Horsekeeping
Lucky enough to have a horse.
Awareness of the outside world. Giving credit. The cover doll on Breyer’s *Just About Horses* 2020 is a black cowboy, ticking the diversity boxes for race, gender, and age. Well done, Breyer. Now all he needs is a helmet.
~~~
Found out that Full Circle Horse Park does not allow lunging or loose horses in their ring. No more zoomies. No more gleeful rolling. [Frolic]
Sad face.
It has been been so long since I have had my horses in another person’s care that I forgot about the arbitrary rules that go with boarding. What ring you can use. When you can use it. Where you can ride. When you can ride. The reasons make sense; the reasons don’t make sense. Either way, as a boarder you have to live by house rules. To quote Doc C, cathedra mea, regulae meae.
Sharing is overrated.
Years ago, I was accused of leaving manure in the washstall of a barn. When they tried to figure out the culprit, they decided to blame me. That’s when I realized I needed to find a new place to keep my horse. If the barn culture had turn against me to that extent, it was time to leave. I have many sins. Failing to cleaning up after my horse is not one of them.
What about barn fam, you ask? I have boarded at seven barns in four states during my horse career. One barn, life-long friends (waves Hi). The other six ceased to exist as soon as I left. Plus, as I have said, the only sure-fire method to avoiding barn drama is the ability to walk away chanting, ‘Not my circus, not my monkeys.’ [Why Not Rack Off Into The Sunset ?]
With horses at home, we have to …
Do all chores.
Haul to better riding facilities.
Solve all problems by ourselves. Or make arrangements for expert consultants, i.e. farrier, vet, etc. Be there when expert consultants arrive.
Be on call 24/7.
Tradeoff?
We can do what we want with our horses, when we want, where we want.
Totally worth it.
Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott
Virtual Brush Box 
My friends with horses agree with you 100%!
I can see this. And beyond that there’s something special about having them right there, the daily interactions and all of those ‘have to’s really. The short time I had horses, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. The relationship we had was different than if they had lived somewhere else.
For some of us, it’s not an option.
Boarding is not all it’s cracked up to be but it’s not bad sometimes~
“For some of us, it’s not an option.” Even for those who can, I don’t always recommend it. Some people want to have a life outside the barn. Imagine that.