Well, it's November now. Not like, almost November, or just barely November, it's like, soon my rent and board are due for December November. I've been so busy blowing the dust off my winter clothes and overzealously decorating the house that I've forgotten about all the things I have to be thankful for! With horses in our lives, there are an endless number of things to be thankful for so I thought I'd share my list with you and see if I can help you remember the things we have all been blessed with.
1. I am thankful for my job(s) and that there are just enough hours to work in a week so that I can still barely afford to live but can leave a lot of time to ride! I may be staring pathetically at the holes in my beautiful Ariat paddock boots, but I shove an extra pair of socks on and trudge happily to the barn hoping I find new ones under the tree in a month.
2. I am thankful for my non-horsey boyfriend who doesn't realize how many bridles I already own and takes my word for it when I say I need to buy another one.
3. I am thankful for everyone who's ever told me to put my heels down ever in my whole life. I thought I was never going to hear the end of it. And I was right. Now it's coming out of my own mouth and directed toward my own students.
4. I am thankful for every last barn owner/manager that I have ever come into contact with. I learned who to be and who not to be, that being polite but firm and honest is the only way to run a barn, and that there are a lot of amenities people (including myself) are willing to pay for (if they have the money).
5. I am thankful for people who clean stalls. Oh my goodness. Come clean mine. I can only pay you in smiles and the occasional dozen cookies I had a moment to bake but I know the joy of cleaning the stalls is reward enough in itself. Or so that's what I've been trying to convince myself.
6. I am thankful for the lunge line. Who knew a 30' cotton line could keep so many riders from falling off their winter fresh horses? I've been the proud witness of so many bucks that I would not want to ride. Thanks lunge line!
7. I am thankful for the OTTB. Although there are many breeds around the world, the versatility of the OTTB is hard to beat. I may be slightly partial, but who wouldn't be! Unfortunately I'm not the only one to have caught on to their magical abilities so I am not thankful for the OTTB fad that has driven up the price of the OTTB.
8. I am thankful for YouTube. While it is no substitute for a real live person watching you ride and yelling instant feedback at you, it does offer some pretty good ideas for fixing problems or making workouts. And let's face it, some days you just can't do anything right. Better to be riding the couch instead of your horse and stuff a few Oreos down your throat while taking notes.
9. I am thankful for sand arenas. Right now we don't have them so one full day of rain is equal to 2-3 full days of no riding due to mud. Also, I seem to have the only tender footed horse that doesn't understand how walking works. So when mud dries into the semi-concrete mix that it always tends to form, Marvel trips every three strides and seems stunned every single time that his hoof hit something.
10. I am thankful for cameras. Heaven knows I can't recreate the clean Cash was before he went out and rolled in the mud or the form I had over that huge oxer. BUT I can go back and look at the moment it happened!
There are so many reasons to be thankful. I've got tons more but these were what first came to mind. Remember that we are often told to make the holiday season about things that we want. In reality it's focus should be on the things we already have. Stay thankful and go visit your ponies!
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