The Plan

As always, just when you about have things figured out, life has to throw you a little curve ball....

A while back I mentioned we had some exciting things going on around here...well...part of what was started came to fruition...the other part...fizzled.

We were starting up a couple of businesses....one is taking off. The other one never got off the ground. That was disappointing, but the hubby, ever the wheeler and dealer got the equipment sold to another company so we didn't lose any money. Whew..cause that was our retirement! Along the way, My Honey was invited to go to work for this company as well and after much hemming and hawwing between that, another job offer and just keeping on doing what he was doing...he decided to go with the company that bought our equipment. As the oil field is getting drastically slow around here and will continue to slow even more, MH will be working in the North Dakota oil field...the one that is currently booming.

Here we go again...MH and I spent the first 8 years of our relationship living apart-separate states...separate countries even...separate lives...I have no idea how our relationship even survived. Anyway, now that MH will be going on an out of town rotation again and the kid will be graduating High School...I want to be a bit more mobile...not to mention that I think the price of hay is going to be astronomical this year....The Plan is to get the number of horses around here down. But to do that I have to get caught up...

Moon just needs his conditioning for barrel racing. He is just going to be a rodeo horse from here on out, but I do plan to use him for other endeavors. I am pretty determined to get back into roping this year and want to do some ranch horse versatility things. Moon does a lot better when he has other things to focus on besides barrel racing. He stays

Shooter is going to be started under saddle and I believe his calling is the show pen...Showmanship, WP, HUS and that kind of stuff. I have no idea if he will ever make a barrel horse. Right now he just screams 'SHOW HORSE'. He stays.

Beretta is also going to be started under saddle and I am going to be gearing her training more towards Reining. I am quite astounded at how much better her hind leg is. I have no doubt her future is a lot brighter than the vet thought it would be. She stays.

Megan is starting Gunner under saddle...with my help of course. He is only going to get a couple of months of light riding, learn the basics and then he will be going back to SD to grow up for another year. So he is just a short-timer and will be going home.

Frosty is coming along really well. He is going to be my 'D' horse this year. I'll haul him to the local barrel races to get him started in competition and will probably haul him with Moon to the rodeos. To get him used to everything and to keep Moon company. He stays.

The big bay horse is going to have a ton of ground work and ponying done on him over the next couple of months. If all goes well and I don't think he is going to kill me, I will start riding him. The plan is to have Megan on a pony horse just start easing me around on him. Buuutttt....If I just can't bring myself to take the plunge and start riding the horse, I have a friend back home who said he would take him for the summer. He is a working cowboy and covers a ton of country doing day work. He is short of mature horses to ride this summer and asked if I had anything I wanted some ranch work done on....

I think covering some big country is exactly what this horse needs, but obviously I worry that things could go horribly wrong. I was only half joking when I told The Cowboy that if he ruined my horse, I was taking this adorable little palomino gelding he has in trade. (Like I need another damn horse right?) So the big bay will most likely be gone for the summer.

Along the same lines...the little sorrel horse may end up going to The Cowboy for the summer too. I have been riding this horse and know he is not going to be a problem. He just needs miles and a job. So Meg and I will be camping on him for the next couple of months and I hope my mom realizes that letting someone use him for a few months is the best thing. Either way, he will be going home.

Spooks is on the bubble. The darned old clod-hopper has just been invaluable to me this last year. Not only for what he won, but for being a good companion to Beretta. I really thought about continuing on with Spooks but he is mostly just fun. He's never going to be a top contender. Keeping him around as a companion horse for the youngsters isn't terribly expensive, so I may just do that. Lord knows he has come to love his luxurious lifestyle. ;-) Right now it's a ??, but if things get really tight economically, he will go home.

That leaves Megan's blue roan horse, Rip. Rip kind of deserves a post all his own because we have a bit of rehabbing to do on him and the next couple of months will tell if he is going to be competitive enough for Megan again or if she will need to trade him out for a different horse. Since she does not enjoy Spooks...even if he did win her a saddle...she is not interested in competing on him again. Rip is another ??, but even if he doesn't stay, Meg will have to pick another horse to replace him.

Confused yet?

The goal is to get down to 5-6 horses for the summer. Of course the big bay will eventually come back and I think I will probably bring my young filly out this fall and keep her here for awhile to make sure she is gentle and halter-broke, but my mom does such a good job growing up the youngsters that unless I absolutely HAVE to keep a baby here, like I had to with Beretta, they really are better off growing up on mom's magic grass. ;-)