Not quite the end, I guess.

 No, he's not coming back. Sammi still loves him and just showed off a canter video where he looks relaxed and forward and... happy. Great job to the both of them! 

BUT. I went out with Shelby and a new friend last night from the Saddlebred world, who just happens to live in Aiken, and heard the most unbelievable things about the trainer Jenna got him from. All I have to say is, Andi is so lucky. Soooo lucky. Apparently his story is not even a little bit unusual if your horse came from her barn- skinny, anxious, and ready to unravel as soon as he's not ridden by a "very strong" rider. Poor guy. 

And here's the thing. You're probably thinking, just like I was at the table- yeah, yeah, sure sure, I met you online and you're a horse person, so I am going to take what you say with like.. 2 grains of salt. EXCEPT she googled this person and... apparently she has been arrested for starving horses, and being involved with shady ass barns. And everything this woman said she could back up with legit news sources- so I'm inclined to believe her. I mean.. I know what Andi looked like and acted like when I got him.. And furthermore, HOW I got him.. Geez. Again, poor Andibug.. 

Which just makes it so so much better than he has found Sammi, who spoils him with better treats than I ever would (Um.. frosted horse treats. Sherwood, don't get your hopes up! LoL), and just... loves him to death. A perfect home for the Andi Lovebuggin'. Amen. 

The End.

 So, this is a bit late- as is everything else in my life, I swear. So, Andi passed his trial with flying colors, as expected. Sammi loves him, has to have him, and is going to be everything he ever wanted or needed. AKA.. A girl who will rub his blaze and tell him he's the bestest, most handsome, sweetest thing ever. And she would not be wrong. 

So... Andi left the week of Christmas, as the gift all horsey girls want. Merry Christmas Sammi. Merry Christmas Andi. Best of luck to you both!

On trial

 So, Andi has been on trial for just over a week now, and apparently it is going okay. It's funny, but just like everything else about this boy, this is not worrying me. 

He's going to be fine. 

If I get worried about it, I realize I am channeling "Sherwood's Mom", and just remind myself that he is not The Ruiner, but Unicorn Babybutt. And therefore, everything is fine. No one has died without my constant supervision, and I will not owe them money for damages to their barn. 

I have had a bit of a.. conniption that Shelby had to talk me through, which is again, a hangup from owning my loverly mare. (She really has me well trained, don't you think?) And that is... Am I selling him short? Did I turn away those UL dressage riders too quickly? Am I taking a professionally trained, recognized event horse and selling him to a very backyard barn?? And again, I just needed  someone who knows me better than most, and who understands how.. quirky I am, to remind me that, No. I have quite literally done the absolute best I could for this boy. He does not want to be a show horse, he wants to be loved and kissed and fed. He could care less about ribbons or accolade, he just wants someone to rub his blaze and tell him he's the sweetest bestest boy ever. 

Thank you Shelby, once again, for talking me down from my ledge. 

And don't think me a snob. I mean, I am NOW, so maybe you should. Bahaha! But... I grew up in barns where fencing fell down, barns were dirt-floored, and people did not wear Dubarrys to muck stalls. Hell, they definitely did not even have a pair of them lying around. I grew up on horses who weren't allowed at other barns until everyone had cleared out for the night because they were so.. dangerous. Let's just say it, Dan was dangerous. And that will be a story for another time. But they were fed, they were turned out daily, they all had blankets as needed in the snow, and their feet were done mostly on time. The humans suffered- ate Ramen, lived in 50 degree cabins, had credit issues- so the ponies didn't. And.. I learned what I did NOT want to be like as an adult. 

Honestly, I may be inconsistent, but I'm a good horseperson. And I got lessons, found trainers, pursued higher levels of knowledge as an adult- and you know what? I've been called ballsy and brave and crazy and stubborn, but the fact is, I learned how to RIDE at backyard barns. I learned stickability- both in the saddle and out- you stick with what you have and learn to make it work. And in this age of disposability, I guess I could have learned worse lessons. So, if Sammi learns half of that on Andi, then things could be worse, right? 

Andi goes on Trial this week

 So.. he leaves Wednesday. Details have been ironed out, contracts adjusted and terms agreed upon. All that's left is for them to show up, load him, and... say bye. 

I think we all know he's most likely not coming back. I gave him an extra carrot this morning. I wonder how long horses remember people. Do you remember the old Black Beauty? I heard the 2020 remake by Disney is AWFUL, but I loved the book and I LOVED the old versions. Although my greatest fear is to find one of my loves like Joe found Beauty in the end. Honestly, it's a nightmare I've had more in the past 3 nights than I care to admit. I mean, how awful would it be if I saved him from that end to only sell him back down the path toward it? Ugh.. I am tearing up just thinking about it right now. 

Anyway. He is not Beauty. He is Andi. And we all know that's why I'm keeping the Other horse for the rest of her life.. She would unquestionably end up in bad circumstances. So.. You can only have one Beauty, right? (Although I'm pretty sure she's more the Beast.. LoL) He will be fine. 

