Thanksgiving Comes Early

Well, here at Chez Alison, the family is spread out all across the country. Well, less so now that I'm back at Texas, but you get the point. When we all come together by sheer happenstance, we make the holidays happen when we want them to. Like today, for instance, is Thanksgiving for us. Suck it Traditional Thanksgiving, we have out Christmas carols starting 5 days early.

When this kid is in town... Shit gets real.

And it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

I was originally going to type something up in response to a forum post asking if anyone regretted bringing the horses home... but tis the season to be thankful and really, I have no reason to be all negative anyway.. .which kind of tied into my original post so I'll just continue to expound on it.

I love love love having my horses at 'home'. I cannot think of a better way to live than to be able to sit out on the porch sipping coffee while everyone eats breakfast.

Not a bad view, amiright?

 Sure, there are no days off. Horses need to eat, be turned out, stalls cleaned, brought back in and fed again. Fences need to be fixed, arenas need to be dragged, yards need to be mowed... There are easier life style choices, to be sure. There are no days off- not in the rain, snow or when you have a 104 degree fever- Horses still need to be fed. The logistics behind planning a vacation or night out are not easy... Thank again my most significant relationship is with a little white velcro poodle named Bacon, so its not like I spend a lot of time out on the town anyway.

"I cannot stay out after dark!"

 Of course there are much less complicated ways to keep your own horses. Some horses live outside (I've heard rumors); some don't get grain daily, let alone twice daily; Grass arenas are simple and easy to maintain... But that's the perk of having your own place: you get to keep your horses in exactly the manner in which you want. Want a different blanket at ten degree intervals? Done. Want Pookie out only in perfect weather? Done. Want turnout boots/flysheets/SWAT applied/ the rain dance done before turnout out the Bucastan? You can make it happen! All that limits you is time and money...
Now, I have had some pretty nice boarding situations. Maybe not high dollar, but good personal care and a descent riding space. Then there have been the situations where the care was not as advertised and I had to be out every day to make sure that the Ponitas were still alive anyway. Having my Ponitas at home is a cheaper (because the Family already owns the land) option with that guaranteed peace of mind that only comes when I have total and complete control over my horses.

 There is certainly something to be said for having an arena all to myself and being able to schedule your day around when the weather should be nicest.... And with only six horses at the moment, the barn work takes about an hour (not including the semi-annual chores like spreading the manure pile, or fertilizing or cutting and stacking hay). That leaves plenty of time for me to get three or four horses worked in a day and then teach a few lessons.
Have I mentioned how nice it is to have a mother with the same passion for the farm life? This way if someone needs a day off, the other one covers the chores. And let's face it, it's nice to see someone else who actually enjoys this lifestyle so I don't feel like a total anomaly.

Perk: Farm poodle loves his life!