Happy Holidays and an update

Happy holidays, everyone! Hope everyone has a wonderful day tomorrow, and finds lots of horsey goodness under the tree :)

Here's a little update on MY life, it's been an interesting week, to say the least. Richard is currently out of town for Christmas, and I'm in charge of the farm for a week. No big deal right? WRONG. Let me tell you about what's going on here. First of all, there are two feet of snow on the ground right now. No big deal for Richard, with his 4WD truck. Big deal for me--I have to walk in the 1/2 a mile, down and up a hill, in a full coverall suit, through the snow. It's way more exausting than it may sound. I'm doing this about 3x a day (sometimes 2x, sometimes 4 or 5, depending). The good thing is that I'm shedding fat like mad-haha.

Secondly, we have a compulsive eater on our farm. The majority of the herd could go on two large feedings a day, one around 8 am and one around 8 pm. But then we've got Belle. Belle is Richard's OBESE Morgan mare. Belle is a chronic founder case, and loves to eat, and will do anything TO eat when she's hungry. When she gets hungry, she doesn't think twice, she just bashes down the fence to get to the hay. Three mornings of the past four, we've come out to find Belle on the other side of a very crippled fence. The electricity (enough to knock me on my butt) doesn't even phase her!

Thirdly, Let's talk waterers. Automatic waterers are so fantastic...most of the time. They make doing chores much easier...most of the time. Until the winter when they freeze. ARGH. Ours has been frozen every day I've been out there recently. It's been pretty cold recently (High temps peaked yesterday, and it was 22). Keeping the dang thing open long enough for everyone to get a drink and to refill is tough. Then, two days ago, it wouldn't STOP filling. Fortunately my father, handy-man that he is, realized that the last time the thing had been taken apart, a piece had been put back on backwards, and that's what caused the problem. But since then, it's been off and on freeze. I swear I'm a fan of tank heaters, now.

OTHER THAN THIS, life is actually quite grand. Micky and I took Nugget and Prin out for a trail ride yesterday (Nugget's first!!) which went GREAT. Micky hopped on Nug on the way home, and commented immediately on how much she reminded her of Digger. All in all, a very successful outing. Today, we opened one present before dinner (family tradition) and I was very happy to receive a telephoto lens for my Canon Rebel digital camera. This equipment will all go to FL with me and be used like CRAZY, no worries :)

In other news, as well, one of my students passed her L1 last week, congratulations Jenifer and Mamma! I helped film and coach these two through their assessment, so it gives me a great sense of accomplishment, too. Well done, girls, now onto L2!

OH! Speaking of FL, I'm going to start a new blog and try to keep track of my journey as the course I'm attending progresses. I'll post a link to that as soon as I get it up and running :)

Finally, my two ponies got blankies for Xmas and boy do they look cute! Crest got a green and blue plaid Noreasta turnout, and Prin got a denim/navy Weatherbeeta Orican midweight turnout. They both look fantastic, and will keep nice and warm on these cold nights, now. I'll take pix soon.

I think that's all for now, folks :) Time for me to hit the hay, let Santa do his job, and prepare to get up early again tomorrow morning to go feed...again.

Savvy on and out!

A Decisive Conversation

I'm going to end my poll 11 days early, because I've made my decision. I talked to Farrah yesterday, and it came up in conversation how excited we both were about FL, but how I couldn't decide which horse to bring. Farrah laughed and said "Yeah, that one's always tough, what are your thoughts?" So I explained to her that each horse would benefit me in different ways; Prin would take me higher, and into another level with my horsemanship, whereas Crest would expand my knowledge and excellence where I'm already at in L3. Farrah, didn't even lick and chew on that, she answered me right away. She said "Fran, I think that if you've got professional goals, you should probably work on going UP then branching out."

Now, explain to me, how is it SO SIMPLE for her to say that and have it make sense?! And furthermore, why can't I ever remember that long term goal when I need to? Anyway, whatever the case may be, I'll be bringing Prin. My hope is that later on in the summer, money and time allowing, I'd like to take Crest down to a 1 week Moving in Harmony (Riding L2/L3) course in Pagosa. That's what he'd benefit from most, and although I'd LOVE to do a longer one with him, it's just not in the works for us at the moment. So...

Other than that, I'm off to go play. I'm enjoying this lovely fall weather as much as anyone, despite having a cold that makes me feel like my nose is going to fall off. So, catch you later!

New Poll

Hey all,

Just pointing out a new poll on my blog. I'm trying to decide which horse I'm going to take with me to the ISC in January. I was thinking about this pretty intensively today as I was at the farm today, and I seriously could NOT make a decision.

I have Prin, who is OBVIOUSLY my super horse, diving into L4 stuff, and is really ready for the Masterclass, and has been for quite some time. I always learn so much with her, and I want to deepen my relationship with her to a whole new level, but at the same time, she's not my complicated horse.

...or, I could bring Crest. Crest has had a HUGE year this year, and is now what I'd call solid L2, beginning L3. He fits the prerequisites of the Masterclass by a long shot, and would definitely make my course much more "eventful", but he has never traveled long distances before. I don't really know how he'd be in a new environment. Now granted, we'll be there a month, I doubt he'll be a basket case, but I'm weighing my options.

If everyone would be so kind as to cast a vote, and either leave me a comment ON THIS POST or email me (savvyup@yahoo.com) and give me your reasons why I should bring the horse you chose, it'd be greatly appreciated.

Also, the option of bringing both is out of the question. Farrah has a 4-horse trailer, and she's bringing all 3 of her horses.

Thanks guys!

Oh Goodness...Course Logistics...

So I'm very proud of myself. I've gotten myself into possibly the biggest financial cram of my life...moreso than a saddle that everyone thought I'd never get.

Farrah mentioned to me earlier this month that she has room in her trailer, and pending on some details that need ironing out (VERY managable details)that she's going down for a 4-week course in FL in January, and I'd be welcome to ride down with her to do the same course (4 week L3/L4 masterclass!!).

Okay. Stop. Time out. 4 week MASTERCLASS. Yes, the course, basically of my dreams. HOW CAN I TURN THAT OPPORTUNITY DOWN?!?! That's right. Simply put, I CANNOT!

Now, I am a good money saver. I really am. Saving for my Fluidity saddle especially taught me a lot of what I need to know, but I've been managing my finances for my horses since I was 12. Maybe not 100% effectively always, but I have a clue on how to manage money. And as such, I am beginning to realize how unlikely it is that I'll be able to afford such an opportunity. I've already given up on making the September special ($1275/week) so I'm looking at $1475/week, but getting my 4th week for free if I book before Dec. 31st. That includes horse care, food for me 5 days a week. I figure with gas down/pay to Farrah (I'd be staying with her) it'll be another $1000 or so, so I set my goal at saving $6000 or so. That's about $1500 a month I need to save. Um...EEK?!

I've got $210 in my savings account right now. I HAVE to make this work though! I WILL make this work. Anyone have any brilliant ideas?

I WILL MAKE THIS WORK! *Frantically saves money*