So, I gave him an extra carrot, stood in the cold frozen slush from our dud storm last night, and... just hung out with my Unicorn. I will miss him. I'm happy for him, but I will miss his downward dog breakfast greetings and steady eddy personality. 

Andi... gone?

 My short term project, turned long term project, turned... 

Andibug, Baby Brat, Baby Butt. Good boy.

I've never sold an animal before. I mean, I got him with the full intentions of short term project selling him, but then he just... wasn't ready.

I went out to lunch with Shelby and Jess today, girls (okay, at 25-35+ we are women, but eff that.) who have known him since the day he came up from Aiken- hell, I was with Jess the first day I rode him in muck boots and HER helmet!!- and realized that he has come so far in these last 2 years. I'm an awful documentor- you'll have to take my word on this and so many other things. On paper, it seems like I've been the cause of him LOSING ground (who takes a horse with a novice USEA record and sells him as a schooling hunter who hates XC??). It was good to sit with them and remember that he was a mess when I first got him- ulcers, bony, felt like a stick of dynamite 1/2 the time you were on because he was so worried about EVERYTHIING- try mounting up without him trying to rear or bolt, it was impossible. And to hear them talk about witnessing 1) my learning curve figuring out his anxiety cues- teeth grinding (yes, his teeth are done regularly), lip flopping, whole body curling up in tension, and 2) helping him figure out how to work through his anxiety- stop, hop off if you need to, let him look and think about it, and.. let him know you'd never ask him to do something that will hurt him. And NEVER EVER use a crop to push him forward!!

I heart this boy. Recently, I read this story about angels- how they come into your life right when you need them, then leave when you are healed to help someone else- and I had to laugh a little.

Did I tell you how Andi came to live with me? 2018. Sher, aka The Dragon, had her first year of recognized eventing, and was doing well! She was unstoppable XC, but more impressive, was really starting to figure out dressage and SJ as well, due to the efforts of her half-lessor. Our last show, she showed just how bi-polar she truly is; we cleared out a warmup ring with our Lipizzaner tricks (ever seen a horse randomly launch itself into the air for no good reason?), then managed to win 7th place out of 15 riders, and then showed reminded everyone who wasn't in the warmup ring just WHY she was called the Dragon in our victory gallop (she just wants to fly!). All was well until I got a new job and I couldn't get there to ride her. She started working her Dragon magic on her lessor, got progressively more and more cranky, more outspoken, more... Sherwood. I was only called in when they thought something was wrong- only to hop on, be beaten up, beat her back into submission, and just wonder why I bothered with this insanity.

 Sherwood is exhausting. She exhausted me. I was done. I was quitting horses and riding and eventing, I was going to stop being a horse-crazy child and learn to adult. I was... done. So done. She is so difficult and "terrible" (not my word, Shelby used it today!), and I'd had her so long, I was sure this was normal, so I was never getting another TB. Maybe another horse, but never another TB. I hated mares.. I was done. I needed a break from horses so badly, I put my heart horse up for sale to her lessor and thought I was ready to walk away. Hah. In the month it took for her lessor to get her shit together to buy her, I had developed into a full-blown alcoholic grieving the loss of my heart horse and was absolutely miserable at the thought of life without my Dragon- "what is a dragon rider without their Dragon??" I asked a friend during that period. Then, everything fell apart. Sherwood ruined the sale in typical violent Sherwood fashion (no one died, if you're wondering), and that same week, Andi was offered up as a desperate throw-away with ulcers and a bucking problem, and.. I suddenly had two Thoroughbreds I didn't really want. 

So, I did what anyone who has any semblance of compassion or self-respect would do- I treated Andi's ulcers, fattened him up with the Hellspawn's (Erm, Sher, in case anyone was questioning) diet plan, and decided to put them both back into work (we all know that if you leave a Dragon unworked, they fly you to the stratosphere and start doing barrel rolls). Hence started the Chronicles of Andi, poor as they may have been, and a mere human remembered how much she loved both Dragons and Unicorns; and in doing so, realized that Unicorns, even if they need a little spit-polish to show their true colors, deserve to be shared with the world, whereas Dragons are meant to be loved for themselves, on their terms, by the special people who are willing to do so.

And now... there's a 16yo girl who has kept after me until I, guilted into action, set up a viewing, and.. he liked her. He was lovely for her. And I read something about angels who come into your life to heal you, then have to leave to spread joy to the world. 

Andi is an Angel, not a Unicorn. Or maybe, everyone has just missed that Unicorns actually have wings AND horns. 

Please take care of him, because I heart my Red Devil, my Andiamo, my Go-Button. And if you don't like him, please give him back; there will always be a stall waiting. 

Andi comes home!!

