Hey there, readers. I know I've been a bit of a blogging slacker lately, and I blame the crazy folks over at HorseNation.com for taking up all of my writing time. Be sure to check out my "Fit to Ride" column which runs every Wednesday.
A lot has happened since last we spoke. I've graduated with my masters from OSU, discovered my love of teaching while instructing biology at LBCC, taken a "real job" at the OSU seed lab in order fund my dream of owning my owning equine facility, and acquired a horsey sales project.
That's right. You heard correctly. I have a new(ish) horse. I'm trying not to get overly attached because he will be for sale this winter, but here's his story. Kalvin is a 6 year-old, half-Arabian, half-mustang gelding. He was very kindly given to me by his owner with the agreement that I would keep and train him for at least 6 months before reselling him. He has been quite challenging for me, but I am learning a lot in the process of training him, and I think he has learned a lot from me as well.
Selling horses has always been a tough thing for me. While rehabbing and re-homing OTTB's, I cried each time one was adopted. They were partially tears of happiness, but a lot were tears of fear and uncertainty about what would happen to them once they were no longer under my care. The owner of the rehab center, John, was really good about screening adopters, but it was still a really difficult thing. One day John explained to me his thought process on selling/adopting out horses, and it helped me cope with the process much more effectively. He told me that training horses was like raising children. We had to do our best to make them "good citizens," and when the time was right, turn them loose on society with the hopes that they could make a beneficial contribution. I will keep this idea in my mind while I continue to train Kalvin, and hope that it will bring me some peace of mind when the time comes to sell him.
Until next time, go mustangs!
