Dreaming of Ponies Since Day One...

I remember as a child, playing show jumping in my basement.  I would run around and jump over grand prix jumps, a trash can on its side or the laundry basket full of dirty laundry, and I would win the blue ribbon with my handsome black Arabian stallion.  I played with plastic Breyer horses with my neighbor Jessica.  Each horse had a name and a history.  Essentially it turned into Barbies but with horses instead; it was a soap opera with some of the mares in the stable being a little "loose" and the other horses talking about them behind their backs. 

Chugaboom and I, I was about 9 years old

I started English riding lessons when I was 9.  My favorite mount was a little Chincoteague pony named Chug-a-Boom.  He was a sweetie!  Throughout my childhood into my high school years I rode horses weekly, with one riding instructor or another.  Moving from the crazy one who was charged with stealing horses to the FBI agent who taught lessons for fun.  Many horses I loved, Chug-a-Boom, Pumpkin, Witters, BC and Joker to ones that I often had issues with but still learned a lot from, Cinnie and Barney.  To delve into each of these school horses and the lessons I took would take up too many pages and the point of this blog is the present.  Horses have always been a "big deal" to me.  When other girls dreamt of getting married and having kids I dreamt of getting married and riding horses with my true love on the beach. 

I went off to college in hopes of being an equine vet only to realize that blood and I don't do well together.  So plan B....well I guess I'm still working on that one!  I have a Masters in Biology and have worked jobs I loved until a lot of changes at my work meant my job was now something to loath.  As it stands I am looking for work to one, pay me more, and two, make me feel like I am contributing to society again.  But I digress, back to horses.  Life has settled a little bit since I married Steve and I have decided that not only should I pursue some career dreams and goals I should also pursue one very big personal goal, to be a first time horse owner.  Financially I could probably afford a horse right now, I'm not talking about the cost of buying the horse but the all together more expensive part, the upkeep.  I want to be in a better place financially with more bills and such paid off, hence the part where I want to have a job where I earn more money!  Ah the joy of being an adult.  Just like having children, horses are a great responsibility and require a lot of time and money, perhaps less money than one child needs but still, money that must be spent on paper before I earn it to keep the horse healthy and sound.

I know it's only a few years away, when Steve and I will embark on the horse hunt.  That day will take a lot of self control, I don't want to fall in love with the first horse I see and buy him on impulse nor do I want to carry on and on looking for the dream horse that doesn't exist except in my childhood fantasies.  I have a couple years to get back in touch with my horse sense, as it were, getting used to what I like and don't like in a horse.  I know I love the responsiveness of Arabians, just a few months of lessons on one and I know that this is the right breed for me.  But like all animals, every horse is an individual and there are so many bloodlines to consider.  I cannot get too far ahead of myself, I have to take it step by step, so this blog will mark my horsie outings, my experiences with getting back into the horse world, riding lessons, leasing horses and eventually that fateful day when I will finally meet my very own mount.