Silly Siren

well, my silly, adventurous, Siren did something a bit funny yesterday.... As I was cleaning her stall yesterday, while she normally will stand in the corner, away from me, she decided that she should try to chase the barn cat. She jumped right over the wheelbarrow and meandered down the hallway after Ginger, the cat. Luckily, she only suffered from a tiny cut on her leg. She has always been so curious when it came to the cat. But never had I expected her to go to such lengths just to see her!

Create a bond with your passion

Now I know that this is a bit off of the topic of Siren, but I have had some time to think and wanted to share with you the thoughts that have been crossing my brain.
Being an equestrian means that you are thrust into a world separate from the normal world. It is filled with people who share a similar passion. However, after surrounding myself with so many of these amazing people, I have formulated the conclusion that people have forgotten that riding is an individual pursuit. We often get lost on the road to success. With so many shows and competitions, many people often find their main goal to is to win, or to beat out certain people. They also seem to strive to compete in bigger, better, more competitive, and more prestigious shows. I do not find anything wrong with this. No one should strive for failure. Nor should they become complacent with their current level. Striving to be better is an important goal that everyone should possess. However, I feel as though with all of this competition, many have failed to maintain that reasoning for pursing this hobby in the first place. This sport is not all about winning, but rather for the love that we have for the incredible animals.
Next time you see your horse, allow that inner child who so desperately wanted nothing more than a pony, to be awaken. Recall all of those reasons that you wanted to sit on a horse for the first time. Allow yourself to be happy with what you have at the moment and go for a ride with your only intentions being to make you and your horse happy. Allow yourself to be filled with pure joy as you create new, individualized goals for your equine hobby.

"A horse is the projection of peoples' dreams about themselves--strong, powerful, beautiful--and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence."

 - Pam Brown

From filly to lifelong friend

It is astounding to me that it has been over a year since I first saw my precious wide-eyed and wobbly-legged Siren leap out of the trailer to greet me for the first time. In hindsight, I had very little idea as to what to expect when raising a horse. I did expect the countless hours of training and hard work. But I never quite expected the hours of joy that this experience has sent my way. Every horse has something to offer and with ease, can place a smile on my face. But there is something special about a baby. Siren was seeing the world for the first time. Seeing her curiosity and reactions is something you don't get to see with a "been there, done that" type of horse. Being so young, and occasionally uneasy about the big world before her, she searched for someone to lean on and love. And I suppose, I was too. We seemed to immediately form a connection. In the amount of time that we have been together, we have spent hours cuddling and simply enjoying each other's company. We've grown together. We have learned from each other and have built an impenetrable bond. I could simply not imagine my life without the excited, high-pitched whinny that I receive every time I walk into the barn. 

Today, I noticed that Siren, while she was starting to look level, is now once again, butt-high. Since horses grow first at the hip, and then catch up with the front, this means that she is once again going through a growth spurt. She is standing at about 15hh right now. It still shocks me to see her looking like a horse when it seems like just yesterday that she was barely able to peek over the top of her stall door. She also had a visit from the farrier today. She stood incredibly well for him today! She fussed a little bit, but overall, was a very well behaved little filly! She is mentally growing up as well. It makes me a bit saddened to see that she is no longer the little 6 month old that she once was. But I also feel fortunate to be in the presence of such a grown up and beautiful horse. I am glad to have been able to enjoy this journey so far and am so pleased to see that she is a very well behaved and sweet horse. As I see her grow and progress with training, I eagerly look look forward to out next big steps such as riding! 

A time of sadness

The past few days have brought about some sad news. Another recipient of a Sutton Ranch weanling, who partook in the program at the same time as me, lost her colt due to a misfortunate pasture accident that left him with a broken leg. In addition, a friend of mine who I have shown against for quite some time now, lost his horse yesterday due to a broken leg that occurred while they were running the poles pattern at a show. The news of these losses leaves me heartbroken for these wonderful people. There are special thoughts going out to both of these people and anyone else who ever has to suffer the loss of someone special in their life.  I know that both of these horses were loved to the end of the earth and back.
I too have had to make the decision to put down a horse with a broken leg. My first horse Valentine was the most amazing horse I could have possibly asked for. She provided me with so much confidence, knowledge and overall experience with owning a horse.
 I know that is not an easy thing to go through, losing someone that you love. All we can do is enjoy every minute we have with everyone we love. Human or animal. We only get so many minutes with them so we need to make them all count. Never leave them angry. Never pass up the opportunity to express your love to someone. My dad has always told me "run like it's your last run ever". These are some words to live by, for as grim as it may sound, we will never know what tomorrow holds, today might be all we get, so make it count.

Valentine

Long time, no post!

I haven't been on here for a while. I really need to try and keep up! Siren is getting so big! She is nearly two now. This winter has been terrible. There have been many, many, single digit degree days. While it has not been the most enjoyable, Siren has managed to make the best out of it. She loves rolling in the snow and has even learned a new trick. She can now wave!