Rest in Peace Coach

My high school football coach was killed today. He was in the weight room with approximately 50 students when a former student (I won't name names since nothing is confirmed) walked in and shot him at point blank range, at least one time in the head. He was airlifted to a near by hospital and died soon after.

Coach,
You will be missed more than you could ever know. You touched the lives of thousands of students over the years. You were more than a coach, teacher and athletic director. You were a mentor and the motivation that allowed so many to succeed not just in sports but in life. Your passing has left a huge void in our community and in so many lives. We love you and you will never be forgotten Coach, Rest in Peace.

ENGAGED!

Yes that's right I am engaged! It happened last week but I wanted to tell family before posting it on my blog for the world to see. I am crazy excited. I love him so much and we fit so well together. We are thinking next spring. Sister is almost as excited as me I think because she gets to help plan (rather she gets to plan and I get to help- like I said if I am in charge you all need to bring blankets to sit on). So from here on out Boyfriend will be referred to as Fiancee.

Oh yes-

I almost forgot to tell everyone that I hacked off all my hair today. Well not all but 12 inches which seems like a lot to me. Yesterday I was telling Boyfriend how annoying my hair was getting. It was hot and was so heavy that it was giving me a headache if I wore it up in a ponytail (my favorite hairstyle). Also I was just feeling the need for a change. So I decided to chop it all of and donate it to Locks of Love. This is the 3rd time I have donated my hair. I did it in 2004, 2006 and now 2009. Boyfriend took some pictures so I will be sure to post them once I get them on the computer. It is just barely at my shoulders and so far I like it. I will let you know if I still feel the same way in the morning.

Good old Fugly.

I was reading the post on one of my favorite blogs, Fugly Horse of the Day, and loved today's post- if you haven't read it check it out.
I was also thinking that with the new 28 acre pasture we have just finished I have more of an ability to help than I had previously thought. I only have 6 horses on the pasture now and would be more than willing to take on a few more to help someone out. It would be a huge bonus if it was a horse that would be suitable for lessons but definitely not a requirement.
If there is anyone in northeast Iowa who needs an inexpensive place to keep their horse or even needs help in finding a horse a new home I would be more than willing to help out. Just post a comment and I will get you my phone number so we can chat and you can come check the place out!

Yesterday was LOVELY!

So yesterday I got to pick Boyfriend up from the airport!! I am so happy he is here as I have missed him so much. Since I can't drive C & E picked me up around noon and we went to Carlos O'Kelly's (don't know if I spelled that right) for lunch. Then we ran to Wal-mart to pick up shampoo and such for Boyfriend. Then we drove to the airport (about an hour) and E fell asleep in her car seat. C and I had a good long chat. I see her all the time but I still feel like I miss her because we don't often just sit and chat. It was good to spend some time with her. We were early to the airport so we ran over to a near by show grounds where a palomino show was just finishing up (it wasn't very impressive). Then back to the airport! Boyfriend was just walking out to get his bag when we walked in. Yay!!
Oh and the horses are thrilled about their new pasture! I don't think they totally know what to do with themselves! I will get some pictures of them out there once I am a bit more mobile. Off to lunch with Boyfriend now!!

Pasture is almost done!

About a month ago we started putting up new fence for a new pasture. It is 28 acres and is awesome. Needless to say when I hurt my knee I was no longer able to work on the fence but my amazing and lovely neighbors have continued working and it will be done tomorrow!! I can't wait to let the horses out. Will need to go slow for the first week or so as it is much more grass than the lots and pasture that they have now. It will be awesome for them to have more space to play and explore! I will take pictures and such when we let them out for the first time. We are going to take the 'leaders of the pack' and lead them around the perimeter first so they have an idea of where the boundaries are but with 28 acres and only 6 horses I think they should have plenty of space!!
ALSO I get to pick boyfriend up from the airport tomorrow!! I can't wait to see him. I haven't seen him since the end of Feb. I am getting really sick of this long distance thing and just want him to move over here already!!

Cosmo.

