4 years ago today i signed the papers to purchase Calvin (then known as “shorty”) and moved him to his new barn.  Up until Calvin i had owned 2 horses from the lower end of the potential spectrum, Calvin was a whole new class of horse for me.  I have spent the last 4 years in awe of the horse he has become.  It never ceases to amaze me that I have managed to develop him into what he is today, which is a great source of pride for me.

 i just spent 2 weeks working on selling him.

 Luckily it didn’t pan out, and a really great opportunity has landed in my lap at just the right time.  I was frustrated because i haven’t had the time or energy to ride Calvin.  When i did ride him, he had taken some huge steps backwards (through no fault of his own), and to get him back where he was a year ago, I knew i would have to ride him more, only i couldn’t ride him more.  So i thought about sending him off to training to get him back up to speed, but calculating the cost put a stop to that.  So i was stuck in this vicious circle of frustration with our performance, which caused me to not want to ride, which i could justify by saying i just didn’t have the time, and selling him sounded like the best option. 

Sounds like this new barn i am moving to is full of “mom’s who don’t have time or money but still find the time and money”  I already have a show on the schedule for May and am working out lessons with a trainer so hopefully we will be getting back on track.  My horse budget has changed drastically and that is taking some getting used to!  Sounds like I will be in good company at the new barn though, so i won’t have to feel like a bad horse mom for not shelling out hundreds of dollars on lessons, showing, tack, etc. every month.  Calvin may be living a less luxurious lifestyle, but hey! we all have to adjust for little Riley.