Updates!

What a year! Apologies for not updating and keeping this blog current. The lack of updates are due mostly in part to my very busy schedule of applying for and working towards acceptance into veterinary school. This past fall I applied, had interviews in January and am now accepted into a school that I applied. I was accepted at the University of Missouri Veterinary school in Columbia, MO. I'm still waiting to hear back from the other schools that I applied to, but to obtain an out-of-state acceptance forebodes well for the future, and now I know that I have a place next year and will be attending a school next year!

The process has been long and daunting but so very rewarding now that I actually have an acceptance. If anyone has any questions about the process or needs advice how to best go about applying, I'd be more than happy to share.

Now, onto the Bogey boy news! Bogey and I had a great summer filled with some local open shows and teaching 4-H horse clinics. There were highs: successfully riding in a western pleasure class with only putting him into a shanked bit less than 24 hours in advance (oh, what can I say - I really trust my horse), and some great showmanship placings, but there were also some lows: blowing a hoof abscess and losing out on the last shows of the season, and some of his ongoing lameness issues.

When I look back over the summer, I can't think of it as anything but a total success - even with the health issues of my horse. I had never treated a hoof abscess before and this past summer Bogey gave me a doozie. What a great learning opportunity for a future equine vet. I also had the opportunity to help a neighbor with a nasty head wound - word to the wise: pull-ups diapers. They make the best and cheapest coverings for large wounds. All in all I had a wonderful summer, a busy semester and now am on my downward slide to graduation and entrance into veterinary school this fall.

This next summer I'm going to try to spend more time with the Bogey boy and showing as it will be my last summer in a long while that I'll have completely free without other obligations or education opportunities. I'm planning on going to a couple of AQHA shows this year (it has been a life-long dream to show at one) and I have the quality of horse in order to do so (Bogey's the only one of his siblings without points at the major shows (Congress & World)). I'm also planning on doing as many shows of our local circuit as the caliber there is unequal as open shows go. They say if you can win in our district you can do very well at MNQHA shows.

Those are the plans! Thanks for coming on this journey with me and just wait, soon you'll be reading about the adventures of a veterinarian and her Bogey horse, instead of a prospective student and the horse she loves.

Ride the Right Horse

Right the Right Horse by Yvonne Barteau is a wonderful book to any horseman's collection. I just wanted to put this in here because this is the second time I have borrowed the book from my local libraries and I need to go out and purchase one of my own. I thought this book would be a good one to read only once, boy was I ever wrong. This is a wonderful book to deal with horse personalities and your own riding styles based upon your personality and your horse's.

My previous horse Tater Tot, was a Social/Challenging Mix. With this personality type he loved to talk with all those around him and did not like leaving his buddies. The challenging portion of him allowed him to tune out and disregard some cues and "do his own thing" many times. He never pushed the limits, but he did go right up to them.

Bogey on the other hand is a Aloof/Challenging Mix. He shows the Challenging portion when he pins his ears back at meal times and likes to "test" you to see how much he can get away with during the day. The Aloof portion of him brings in a component of not caring about the world around him. When we moved him to the boarding barn in Winnebago he called out once to the other horses and that was it. No other expressions. I haven't heard him make any noise at all, now that I think of it, except for that one time upon his new arrival.

This will be an interesting personality type to work with because of the disassociation from me as well as the testing. I love having a puppy dog type horse, which was Tater Tot, but who knows how this one will go. It is probably best that he is an aloof type because I am gone at school most of the year.

***I need to tell about how my week with him went, I only got to see him about 3 times, which was a bummer.

Second semester starts tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to it. I'm a homebody and really would like to be home right now, but I have to be at school. One good thing though, a friend of mine has the pre-calculus book I need and she'll let me borrow it - for FREE! That's a $40 I don't have to spend.

I think I'm going to wind down and have a quiet evening alone with a couple books. This coming semester will be tough so I better study more. Who am I kidding, I better just study!

