gAH! So long!

 Oh man, it's been so long! There's been a lot of good, but also plenty of... not good. 2021 was a bit of a rollercoaster of a year, and 2022 is starting out that way, as well. I'm hoping that it will be a "In like a lion, out like a lamb," year. Or fuck.. I'm not going to make it. 

So. Recap.

WE bought Xena- or Z, as we lovingly called her. WE brought Sherwood up to Vermont and brought Z and Lola down, delivering Lola to her new home- Tim O'Brien's wife, Kim, bought her! Small world! We kept her here for a month, then brought her up to Jessie Green's in Maine, to start her formal training and preparation for saddle breaking. Logan and I went up every other week religiously, and watched her progress from a mare who was not really halter broke to one who was lunging, then long lining, then long lining over poles, ponying beside Fox, and even started with a saddle and a teddy bear because she had a real good temper and buck on her. We became friends who Jessie, and even became friends with her friend, Courtney. Who said I'm antisocial??

The day we brought up Z, Jessie told me to bring my riding gear because she had a sales horse she thought I'd have fun riding. So I hopped on "Simply Vera," or "Queen Vera" to any and all who know her. And... found my horse. Literally. In one ride, I was done- I was taking this mare home, if the stars had any sense of justice or rightness. I knew her, but I wasn't afraid of her. She had a huge motor, power to spare, and intimidated the SHIT out of me on the ground with her shaved forelock and stare-down-her-nose-at-you posture. Total fucking Griffin. Her nickname was the "Silver Dragon".. Of course, they wanted 5 figures for her, so.. I lusted, but knew I couldn't swing that after buying Z- and I did not need 4 horses!

Instead, I found a lease on a super cute little TB mare- Luna, and when Z went to Maine, Luna came home to keep Fancy company and give me a trail horse to mess around with. When Z came home, Luna would go back to her owners. 

Over the weeks we came up, Logan and I would watch Z work, then I'd hop on Vera. We did a jump chute one of the last weeks, and I told Jessie that if she could talk the breeders into my price, I'd buy her. And.. they did. Cut her price almost in half, because Jessie vouched that I would be good for her. So.. We took Vera home in October. And continued to go up every other weekend to see Z, who was not progressing as quickly as we thought she might (she had a MASSIVE BUCK!), so we made the plan to keep her in training through winter. 

But I was so excited about my TWO powerhouse mares, I got to work on my Cricut for their own personal apparel line. 

Around the same time, Fancy was starting to have a harder time with her legs- starting to lay down more often switching back and forth on her hind leg, so I made a plan with Lauren to put her to sleep before winter really hit, because I dreaded the idea of her slipping and falling or maybe not being able to get back up if she laid down.. Logan was not having the idea, so we put it off by a month.. and decided to do it right around the end of November.

And first week of November, I got a call from Jessie saying that Z had had a HUGE grand mal seizure. That she was a different horse, that my sweet mare was.. well, was a danger to society and herself. 

And... that's Part 1. I can only handle so much of this story at a time.