I was pretty angry at my horse yesterday. I had no tears, I just drove from the barn mad. I do everything for this horse. Board her in a beautiful facility, give her the best supplements, constantly educate myself on how to make myself a better horse person and her a better horse. I have given her a pretty good life. But she doesn't understand all that, she just knows she is scared all the time. I just want a "normal" day with her. One day where I am not worried about her fracture, one without rearing, without quivering, a day where her feet stand still. Yesterday was not one of those days. She was a complete mess. Just touching her, you could see adrenaline build. We left the arena on a positive note, and once she was in her stall, she was content, but I was secretly writing my free horse ad.
You ask, "What does Tony Hawk (skateboard extrodinare!) have to do with horses?" Well, he came up with a cool, cheap video camera that mounts on your helmet. He imagined lots of little skateboarders filming their ramp adventures, but I have a better idea. Lets use the Tony Hawk helmet camera to document some cool trail rides, maybe some jumps around the arena, or how about a lunging session with your horse. It just arrived in the mail today. It was a mere $29.95 comes with editing software, a 32MB card, built in microphone, and best of all a laser to line up your shots. I haven't tested it yet, but tomorrow I am going to take it to the barn and see how it performs. I know you are all on the edge of your seats awaiting this review:-)
I just reserved my room down in Redmond for the 2008 Parelli Tour. I got my fliers in the mail yesterday for the NW Horse Expo. Ugh! What a tough decision to make! It is the same weekend that Clinton Anderson will be in town! I've got clinic and expo fever. I love everything about horse expos. I love to shop and take notes at the seminars. This year the Mane Event is in October, so that gives me time to save some cash for the wonderful vendors and I may just have a booth again this year for Stable Hand Video. Booth rentals are pretty pricey and I am a one man band, so when
I have a booth, I have to man it all day every day. It is a lot of work, but I meet tons of cool people. What could be better? The tough part is convincing people why they should get video of their ranch, their horses, or their riding. Lots of talking and enthusiasm wears me out and I usually don't get time to enjoy what the expos have to offer. I posted a couple of pictures of my booth space for the Mane Event from 2006. I didn't do one this year because I got so busy with little side projects, not to mention Maddy. But maybe 2008 is my year. I am trying to get more focused and finish my horse documentary projects, so I can get back to working with clients again. By the way, I posted a trailer of my documentary "Inside the Backside" on YouTube if you guys want to check it out. I am hoping to upload it here when I get the time because I am looking for some feedback. I have "tweaked" it a little since posting it, but essentially it is similar. I wanted to mention, all the things (excluding electronics) in my booth I either made or got at garage sales, including the breyers on the shelves. I love bargain hunting!
I like people that do great things for animals. In 2000, a couple started a santuary in Montana called the Rolling Dog Ranch. They wanted to have a place for disabled dogs and cats, but their first resident was a blind horse named "Lena." Today they have 25 blind horses and they work hard to educate people on ERU, eye trauma, glaucoma, and other ocular defects. They turn the horses out in pairs to minimize risk of injury from herd dynamics. The horses can't read body ques like ears pinned back, but they know where their water and feed spots are. I just think it is so cool that Steve and Alayne provide a loving home for these horses. If you want to read more about equine blindness, they have a lot of great information and photos on their other website, blind horses.
Seems like everyone out at my barn has the "itch" to buy a new horse. Two people made offers this week on horses and three other people are busy horse shopping. My trainer just bought the little Welsh Cob pictured here. His name is "Merlin" and he arrived on Thursday. Everyone is trying to talk me into buying Queenie and I even had someone tell me, "cut your losses with Maddy and find something new." I just can't do that. Every horse that I have ever had has lived out their life with me. They are family to me and when I chose Maddy, I imagined growing old with her. As much as I like Queenie, she is way out of my price range and I can't afford two horses. Also, I feel like I need to continue on with my horse, with my plan, with my dream. Of course the idea of a new horse is exciting, but so is the idea of the end of stall rest and a new beginning. It is hard to shut out the comments this past week. I feel like everyone has given up on Maddy except me. It sucks feeling like no one is in your corner and that your horse , to them, has lost its value.
