THE DRESSAGE QUEEN-
This queen is the one whose horse is sooooo much more valuable than everyone elses in the barn, he has the best of everything from tack to blankets it must be top end and high dollar.The queen demands to have the ring all to herself to practice walking in circles, endlessly, untill the horse is so dizzy it wants to fall over. She constantly takes down the jump courses that you have set for your nightly lessons that you spent an hour setting just right, because it is just too hard to trot around them. She always shows up at the barn dressed to kill in the latest riding styles and color coordinates her pads and wraps and clothes, and for some reason she loves wearing white to the barn. This character is also a big fan of supplements, she has her horse on boatloads of powders, squirts and injections. She is angry at her horse for rolling in the mud, as it takes away from her time walking endless circles in the ring. She loves to tell you everything about what is wrong with your horse and how it is trained, and yet she has never had her horse to a show, even though she has the biggest and bestest trailer parked in the barnyard.The one possitive is that she always pays her bills on time, but expects to be "handled" as you would a superstar or celebrity.Be prepared to brown nose, cause thats what makes her the happiest, and be pre-pared to talk about her favorite subject-her, in the end, if the rest of the barn can put up with her, shes harmless, and overall not the worst character to have around.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The Characters
Everyone knows barns are full of characters, each having a different role to play to make the dynamic of a barn interesting, let me start by giving you my classifications of the different types that have graced my allyway.
The Worry-wort- This is the classic older rider who got back into it when the kids left the nest, extra income to spend and lots and lots of time on her hands.She is a great example of the honeymoon boarder(its great for the first two months then they make your life living hell). Usually Worry comes with a horse that some jerk sold her that is too tall, scared, abused,jumpy,sensitive,playful, ect,ect. for her to effectively ride, or enjoy; and her knowledge of horse care and management is limited to non-existant. She seems sweet and harmless enough, but will soon either drive you and your boarders crazy, or cause such a disturbance that people will look to get away.She is constantly worried about her horses health and every article she reads about horse health applies to her horse, so for example if one week she reads an article on west nile, two days later her horse is showing signs, and why didnt i notice. the next week its an article on navicular, and guess what-the horse now has a new lameness and thats whaT IT MUST BE. The horse trips over a rock in the ring and it must have lymes disease, All the while you are getting reamed for not seeing all these imaginary signs of impending death, you must not be very good at what you do, let me give you all the articles to read so you can be more aware of what is going on with my horse. The horse meanwhile is enjoying all the time off he is getting to recover from his illnesses, happily eating and getting fat in the turnout, trying to kill you because he isn't getting the exercise he needs. The vet is getting aggravated at all the false alarms and is now happily charging the aggravation fee, he so richly deserves for being brought out to look at a perfectly healthy horse week after week.The final straw comes when another boarders geriatric horse who is actually very ill, with a twisted gut has to be put down, and you are sitting with them crying and assuring that they made the right decision, when worry walks in and says that she better move her horse out of the barn because she doesnt want him to CATCH colic too, and what kind of place are you running that all these things are happening to the horses, meanwhile you know she is referring to her horses imaginary illnesses, but the other boarder who walks in during the middle of all this is like WTF is going on, should i be worried? Then on top of it all, she cant even load her own horse when the new, better barn that she found who is going to take such better care of her precious has no idea how to load a horse either.Leeson learned: If you go to pick up a new boarder and the barn that they are leaving happily, happily helps you load the horse and wishes you good luck with your new client-you are definatley in for a ride. Oh the joy of having boarders!
The Worry-wort- This is the classic older rider who got back into it when the kids left the nest, extra income to spend and lots and lots of time on her hands.She is a great example of the honeymoon boarder(its great for the first two months then they make your life living hell). Usually Worry comes with a horse that some jerk sold her that is too tall, scared, abused,jumpy,sensitive,playful, ect,ect. for her to effectively ride, or enjoy; and her knowledge of horse care and management is limited to non-existant. She seems sweet and harmless enough, but will soon either drive you and your boarders crazy, or cause such a disturbance that people will look to get away.She is constantly worried about her horses health and every article she reads about horse health applies to her horse, so for example if one week she reads an article on west nile, two days later her horse is showing signs, and why didnt i notice. the next week its an article on navicular, and guess what-the horse now has a new lameness and thats whaT IT MUST BE. The horse trips over a rock in the ring and it must have lymes disease, All the while you are getting reamed for not seeing all these imaginary signs of impending death, you must not be very good at what you do, let me give you all the articles to read so you can be more aware of what is going on with my horse. The horse meanwhile is enjoying all the time off he is getting to recover from his illnesses, happily eating and getting fat in the turnout, trying to kill you because he isn't getting the exercise he needs. The vet is getting aggravated at all the false alarms and is now happily charging the aggravation fee, he so richly deserves for being brought out to look at a perfectly healthy horse week after week.The final straw comes when another boarders geriatric horse who is actually very ill, with a twisted gut has to be put down, and you are sitting with them crying and assuring that they made the right decision, when worry walks in and says that she better move her horse out of the barn because she doesnt want him to CATCH colic too, and what kind of place are you running that all these things are happening to the horses, meanwhile you know she is referring to her horses imaginary illnesses, but the other boarder who walks in during the middle of all this is like WTF is going on, should i be worried? Then on top of it all, she cant even load her own horse when the new, better barn that she found who is going to take such better care of her precious has no idea how to load a horse either.Leeson learned: If you go to pick up a new boarder and the barn that they are leaving happily, happily helps you load the horse and wishes you good luck with your new client-you are definatley in for a ride. Oh the joy of having boarders!
Its getting ugly out there!
The economy certainly is reaking havoc with my business, boarders are paying late, and selling horses, and in some cases dumping them on me. The thing is as bad as it gets, i will not loose my farm, i will still be able to buy feed, and i will not give up. Life is sometimes hard, really hard, and i wish that people who had taken on the responsibility of owning a horse realized that you might actually have to work for your money, and to live up to responsibilities that are your burden.I have taken on what ever side work i can get, currently my husband and i are clearing a swamp out of brush to keep cash coming in. my point is, those of us willing to work, will do anything necessary to make it. Am i enjoying trudging around a swamp knee deep in either snow, ice, or mud and dragging ten acres of brush into piles-NO-but i do it to keep hay in the feeders, and grain in the bowls, and the bank from taking my house.I have animals who are my responsibility, who count on me, so i will do whatever it is i need to do. I am getting tired of people who are reaching out to the government and expecting to be bailed out, yes people are in crisis, but dont wait for corrupt politicians to help you out , help yourself, find work, chase it down.For those of you cutting and running on your horses right now, i have no simpathy, get another job, get two if you have to, stop eating out, shopping and get rid of the cell phones, and do your duty to the fourlegged friend who is helpless to bail himself out of a bad situation, there is a solution to every problem, you just have to be willing to do what you have to.
Ok - sorry for the rant, but be a good friend and neighbor, motivate people to stand up and take responsibiltiy for their own lives, dont dwell on the negative.
Ok - sorry for the rant, but be a good friend and neighbor, motivate people to stand up and take responsibiltiy for their own lives, dont dwell on the negative.
Why am i starting this?
Well the answer is simple, i love horses, i live horses and i have a lot of opinions about them. This is a blog about my life as the owner of a small private stable, who is the cheif everything, from training and instructing, to shoveling and mending. I want to share my thoughts, my experiences, rant a little, but most of all i want to share with you the wonderful horses that i have been blessed with knowing, loving, and caring for throughout my life.Although i am sure some of my opinions will cause some hurt feelings, they are just that, my opinions, everyone is welcome to have their own, that is the beauty of the bolg.
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