I wanted to live my entire life and never have to write this post, but the best horse I’ve ever had died on early in the morning on December 20th. While I was 2,000 miles away visiting family in Mississippi, he started colicing. When he didn’t come around quickly at the barn, my trainer and I agreed he should go to the clinic. There the original prognosis was good, and I want to bed at midnight my time concerned but…
When I first moved to my beloved California barn last year, I heard a lot of rumblings about a big horse show coming up. We’ll be at year end. Everyone’s getting ready for year end. They were referring to the IEHJA, our local circuit, year end show. No stranger to local horse show finales, I figured I knew what it’d be like. Maybe a nicer facility, a few special classes here and there. All year, everyone gushed about how great the…
I didn’t plan on horse showing much, if at all, when I moved Simon to California. That seemed like a luxury far beyond my grad school life, but I keep re-learning two simple truths with riding: I’m competitive as all get out, and I like to have goals. Luckily, my barn has its own four show series that awards year-end awards as well as counts for my local circuit points. At home shows in my barn? That was too good…
Last week, I said goodbye to my perfect spaniel. After I wrote the post outlining the details of his cancer, I was flooded with messages of support and love. Those notes gave me so much comfort. Both in knowing that I’m not alone with the immense struggle that is deciding when to release a beloved pet, but also that because everyone echoed that I’d know when it was time… and that it was probably not too soon. I was completely…
My last update sharing Eliot’s cancer and my fears about letting him go was a bit of a downer. In case you’re worried, let me get to the punchline early: Simon is doing fabulous. I got him insured, so I didn’t have to worry about the “can I afford colic surgery?” question. When his weight dipped, I put him on not one but two high end feeds. First we tried Ranitidine to treat his ulcers. After we doubled the dosage and…
A lot happened in my blogging absence this summer. Some of it was fantastic, but a lot of it was not. I promise to update on happier things soon, but something that’s especially been weighing on my mind this week is Eliot’s health. I got Eliot, the most beautiful dog I’ll ever known, for my 21st birthday. All of my other dogs have been rescues, but Eliot is the embodiment of my deep rooted love for purebred dogs. In his…
It’s been six months since my last blog post. That’s probably the longest I’ve ever gone without updating SMTT since it started, and the number surprises me. I could have sworn it had only been a month or two, but here we are. During those six months, a lot has happened. Most of it I’ll update on the blog in chunks. The short story? The animals and I are well — mostly. Life is hectic and crazy and I’ve put…
Watch Scrubs. Scrubs is the perfect depression TV show. It’s funny enough to make your facial muscles twitch upwards every few episodes, but dark enough to remind you that people die — often early and unfairly. Ignore the diet that’s actually been working really well for you. Pick up a sorrow pizza instead. Get a side of sorrow chicken fingers to go with. Extra dipping sauce. Overeat, and go to bed curled on your side with a pillow around your stomach that aches…