So, When Are You Going to Get a Real Job?

I thought it would be interesting to poke a little fun at the well-meaning, but ignorant comments that I, and many others, receive when people find out that I work with horses, and I intend to make it a career.

1. The condescending.

 "Oh, how nice. So you just get to ride horses all day? That's not even work!"

Well actually, it is. Yes it's fun and I love it, but I also spend a big portion of my day shoveling poop.

Sometimes, to get days like THIS

You have days that go like THIS.

2. "That is SO interesting. I wish I could afford to do something like that! You are SO lucky."

I am lucky. No question about it. But also, I got off my butt and got myself here. With a lot of help, yes, but it's not luck. And you could do something like that, if you really wanted to. By the way, I can't really afford it. I just live in perpetual poverty because I love it.

3. The one that gets under my skin, just a little bit, every time.

"That's so nice that you can do something like this while you're young, before you settle down and get a real job."

I'm not saying I won't 'settle down.' I don't know where I'll be five years, or five minutes,from now. But I have every intention of doing this the rest of my life, if I can. It is a real job. I do take it seriously, it is not a phase.

4. The 100% guaranteed response.

"Oh I rode a horse once but he ran away/bucked and I'm scared of them now." OR  "I have a neighbor/granddaughter/niece who just LOVES horses."

These last two are probably the most common. It doesn't bother me at all because it's just people trying to connect the only way they know how BUT I hear it every. single. time. "Oh that's so nice" is pretty much my standard response.

Did I miss any?

Spit

Meet Spit. She is one of the Bar W horses that I started riding last week. I absolutely love her, so she should become a regular feature. We brought up the cows to practice roping on, and one of the training horses's owner came to watch- and brought his camera.

Gathering up the cows to bring them to the ring

Holding the herd

Bringing this on back to the group

While Derek and Harrison were roping, I was the ground crew (I can't rope. Yet.)

It's Hot!

This week we had one horse leave, and two more leave on Monday. We started working with two Rocky's who just came in, I'll have pictures of them later. Most of my pics this week are of Giddy Up, the Morab filly I posted about starting a few weeks ago. She is coming along really nicely (and she's for sale, if anyone is in the market for a quiet, mellow, athletic, eager to please mare.) The palomino gelding below is also for sale, he's a fantastic all around Western horse.

We went and gathered some cows for a neighbor and helped preg check and doctor on Thursday. I got the shot below on the gate there.

I also accidentally posted some repeat shots that I am way too lazy to delete. 

We went and doctored some cows of ours this morning. Sometime, I will post some pictures of how nasty pink eye is. And yesterday, we brought up some steers to practice loading, sorting, and roping. I don't rope (yet) so I was the ground crew, which was so much fun! I don't have pictures yet but I'll get them up soon. I started riding one of the Bar W mares, Spit, yesterday, so you'll be seeing a lot of pictures of her, too. She is a lot of fun, and super cowy. Yesterday was her first time being ridden since last summer, and she was great. I brought her along this morning, too. Pictures should be up in a few days!

And Sage and I went on the merry go round at the Bridgewater Lawn Party! 

The Sinks of Gandy

Awesome name, right? It reminds me of Lord of the Rings (Gandy - Gandolf) and of The Cliffs of Insanity (Princess Bride.) The 'Sinks' is a beautiful little spot nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains in West Virginia- and where the Bar W leases summer pasture.

So this past weekend, we loaded up eighteen horses all together, plus enough food to feed an army for two weeks, and went camping out in the pasture. We brought all of the training horses, and went out on three rides a day. In between rides, we stuffed our faces.

Some of the mares. 

We all need coffee.

And snuggles.

I could drink out of the stream, but this is way more fun.

Water break.

We brought a checkers board, but no chess pieces, so I made a set. We had a lot of fun game time while it rained. Dillon kicked my butt at checkers several times in a row (he quadruple jumped me...), so I was merciless when we switched to chess.

Me, Sage, Dillon on the top. Avery, Dave, and Harrison on the bottom.

Dillon watching Derek in the distance. Derek was shooting a skunk that sprayed one of the dogs.

Resting at the top.

She is the 'sorrel mare from KY'. I've started calling her Lexi in my head. Lexi-Lexington-Kentucky being the operating train of thought. Our ride on Friday didn't go too well- she was really bothered and I was focusing on calling Inka off of the neighbor's sheep, rather than helping her out. But we had a fun ride on Saturday, on a trail where we loped a good two miles, anyway.

Photogenic Dezzie

Photogenic Maya

Derek and Dezzie checking out an awe inspiring view

The view

The Morab filly we started a few weeks ago- she covered some ground this weekend! Last week I rode her in the ring some, then we came here. Rides 12-14 happened at the Sinks. Three good rides. Today's ride was the best. We marched out, on a gorgeous loop, then trotted away from the group to open a gate so the others could herd a wandering bull back on our side. And then we moved some cows. I just love her. So much fun to ride, and she is coming along really nicely.

We had to get off to open the aforementioned gate. 

Counting the group

Inka was glad to be let out after our return

The Schaeffer's

The Wise's