Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Warm Fuzzies on the Day of Looooveee

So, I hope anyone reading this is currently feeling loved on this, the day of love, no less.

My Valentine is less of this type of situation...

More of a fuzzy ball of dreads and kisses...
It's Moose! The only Valentine I need. =)

My "Warm Fuzzies" of today is...

wait, wait, wait.. back it up... some of you might not know what "warm fuzzies" are. WELL, at the camp I work at we often get the girls in our dorms (girls are split into young/middle/older age-wise) to write out "warm fuzzies" aka compliments, good moments, whatever, after a specific person, or everyone. It's always one of those "awwww" moments, and makes everyone feel way better about themselves! - Sounds pretty fitting for Valentines day, hey?

ANYWAYS.
Today, I was lurking one of the local trading sites online. I've developed an obsession of checking the market, seeing what horses are on sale, seeing what horse-related stuff is for sale, etc. In my travels I came across an ad posted by a mother of a teenage girl. It was quite lengthy but she talked about how her daughter adored horses, and was very "book learned", but neither had horse experience, and they had just recently been "gifted" a 7 year old, untrained arab that had a LOT of issues - i.e. wasn't picking up it's feet, wasn't able to be caught, wouldn't accept a bit, pulled back, etc. etc.

Now, to me, that does not seem like a gift.
You really have to question people's motives sometimes, don't you? ugh.

Anyways, the story goes they were at a barn where the arab was receiving training and she was coming along really well, but then it fell through for various reasons (including the gifter not agreeing with the trainers methods.. uh what?) and in the dead of night they had to re-locate to another stable, also nice but without a trainer on site. The mom's conundrum was that she couldn't afford training + board, just one, or the other. She didn't know what to do and kind of just put the ad up for advice.

My heart went out to her, so I responded with:
Hi, I saw your ad and my heart went out to you. My mom was never able to afford me a horse due to the financials, and I spent my adolescence riding at a horseback camp for kids and reading quite a bit aswell. 
... However, now that I am attempting to get into the show ring, small rides and book learning is not going to get her anywhere. I honestly recommend selling the horse, and taking whatever small amount you can get for her and putting it towards lessons for your daughter. If i had, had lessons growing up I would be much farther in my riding than I am now. 
That way, she can become more comfortable and learn 10 x quicker than she ever could on a green horse (and you will feel so much better about her safety). She might not thank you in the moment, but she will eventually when she is able to take a green horse and finish it herself. 
the old saying is green + green = black & blue. 
I hope this helped, and I wish you all the luck in the world. You are a good mom for doing this.

I usually wouldn't have replied, but today I was compelled too, so I sent it without thinking much about it. However, I got a beautiful response back, I wont re-post it because I don't have her permission, but she told me she was so thankful for the response, and added some very kind words.

I hope she ends up getting her daughter lessons, or atleast figuring out a better situation with their mare. The horse world is such a tough world sometimes, and you have to feel sorry for people who end up with horses that are just too much for them, and they are too inexperienced to really understand the complications that arise from these situations.

Clearly that mother loved her daughter, and isn't that what Valentines day is all about?
Hope you all have a wonderful day filled with Warm Fuzzies everywhere you turn. =)





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