Shame. On. Me.

I cannot even BELIEVE my last post was in January of 2015.


It's July, in 2016, and so much has happened. I'm not sure why I haven't been inspired enough to write. But I guess, I gotta just let that go - I'm here now.

So, things were going fine at CVEE, but as time went on, so much was changing that I just felt like it wasn't even the same place I started boarding at. I was getting frustrated that new horses would come in and just get shoved in Dusty's paddock. Then, it was super-muddy this spring and they "rotated" the two horses next to Dusty's paddock with Dusty and his gang. The problem with that was, they kept horses in on days when there was more than a 20% chance of rain - so if they were kept in one day because of rain, then they had to be stuck in the next day so the "other" horse group could go out, then they'd be in the next day again for rain. :( And on top of that all, they never even TOLD me this was going on. I found out from other boarders. Very, very disappointing.

Then, since I haven't blogged in forever, I should mention that they stopped including feed in the board, and were charging $20 more PER HORSE, per month, for feed. They also took away the "multiple horse discount" which for me was $10 per month. They also raised board on top of that. Dusty lost his hair in December, so I also had to pay the $20 extra fee for two months for hi to wear his blanket. It was really just getting to be too much, and I really wasn't interested in sticking around to wait for the NEXT increase.

I also discovered that I could no longer use the indoor because it aggravated my asthma. The barn actually did too, which I didn't discover just yet at this time. There were more and more people all over the place, and I always felt like either I was in their way, or they were in my way. And then so many people had their opinions on things ... it's nice if someone wants to help out, but it just got annoying after awhile.

I was finding that I was loving spending time alone with Dusty and Cocoa nights at the barn. I'd go at night, and no one else would be there. It was fantastic to be there just with them, with no interruptions. I have to say, it allowed me to bond a LOT with Dusty. I learned so much about him, and he about me. So even though I enjoyed socializing with many of the people from my barn, I also loved that I knew I'd be alone with my boys most of the time.

I decided to look around to see if I could find some other boarding options that were either closer to home or cheaper, or both! There was an ad for West Bend, an opening for two horses. The ad said it would be a perfect situation for retired horses. I called and talked with Greg, and we decided to have me come look at the place. It was/is literally five minutes from my house. The barn was small, and newer. Very relaxed, but well looked after. They had two other boarders, and were looking to add two horses. Jackie and I had made a sort-of pact that one of us would not leave without the other. So, I told her that I was looking and that I'd found a spot I liked. I talked to the guys, and they thought they might be able to make a spot for Kimi. Jackie came and met the guys, but didn't like the idea that there was no bathroom to readily use, and that they fed Sprout grain from Fleet versus Safe Choice. So, I decided to stick it out at CVEE, but told the guys to keep my name and number.

By September, I'd had enough and decided I wanted to move. I contacted Greg, but he said they had filled the two spots with two retired barrel racing horses. He also said he'd let me know if they didn't work out, or if something else came up. In January, they contacted me to let me know they had to put the mini they had, Chocolate, down, and that they'd be putting up some new fencing in May so they could accommodate both of my boys - but not until May. I knew I wanted to go, but I was reluctant to leave my friends. In my heart I knew that things change so often - nothing ever stays the same. I knew it was time for us to go. The flat paddock for Cocoa, and the wood fencing for Dusty. Not to mention, it was going to be almost $100 less per month.

To be continued ...