Poor Andi. I pick him up and love him, I put him down. His life revolves around Sherwood's work schedule. So, he's had some time off because Sherwood has been back in work. I mean, he has always been my backup pony- Sher is #1, and now even moreso because he doesn't want to do eventing. I loved using him as my trail horse this summer while Sher was rehabbing but he doesn't want to work hard enough to be an endurance horse, and.. let's face it. I am an all or nothing kind of girl. I am either pushing- hard- or doing nothing. He's just... lukewarm all the time. He could take it or leave it. Which is what makes him so easygoing, but another way in which we are just not compatible.  

In any case, Sher had been in work most recently and poor Andi had been left by the wayside yet again. I just can't keep up with both of them, especially with him at Chelsea's, and now with Miss Fancy. 

NOT ANYMORE!!! Since Sher hurt herself in a moment of  "Sher stupidity" (I might patent that!), I've been kicking around the idea of switching her and Andi, and.. I finally did it! Andi came home today, and Sher went to Chelsea's! Take that, biznatch! To celebrate, the neighbor and Logan and I took the ponies out for a road ride... And by that, I mean, I was going to walk the dogs while Logan rode Fancy for a road ride, then the neighbor called us and asked if she could come with her horse, and Logan volunteered Andi to be group leader. I was like.. Um.. No. He hasn't been ridden in weeks. Absolutely not. 

As always, I got overruled, so.. I lunged him (it was terrifying- poor Lauren the neighbor was staring at him cavort around like a kite on the end of the lunge and clearly thought I was going to get her killed), put on my big girl pants (and helmet), and hopped on. And.. he proved once more to me, why I heart him. We led the way down the street, jigged a little, gnawed on the bit a little, but did absolutely NOTHING scary or wrong. Until the big rock. He did not like the big rock and absolutely refused to go past it- but then he followed Fancy around it with nothing more than a side-eye. I was thoroughly pleased with my young'un. Lauren was very pleased with how it all went- I think she might even go out with us again. 

I do get the feeling she will not be joining Shelby and Jess and I for future trail rides, though.. She just doesn't seem like someone who would want to keep up with that level of trail riding. haha Apparently I can't even trail ride casually- and I found a crew who like it that way! I am so lucky in this life!

MF'ing Sherwood!!

 Yup. You heard me. I'll even write it out. MOTHER FUCKING SHERWOOD!!!! That mare. THAT mare. Gah!! I know this blog is about Andi, but we all know Andi's work schedule revolves around Sherwood's. And since she's been back in full work since she proved she was more than ready, he's been neglected. I have nothing to say about him.. Except he's been good hacking around the field at Chelsea's. Without shows or anything to work towards, and no real plans on what to do with him since we didn't end up doing the endurance race, he's just... hanging out.. So, Sherwood.

Sherwood had ONE event this year- ONE!!! We signed up for Palmer River yesterday. We took lessons and worked in the arena, and the only thing that I was really unsure of, was that the Deer Roast got scheduled for the day before. But seriously, I am not one who shies away from telling people to leave me alone because I have stuff to do the next day. LoL So.. that was what I did. She was pacing the fence line because I put Fancy away, but.. I figured she'd slow down and be fine. 

WRONG! I came down the next morning at a bright and early 5am, after about 2 hours of sleep because people were running through my house all night, and... she's got tiger stripes. From pacing so hard she worked herself up into a full body sweat, then cooled down and dried into tiger stripes from ears to tail. I was... horrified. So horrified. I mean, I can't bring her to an event looking like a tiger!! So I spent 30 minutes I didn't have currying the bejeezus out of her(you should have heard the curses I was throwing her way- her little brown ears were BURNING!), threw a cooler on over her because she was threatening to get crazy again, shoved some Perfect Prep in her face, and.. loaded her on the trailer for the 1.5h ride to the farm. 

Jess met me there, we did all the things we do- made sure Sher was set and happy hanging out in the trailer, went to get my paperwork, checked out where dressage was, walked XC twice, walked stadium on the way back, and.. prepared to get Sher ready for her normal 1/2h warmup. we backed her off the trailer, started grooming, and.. "Abbi, her back leg is hot.. does it look puffy to you?" Oh no... She was walking on it okay,  looked a touch stiff at the jog but seemed to work out of it, so we threw her saddle on and I hopped up, and... fail. Utter fail. Dead lame. So, hop off, saddle off, cooler back on, ice boots on, and let's walk around and eat some grass while we watch other people compete at something my stupid twat horse would have loved to do. Le sigh. Oh, Sherwoodigans... 

After a night tossing and turning, and kicking myself for being so preoccupied and aggravated with tiger stripes that I missed her being lame thereby subjecting her to 3 hours of unnecessary trailer riding, I have come to two conclusions:

1) Just Dorm her. Stop thinking she's got enough self-preservation to stop on her own. You know better, she's getting to the age that she can't just laugh off her own stupidity, so just Dorm her. 

2) Be better. Put your own shit aside and be the horseperson you can be. Pay attention, be in the moment, and be a better owner. 

So, here starts icing, bute-ing, and... praying. 

Please be okay, Sherwood. Please.