A More Exciting Than Usual Barn Day

I haven't written here awhile, but I have a good excuse - I'm sick as can be.  I'm still waiting back to hear exactly what I'm sick with, but the doctors think that it could be mono.  Sigh.

This all started on Saturday.  I went out to ride Jaina and had a really great ride, especially with her lope.  She's a good loper once she gets started, but the transitions are ugly.  We had two decent transitions going left and right and I kept her loping for awhile.  We rode for about 45 minutes or so, and then we walked around the ranch.  I snapped a picture while riding her:

 

Afterward, I was going to hose her off because she was pretty hot and it was an 80 degree day.  As I was walking her to the wash rack, I all of a sudden felt like I was going to pass out.  I started seeing stars and black, and got really nauseous.  I had to tie her up to a random fence and I stumbled over to where the barn manager was sitting and I sat there and drank a 20oz of water and enjoyed the shade.  I ended up putting Jaina away and trying to drive home, but only made it a few blocks to a Chevron gas station before having to call my boyfriend Luke to have him pick me up.  

I figured I was dehydrated, so we sat there awhile and I drank a Gatorade.  It seemed to help a bit, and I was able to drive home okay.  Ever since then though (for the last 6 days) I've been getting sicker and sicker. I can't stand up without feeling like I'm going to pass out, I can't eat anything without getting nauseous.  I have a sore throat, I'm weak all over, my nose and sinuses are stuffed up.  I feel general malaise and I'm super exhausted.  Poor Jaina, I haven't been able to see her since Saturday and it's making me sad.

Jaina is moving to her new home next weekend and I wanted to get some good quality time with her in before then.  I'm getting nervous about moving her, worried that I might not be making the right choice.  But I know that I need more motivation to get out to the ranch and being at a stable where people actually are active with their horses is a good choice for me.

Anyway, here's to hoping that I'll be okay by this weekend so I can spend some time with her.

Change in Scenery

As I was saying in my last post, Jaina is going to be paid off by the middle of this month, which means that I’m allowed to move her to a new stable.  I’m kind of mixed on this, but I’m leaning towards moving her to this particular reining barn.

About my current stable:

Right now I’m at a mostly self-care barn, and Jaina has a “large” 24 x 48 pen.  The barn typically requires boarders to feed and clean on their own – it’s basically just a facility rental and that is it.  The barn manager does feed and clean for me, but I have to buy my own hay.  It’s not that hard, I just call the hay guy, leave a check in my shed, and he just delivers it when I’m not there.  The ranch has a very “self care” type feel to it though.  Lots of people just stop by and clean and feed and leave.  People are there are odd hours throughout the day, and there isn’t a popular time where everyone is out riding and socializing.  Jaina has made friends with her corral neighbors, and I have made friends with a couple of the owners there and the barn manager…but for the most part it’s a rather lonely experience when I go out there.  There are beautiful trails attached, but no one goes out on them.  The only people who ride, ride either in the arena or around the ranch.  I’m not one of the “cool kids”, so I feel like I’m kinda solitary.

Positively though, Jaina’s pen is huge and it’s not that expensive.  Moving her will definitely mean she gets cut back to a standard 24 x 24 pen again.  I know she’ll be fine, but I can’t help but be kind of sad about that.  I don’t want her to be bored in a little corral.  I also have my own tack shed that I cleaned out and painted to make it really nice.  I have a rug in there, and a table, and lots of places to hang my things.  The new ranch doesn’t have this kind of thing… =(

My current tack storage

The new place:

The new place is a full-service boarding facility.  Before getting Jaina, I leased a couple of mares from there and liked what I saw for the most part.  The pens are smaller and the tack storage is less convenient.  However, it’s a reputable barn known for training of reining horses.  They have a lot of boarders and it’s very active with a lot of people out there to talk to and ride with.  It is surrounded by the Tijuana Valley trails that go to the beach, so I could ride Jaina to the ocean.  I have a friend who boards on these trails as well, so I could meet up with her and go riding.  This facility has regular events such as Cowgirl Camping, trail shows, BBQ’s, and other events that make it sound fun.  I would be able to take lessons with one of 3 different western trainers, and there are supposedly plenty of people to go out trail riding with.  They have a long sliding track, two round pens, some small turnouts, two big huge arenas, nice wash racks, hot walkers, and the managers live on site to care for the horses.

I’m aiming to move on March 1st.  I think I’m going to pay for a month at my old place in case I want to come back.  They said they’d trailer her for me and we could do a 30- day trial to see how it goes.  I’m really eager to start taking lessons with Jainahorse and start working on something.  Plus, the trails there are AWESOME and I’m really excited to be at a place where they have events and a more social atmosphere.  It’s only a 15-20 min drive from my home, so it’s nice and convenient.  Here is the ranch website.

I just need to get her paid off and figure out if this is exactly what I want.