So today's post is going to be about a horse that holds a special place in my heart. He is a horse that was rented by the camp that I taught at in NY for the past 4 summers. Each year the camp rents 14-18 horses from the same owner. It breaks my heart that the horses don't have families and actually don't even have names. The owner has about 200 horses that he rents out to camps/trail rides/ranches/etc. The horses that we had would spend the summers at camp and then would be shipped to Texas to be used on a ranch for the winter. We were never guaranteed the same horses back but since we took such good care of the horses the owner was usually willing to try and keep our 'herd' together for us. There were a few that would come back from their winter as a totally different horse. A horse that was previously a trusting child's mount would come back as a terrified, nervous wreck with new scars. Unfortunately being a children's camp there was little we could do but try and help them trust us again in a very short period of time. If that didn't work the owner was called and we were brought a different horse. I remember this happening on two specific occasions- Jet and Peaches, but I will save their stories for another post.

My first year I bonded with most all of the horses but none more than a little pony that I named Cosmo. Looking at him he wasn't anything super special. Nothing severely wrong with his conformation but he wasn't anything fantastic. His chest and front legs had scars all over them and he was clearly not trusting of humans. I think that it took me that entire first summer to actually get him to eat a treat out of a bucket. Luckily for both him and I, he was returned to camp for all 4 years that I worked there. Each summer we would spend a few days at the beginning getting to know each other again and getting to be friends. Then anytime I had free I would take him out for a hack to a huge field at the top of the trails and would let him run for a few minutes. I would spend many of my nights off in the barn grooming him and fussing over him (other horses too but he got the most of my attention by far).

The thing that worried me more than anything was the end of each summer when we had to load him on the trailer and say goodbye. I couldn't guarantee his safety and couldn't even guarantee that I would ever see him again. I would bawl my eyes out year after year and then hope and pray for 10 months that he wasn't hurting and was safe. For 3 summers after that first year I would head straight for the pasture when we got to camp from the airport and hold my breath until I saw him again.

It is that time of year again- and although I am not going back to camp I am holding my breath. Waiting and hoping to see that he is still OK. There were other horses that I worried about to but none like Cosmo.

I didn't have much money but I actually tried to buy him off the owner last year and he didn't really respond other than to say, "Why would I sell him when I make that much each summer renting him out?"

I wanted to scream, "Because he deserves better than this! Because he deserves to be loved on and spoiled! Because he needs me! And because to be completely honest I need him."

You see the first summer I met Cosmo was the summer that my mom died. I know all of you non-horsey people won't understand without me trying to explain the bond I formed with that horse but all of you horsey people probably have tears forming in your eyes right now. No matter all the love and support you can get from family and friends, the support and unconditional love you get from a horse is different. I cried into that pony's mane every night and although he did not understand he would nuzzle my hip and let me cry.

I actually thought that this summer would be my chance to try and buy him again. But since I hurt my knee and am off work all of my savings will be going to bills. I suppose I will have another 10 months at the end of the summer holding my breath and saving my pennies to hopefully give sweet little Cosmo the rest and retirement that he deserves and that he has earned.

I have a confession.

So being stuck in the house for a week I am quickly running out of things to do.

