thanking my lucky stars

I had a very bad surprise at the barn yesterday morning and I am still perplexed over the whole thing. When I arrived at the barn in the morning, I walked down the barn aisle to start bringing the horses out (I always start with Lucy, of course!) and about halfway there, I realized her stall door was wide open.

Like, WIDE OPEN.

To make matters worse, I didn't see the horse in her stall at first. I started running and she heard me barreling down the barn aisle and stuck her head out like, "oh, hi mom!". I stood there and took it all in: the horse still standing politely in her stall waiting to be turned out, the door completely open, the chest guard not up at all, and all of the other horses getting very impatient about going outside.

My barn is right off of a highway that is two lanes and has heavy traffic, especially in the mornings. I really cannot believe my very curious and very cheeky mare didn't waltz herself right out of her stall, down the aisle, out into the driveway, down to the highway, in front of an 18 wheeler, or maybe back in the 60 acres of property that the barn has where hunters like to trespass and shoot big brown things (deer? horse? really, what's the difference?!).

Nope, she stood there and munched her breakfast hay quietly and then happily went outside when I put her halter on and took her out.

My barn owner feeds breakfast in the mornings and she didn't think she had left her door open, but the other possibility is even scarier: that someone deliberately went in and opened her door. I am not sure which option to hope for...I just hope it was a freak thing and it will never happen again. I certainly can't be locking her stall in case she needs to get out quickly (like in the case of a barn fire, god forbid).

Thankful

Merry Christmas, everyone.

I celebrated Christmas with my own family last weekend, and today I am on Long Island, New York with my fiance to celebrate Christmas with his family. Lucy will be enjoying a lovely Christmas mash for dinner tonight thanks to the wonderful people I do the co-op program with at my barn. All the horses are privately owned, but we feel as though they're all our "babies" and spoil them accordingly. Thank you to all the other boarders at my barn who have welcomed Kenny, Lucy, and I so warmly!

Santa was very generous this year, and I can't wait to get back to RI to put the new nameplate I got onto Lucy's halter. I also got a gorgeous drawing table that I have been wanting for a while :D, along with some warm clothes and a great book about equine massage.

Never would I have thought this time last year that I'd have my own horse after years of dreaming about it. Here are a few things I am thankful for:

I am so thankful to have an amazing mare. After having Lucy in my life for less than two months, I couldn't ask for a better horse. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you already know I am head over heels for Lucy, but I truly cannot believe how lucky I am to have found her.

I am also thankful to have a family who supports my horse addiction, even if they think I'm nuts! I was so touched that my parents took a whole day to come meet their grandpony.

Kenny, my fiance, has been so amazing and supportive. I feel so complete with him and Lucy, like we're a little family (we'll eventually add human kids to the mix, but not for a while!!). He helps me with the barn when it's my day to do stalls, and I know he adores our pony just as much as I do! To top it all off, he is a pretty good rider!!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday, surrounded by those they love. Give your ponies a kiss for me!