GIST – 8/365

1- The big one today:  this wasn’t me.  I met him in the fall.  Charming.  Attractive.  Personable.  In our hours of conversation, he never once mentioned that this was his idea of a good time.

Nothing else compares.  Nothing truly measures up.  But the spirit of GIST is the SMALL things.

2- Winning our second league game of the season tonight in hockey.  And getting a shutout for our goalie.  Who tries REALLY hard.

3- Skating on a glorious sunny afternoon, then changing into boots and going sledding.

4- Lasagna for dinner.  Nothing beats pulling out dinner you made a month ago.  Yum.

5- Grampa brought ice cream for dessert.

GIST – 7/365

1- Mucking out stalls for a couple of hours.  So quiet.  Horses talking.

2- Skating on the rink in our park.  My youngest learning to SKATE (not just walking across the ice).

3- Figuring out a way to pay the vet bills.  Thank goodness for moving the money around.  Thank goodness for savings tucked away here and there.

4- Gin.  And diet gingerale.  Yum.

5- Chicken wings and nachos.  Our twice a year football treat!

GIST – 6/365

1- Hockey.  There is just something amazing about a bunch of women playing as hard as they can, having a great time, just for fun.  I can’t believe I waited until my 30s to learn to play.

2- Popcorn.  With a little salt and a teeny bit of butter.  I’m having some tonight after my chores are done.

3- The way my Pony is so pleased after I trim her feet.

4- Friends who tell me the truth.  Even if it was supposed to be kept from me.

5- Quitting smoking 18 million years ago.  My partner came home from his sister’s house this afternoon, and he needed an immediate shower and wardrobe change.  The car still stinks.

GIST – 5/365

1 – My youngest breaking into song “2 4 6 8 Who do we appreciate?  Mommy!  Mommy!  Yeah Mommy!”

2- Being the one there for my youngest, catching the puke in my hands (I live a very glamorous life).

3- My partner not freaking out when I tell him about vet bills.

4-  Getting all the skates sharpened today in 30 minutes.

5- My Boy getting up today.  It didn’t look like he was going to be able to.

If only it was attitude!

I thought he was just being an ass.  I really did.

But then he started to fall down when I was riding him.

Horses are prey animals.  They will avoid falling down as much as possible.  Even newborns can get up and walk around.  Because animals who fall down get eaten.

Of course, since I had no idea how bad things could be, I assumed he was being lazy and tripping over things.  I assumed his feet were too long.  I assumed he wasn’t balanced enough. Perhaps he needed chiropractic care?  I even trimmed his gorgeous forelock so that he could see better.

So I did all the other stuff I could do without calling the vet.  I knew if the vet had to be called it, it would likely either be EPM of some sort of nasty neurological thing.  Which I really didn’t want it to be.  How great would it be if he stopped falling down after I cut his hair.

He continued to fall down when I rode him.  He always got back up, and we kept going.  But I could tell he was getting sore.  Chiro worked wonders – but not for long.  A few days of awesome horse, then back to sore horse.  I stopped riding him.  Was making plans to call the vet.

Then the barn owner called.

My Boy wouldn’t come out of his stall.  He wasn’t eating.  And wouldn’t go out with the other horses.  And he was really slow coming in the day before (thanks for the phone call barn owner!!!).

My heart sunk.  I knew things were really bad.  I called the vet.  Said they had to come today.

I went to the barn.  Thought I’d get him out for a walk up and down the driveway, just to stretch him out.

I found him standing wedged up again a corner of his stall.  His legs were shaking.  He saw me, and tried to move towards me.  And almost fell over.  I was shocked.  I stayed out of his stall.  And went away, so he wouldn’t try to walk over to me.  Because if he collapsed in his stall, I don’t think he would be able to get back up.

GIST – 4/365

1- Spending extra time on last years’ math.  It has made this year’s SUPER easy to teach.

2- Friends who see things that could help me, and let me know.

3- My BFF, who normally gives and loans me stuff, accepting the loan of a cage from ME!  It is nice to be the giver”.

4- Fluffy baby bunnies.  So cute.

5- My eldest’s love of cuddling on the sofa reading.

Looking back at how it all began

I bought my horse a year ago.

He was strong willed, arrogant, and quite frightening at times.

He would kick out and rear up in the cross ties.

He would bolt when we were out riding.

He would spook at anything.  He had no trust in me as a leader at all.

He was convinced car/tractors/birds/dogs/shovels were going to eat him.  Convinced all puddles were massive lakes that would drown him.

He was not an easy horse.

But I worked on him.  I was firm and consistent.  Sometimes I was hard-assed-mean, and consistent.

He had no manners.  And little respect.

We worked on it.

For the first 28 days of bringing him home, I wanted to return him (I had a 30-day-return arrangement).

Then he stopped being a complete idiot.  And we started to have fun.

Things were good.  Then over the summer, he started getting a bit of an attitude back.

He would walk away when I tried to mount him.

He was not paying attention when we were riding.  He’d refuse to turn around in the barn.

I figured he was getting his attitude back now that we were comfortable together.

GIST – 3/365

1- My barn is close enough that I can see my horses almost every day.

2- The wonderful women I “work” with helping new mothers.  I got to see them tonight – so nice.

3- Kids skating after dinner at the rink in our park.

4- Hockey pants making learning to skate so much better for my youngest.

5- My SIL agreed to meet with my partner to go over the no-claim-on-the-house-pre-nump thing.  Hopefully her nasty ass boyfriend will join them.

My money pit

I love my Boy. He is awesome. He is wonderful, and handsome, and strong.

But he is broken.

He has severe osteoarthritis in his neck. There are bone spurs growing out between his vertebra in the cervical spine.  They compress his spinal cord.  Causing weakness and paralysis in the back end.

This, in case you hadn’t figured it out – sucks.

If you have a dog, or a cat or any other animal, you will likely know that vets bills are not cheap.

The same goes for a horse.

I am fairly generous with my vet budget. I do what I can myself, but know my limitations, and the vet is called when he needs to be called.

(I’m not being sexist – my last vet was a woman, but she decided not to do emergency calls anymore out my way. So I found a new vet. He is a man. So I call him when I need a vet.)

This is not the first time I have been faced with a medical issue with my horse. Strangles was a nasty nasty time. One that made me a bit of an outcast in the barn. But we got through it. It is all good now.

But this. This bone spur osteoarthritis in the spine thing. It is brutal.

I’m going to make my next few posts about this. Because it is rarely out of my thoughts.

Deciding medical treatment for an animal is a responsibility that I don’t take lightly.

It is my job to do what is best for him. Or let him go.

It sucks.

GIST – 2/365

1- Hot shower before bed.

2- My partner, and our ability to talk even about the most upsetting issues.

3- Sleeping in to 830.

4- My chickens, while out wandering out backyard, sitting on the back porch and pecking on the door wanting to come in. I don’t blame them. It is much warmer inside than out.

5- It is much warmer inside than out. How blessed are we?