So much has happened since my last post. Here are the major bullet points:
Within 48 hours the owners of 8 horses, including myself, had given notice after Willow found a wonderful barn that would take all of us at once. A total of 15 horses ended up leaving, the rest went to other barns, which equates to the owner losing well over $100,000 in annual income. When I showed up to oversee her being hauled to the new facility the owner was convinced that the contract I had with her prohibited me from taking Miss off the property. Fortunately I had a copy of the bill of sale (which wasn't even with her) and a copy of the contract, which did NOT say that. It says a lot of other crap but it doesn't say I can't move her. In the face of irrefutable evidence she was forced to concede that I did own the horse and did have the right to take her but blamed Willow for not including that clause in the contract 4 years ago. Blaming right until the end!
As I mentioned the new barn is lovely, and just happens to be a lot closer for me, but it is primarily a dressage training facility and doesn't quite feel like home yet. After being stuck in an arena all her life I'm sure it will take Miss a while to adjust to trails and an open covered arena but I am hopeful this will be a good new beginning for us both. She is making faster progress than I could have ever hoped and I'm very proud of us both!
- I moved Miss to a new barn.
- I had lasik surgery for the second time on both eyes.
- I bought a new car (well, new to me).
I'm guessing you're most interested in the first point, so here's the rest of that story: about six months ago my trainer Willow starts to go on trail rides with the guy who ponies the foals and works with the difficult horses (they aren't a couple). Owner of the barn takes offense to this and eventually bans the guy from the property, even though he was bringing in business. She is so jealous that the trainer is spending time with him instead of her she starts to make her life hell, talking behind her back, spreading lies, accusing her of everything from stealing tack to charging for services never rendered. Then Willow was involved in a car accident in which the other party was killed, she was unhurt. Her vehicle was impounded, and she was questioned at the scene and released. When the owner found out about the accident the next day, she took that opportunity to fire Willow, saying she was mentally unstable and she didn't want her around her horses. Completely unbelievable, and probably illegal. Then the owner starts calling all Willow's clients and contacts, telling them she will be charged with murder and that she is going to jail, and calls all the other barns in the area and tells them the same thing and not to let her train at their properties. Willow has worked at this barn for 15 years and she's only 32. How you can treat someone like that I don't know, she has no compassion or even common sense. As if the poor woman doesn't have enough on her mind with the investigation and just living with the fact that she caused someone's death, now the rest of her world falls apart. The owner alienated everyone who is or has ever trained with this trainer, to the point where it was intolerable to even be at the barn.
Within 48 hours the owners of 8 horses, including myself, had given notice after Willow found a wonderful barn that would take all of us at once. A total of 15 horses ended up leaving, the rest went to other barns, which equates to the owner losing well over $100,000 in annual income. When I showed up to oversee her being hauled to the new facility the owner was convinced that the contract I had with her prohibited me from taking Miss off the property. Fortunately I had a copy of the bill of sale (which wasn't even with her) and a copy of the contract, which did NOT say that. It says a lot of other crap but it doesn't say I can't move her. In the face of irrefutable evidence she was forced to concede that I did own the horse and did have the right to take her but blamed Willow for not including that clause in the contract 4 years ago. Blaming right until the end!
As I mentioned the new barn is lovely, and just happens to be a lot closer for me, but it is primarily a dressage training facility and doesn't quite feel like home yet. After being stuck in an arena all her life I'm sure it will take Miss a while to adjust to trails and an open covered arena but I am hopeful this will be a good new beginning for us both. She is making faster progress than I could have ever hoped and I'm very proud of us both!
The lasik surgery went well, much less traumatic than the first time in November 2009. My vision is still adjusting but I am glad I did it, my distance vision had deteriorated from 20/20 to 25/30 and the surgeon was concerned that my eyes were changing at different rates. Fixing my distance vision has also made my near vision better, but I know that will eventually settle back to needing reading glasses.
I have been thinking of replacing my 2001 VW Jetta for a while now, not because I don't love her or because she is having issues, but rather due to the fact she has nearly 200,000 miles on her and I wanted to avoid having to pay more than she's worth to have her fixed the next time something big does go wrong. I decided on a 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman S, Hot Chocolate Metallic with yummy milk chocolate-colored leather interior. It was a corporate lease return and only has 12,000 miles on her, looks and feels brand new. I LOVE it, so much fun to drive.
Pictures of all of the above are below.
The "mare motel" where Missy's stall is.
Full-size dressage court.
Enormous covered arena with sound system and lights.
My girl at dinner.
Eyes post-surgery and new bangs.
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