Start of a Journey Part 1

This is a start of something new. Oh, those old cliche' lines! I decided to start this blog to journal about my trials as a college student that lives 2 1/2 hours away from her brand new horse. Also, I wanted to log our training journeys together. This will just be a journal for myself, to get my thoughts on paper, and if people read it, why not? Now, onto the beginning.

It all started with an ad for a horse.

Well it probably started earlier than that, and I'll have to do some back-tracking later to tell my story completely, but my journey with my NEW horse started with that ad.

I just noticed it one day and he just struck me as something special. He was out of my price range at the time, (the price dropped $2000 in 2 months of watching the ad) but I just couldn't stop going back and looking at it. Another reason why it kept pulling me in is because I know a horse that is by the same sire, same color and everything that I just "clicked" with this past summer. After watching the ad and emailing the owner, I kind of felt like this one was the "one".

I called the owner multiple times and after the price drops I decided to make an offer.

Now, you all must realize that I am probably one of the world's worst horse buyers (or maybe the best from my perspective). I am the person that emails multiple times (not the same questions, but a TON of questions). Calls multiple times asking different questions, calls the trainers multiple times, and searches the internet for every scrap of information I can find on the trainers, owners, and the horse itself. I want to know EVERYTHING about the animal I'm purchasing before I even begin to think of an offer. I collect this information on folders on my computer as well as a hand written manilla folder I have in my files. I did this with the first horse I bought when I was 15 and it really works well for me because I was prepared and knew exactly what I was getting into. (That first horse was also my best friend, but we'll get into that later.)

After all of that anal knowledge based research, I made an offer on the horse. Now, the owner had disclosed that she really needed to sell the horse since her daughter couldn't ride him and she couldn't afford the training bill each month, so I knew I could get a deal. I also had an "ace in my pocket" in the respect that I could and would walk away from the sale if it wasn't for me. Then I did a lot of praying about it and asked God, that if this horse wasn't for me to just have him sell or my offer not work out, but if it is let me get him for "XXX" price.

Well I called and made an offer right before Thanksgiving weekend this past year. I really really low-balled it, and I'm so horrible for doing it, but hey, I'm a cheap broke college student who goes to a VERY expensive private school. I offered 1/2 of their final drop in price $1500. I know, I know! Only offer 10-15% off the asking price, I did read Bob Avila's Be a Smart Horse Buyer book. But, it just felt right to me.



Well, of course the owner would turn down that offer! I would! The thing I had going for me was a re pore of phone calls, a solid offer (albeit cheap offer), and the ability to walk away! There are tons of horses in this world you don't have to settle for the nag when you can have your very own Trigger. That's the trick folks, don't settle for anything but what you want exactly, because it may take a while, but you'll find your dream horse.

Time passed after my offer, I think about 3 weeks, and I get a phone call from the owner. I am very VERY VERY bad about answering my cell phone, just ask my roommates, but I will get back to you eventually, just leave a message! Well, the owner left a message on my phone stating that she had talked things over with her husband and was wondering if I was still interested in the horse. HECK yeah! I was, but as a buyer - never be to eager. Well I didn't get the message till the next afternoon because I had 2 orchestra concerts that day to play for (more on that later as well). And, then it ended up being a Monday afternoon after class. I checked my email and she was still wondering if I was interested and if I got her message. Buyers, watch out for this, this is the classic I want to sell you my horse. Remember, never be too eager to buy.

I called her back that afternoon and chatted a little, keeping things light. She then told me she had talked things over with her husband and was wondering if I would be able to buy him for $2000. I said I couldn't, but my offer of $1500 would still work out. She TOOK it! YAY for me! I was so excited, but then don't get too excited buyers. I still had to talk things over with my family and find a ride for the horse. Well it all came together and I found a ride for him from an awesome gal named Jodie check her out if you need a horse trained and you're in southern MN.

Bogey arrived home on Christmas Eve to Albert Lea and then I got him on Christmas and hauled him over to the boarders the day after. He was a true Christmas present to me.



Part 2 Coming right up!

(Dang, I use too many cliches' haha!)