Crabby Mom

Crabby Mom

Saturday, May 21, 2011

First Things First

Here's the thing, I love my daughter and my daughter loves horses.  You would think that this would mean that I love horses too, but that ain't necessarily so.  Don't get me wrong, I love the beauty, strength and majesty of the animals. I love the smell of horses, clean leather tack and newly baled hay. I love hearing soft nickers when the rest of the barn is quiet and the touch of a velvety muzzle that inevitably leaves a trail of slime on a shirtsleeve.  These things are part of the world my daughter has chosen.

What I don't love is the loss of time.  Horses are a MAJOR time suck.  It takes time to groom them, time to ride them, time to haul them, train them, shoe them, show them...TIME.  I also don't love the expense.  I have to laugh every time I hear a would-be new horse owner complain about the cost of buying a horse.  The cost of BUYING the horse?  Sister, that is only the beginning of your pain.  Horses eat...a lot.  And they have to live somewhere.  Somewhere expensive.  Then there are vet bills, show fees, lessons, coaching fees, shoes, trims, tack, show clothes, trailering fees, treats, the equine chiropractor, the equine dentist, the masseuse, etc, etc, etc!  Our horse lives a better life than I do.

I ask myself every morning that I drag my tired butt out of bed at 3 a.m., heading to the barn to prepare for a show, "WHY?  Why do we do this to ourselves?"  My reason is pretty simple.  When my daughter was 2 years old she was watching a Grand Prix jumping competition on tv.  She was rapt, mouth slightly open, squealing in delight every single time a horse jumped.  Every single time.  Eyes glowing, she turned to me, clapped her hands and said "Me do dat."  It took her 4 years to talk me into it, but she was firm in her conviction that someday she would be on horseback, jumping impossible fences, flying.  Little did I know that her first lesson at age 6 would turn into a lifelong passion which would change the trajectory of our lives.

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