• I lay out on the porch every day and read so I have a nice knee immobilizer tan line (I have finished 4 books- will post one for the Book List sometime this week).
• I attempt to clean (difficult when you can't even bend over to pick stuff up).
• I vacuumed the dog bed- easily done because I could sit on the floor to do it (did I tell you all I got a new vacuum? It is little but freakishly powerful- and green, I like it).
• I watch at least 2 episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210 (the original) everyday, I wasn't allowed to watch it when I was younger and always felt that I missed something. Now that I am watching it I'm not so sure I did miss much but it is entertaining (and on twice a day on SOAP net).
• I crutch out to visit the horses at least 15 times a day (I am going to have freakishly strong arms when I am off the crutches, also I think the horses are getting bored of me).
• I check Facebook (and now blogger about 10 times a day).
• I still don't e-mail the people that I should because I am far too lazy not because I don't miss them
• I feed the dogs 4 or so times a day (it is OK Chance still needs to put on a little weight)
• I try to load the dishwasher- I have almost fallen into it several times but loading is still way easier than unloading.
• I do laundry- this one will keep me busy for a while as I don't think I have done laundry in close to a few weeks. I have A LOT of clothes and despise laundry, or maybe I have a lot of clothes because I despise laundry. Never really though of it that way...
• I constantly shop for horses that I can't afford, along with trailers, barns, tack, show clothes..... all things I can't currently afford.
• I make decisions like that I want to move the stupid broken TV out of the office and tidy up in here a bit- but of course I can't carry the stupid broken TV anywhere.
• I was going to scrapbook a bit but then realized I haven't gotten my pictures from last summer printed.
• I hard boiled an entire carton of eggs.
• I let Chance and Tess lay on the bed because I am bored and lonely.
• I folded the huge pile of clean clothes that I have had sitting on boyfriends side of the bed for about 3 weeks now (probably from the last time I did laundry). There wasn't much there because I was wearing things straight from the pile. Hey they were clean.
• Here is the kicker though, the actual confession- this one will excite my sister as she loves anything weddingish. I have never been the type of girl that liked to look at wedding dresses or such because I had no reason to. I never saw the appeal in finding the dress and then not even having the ring. But the past few days I have been lured away from Facebook by wedding sites and have spent more than my fair share of time going through dresses and such. Which I suppose is fine since Boyfriend and I have been together for just under two years and I do see us getting married someday. I just still felt a little silly sitting here at a computer with my leg on the chair next to me looking at dresses when chances are that when I actually need to look at dresses I would much rather just go to a store. It was fun and entertained me for several hours, though I have to say I am quite picky and didn't like a lot of what is out there. Especially the bridesmaid dresses- are they designed to look bad so that the bride looks better? If so that is dumb. Every dress I saw was pretty ugly- maybe I would just let them pick their own dresses. I have always told my sister that she will be in charge of the planning. I want to help with big things but I don't want to deal with stuff like what color the chairs are- who cares? Bring a blanket as you will all be sitting on the ground if I have to do it myself.

Pictures of the week... er.. um- last 2 months?

M, A and T at the show

A jumping Buddy- she has only just started.

Buddy, M, Blue, T and A. Buddy had his entire head in the trough at one point.

T and A learning their courses.

M and Twilight.

T and Blue.

A and Buddy.

T and Blue.

Myself, M and Twilight.

Myself, Hayley and J.

Sorry I am so awful at this.

I apologise to everyone for how horrible I have been at posting in the past few (maybe more) months. Things have been crazy busy around here- well that is until last Wednesday. Let me back up a bit.
May was lovely, crazy busy but lovely nonetheless. I worked at the hospital 5 days a week and then was training horses every day after work and on my days off. I took T, A, J and M (all lesson girls) to their first hunter schooling show at the end of May. It was so much fun. I am very proud of all of them- they all did very well. Notice the 'cult' haircut. My trainer used to make us wear our hair in these horrible buns and I vowed to never make my girls do that but they did need to have their hair out of their faces and thus the braids. I will put the pictures in another post because I have loads.
June started out great. I taught a clinic for the local 4-H club. I think I got several new potential clients out of it so that's awesome! But then last week I went off a training horse and messed up my knee. I am in a knee immobilizer and on crutches. I started physical therapy yesterday and my therapist is worried that I have actually torn the medial collateral ligament- which would mean surgery. I am continuing therapy and we as going to kind of wait and see how things pan out. They would like me to have an MRI but I am putting it off for a bit if I can because Boyfriend comes on Sunday!
I am bored out of my mind here at the house. I went from working full time at the hospital and training horses/giving lessons 6 hours a day to not being able to do ANYTHING. I can barely do laundry because I can't carry it up and down the stairs. I have taken to throwing it down the laundry chute and then convincing unsuspecting guests to carry it back upstairs for me. T has been great as she stops in and helps with dishes and such. C has been great about coming to get me to take me with her to the movies and last night to the parade. If I failed to mention it is my right knee so I am not supposed to drive. I did drive with my injured leg on the passengers seat and controlling the pedals with my left foot to PT but I don't think I will be doing that again as it didn't seem like the safest thing in the world.
Titan is great. It is killing me not to be able to ride him.