that luxury at the moment.

Sooo....now what to talk about...LOL.

A Slow Start...

My "full-time" job at McDonald's is at a rather slow start.  I only totalled about 9 hours the first week, and I'll only get 22 hours or less this week.  I still plan on starting lessons with Amber again and have been in contact with her, I just need to get a pay check or two first.

Just for the record, McDonald's is not a very nice place to work.  I know this because I worked at a different McDonald's previously and it wasn't a very pleasant experience.  But I'm doing it again because I need the money and I know I can rely on them to get decent hours.  Besides, I already know how to do a lot.  The people are god awful though...

In other news, Skip is up for lease again.  (Kate texted me to let me know.)  That's only $150 a month.  So that might be an option in addition to lessons.  We'll just have to see once the cash starts rolling in.  I hope he isn't taken before then.

I haven't been on the Horse Forum much as I am busy with other things (such as moderating the parrot forum I'm on) but I'm going to try to be more active.

Not much more horsey news here.  Over and out!

I Really Want Him...

There's been this halflinger for sale for a few months (the seller hasn't been super motivated from what I'm seeing) and she's just lowered the price a bit. (From $1,200 to $900).  I love halflingers; they are gorgeous, small and sturdy.  I've talked to his owner off and on and he seems like a real good horse, and would fit my situation perfectly.  I really want him, and I'm considering going to check him out.  The owner, Beth, might wait until I have my money together and then sell him to me, so there is a chance I could get him.  Just thought I'd let you all know.

Back on Track

Was trying to stay away from horses as I was looking for a new job.  Money would just be so scarce and I probably couldn't be consistent with lessons or anything.  Then I got a full-time job at McDonald's, and my orientation for it is tomorrow.  I built up the courage to basically ask Amber if she would take me back, and she said she will!  I'm so thrilled.  I simply don't want to live without horses somewhere in my life.  As I've said before, something about them draws me in.  And something about them makes me feel better, as a lot of time I am down in the dumps.

So, I'm going to tell Amber that I'm waiting for my first pay check and at that point I can begin.  I really want to take two lessons a week.  She says that there are a few horses she knows of that I can pay to ride whenever I go to ride, but that I need to be in a consistent lesson program first, which is fine by me. (Even though I really prefer a lease, or owning.)

Things seem like they are finally get back on track.  We'll see!