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A month full of rides, and more ups and downs than you can shake a stick at.
I started the month by going down to West Virginia for an endurance ride with a horse (and people!) I'd never met. The horse, a five year old National Show Horse named Magic Man, blew me out of the water, and his people are incredible. We rocked the 30 mile LD over tough terrain, and I came home with a ton of photos, stories, and helmet cam videos.
I also did the Big Loop Boogie in Pennsylvania with Steel. It was the ride's first year running, and it was Steel's first 50 miler. It was a tough, tough ride, but we completed in style. I can now proudly say that I took Steel through her first CDR, first CTR, and first AERC ride (a fifty!)
Early in the month, the world lost a great soul. Boo Boo, the iconic 20 year old mare at Bluestone, the farm I worked at through my college years, lost her battle against an old injury. On a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning, we laid her to rest under the oak trees at the back of the farm. My heart broke into a million pieces.
Early in the month, the world lost a great soul. Boo Boo, the iconic 20 year old mare at Bluestone, the farm I worked at through my college years, lost her battle against an old injury. On a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning, we laid her to rest under the oak trees at the back of the farm. My heart broke into a million pieces.
And the bad news didn't end there. Ozzy has been having a hard time on the trails this year, increasingly losing coordination, and even falling down with me on him. On August 19th, the test results came back exactly as I feared. My dear, sweet, internet famous horse was diagnosed with EPM at the ripe old age of 13. His riding career is over, and we're about to start our first course of treatment. I am hoping to be able to eventually put him back in harness and get some pleasure driving years out of him, mostly because he'll die of boredom just sitting in a field. It feels like the end of an era and I took the news really hard.
In an ironic twist, I wound up with a baby possum to bottle feed just a few days after Ozzy's diagnosis. The little guy had fallen off his mother in a parking lot and was picked up by a passerby who knows my boss at the vet clinic. I wound up taking him home and naming him Vito. Unfortunately, he didn't make it. They rarely do at that age, but it was a bummer nonetheless.
It wasn't all endurance rides and doom and gloom though. Mike and I managed to make time to go up to the reservoir for a date night that featured a brilliant sunset and tasty Chinese food on the beach. Despite our hectic lives, we manage to keep the romance alive, and for that... I am very, very grateful.
In an ironic twist, I wound up with a baby possum to bottle feed just a few days after Ozzy's diagnosis. The little guy had fallen off his mother in a parking lot and was picked up by a passerby who knows my boss at the vet clinic. I wound up taking him home and naming him Vito. Unfortunately, he didn't make it. They rarely do at that age, but it was a bummer nonetheless.
It wasn't all endurance rides and doom and gloom though. Mike and I managed to make time to go up to the reservoir for a date night that featured a brilliant sunset and tasty Chinese food on the beach. Despite our hectic lives, we manage to keep the romance alive, and for that... I am very, very grateful.
So long, and thanks for all the fish
Oof... it's been a while, huh? I'm not even sure if anyone is still on here. As it turns out, I haven't logged in to DA in six months. I think it's time to call it. After 17 years of keeping a gallery here, I have moved on to other social media platforms. This place holds so many fond memories and has been a really cool place to chronicle the changes in both my life and my photography. I don't plan on taking it down and will probably take a stroll down memory lane from time to time, but my days of trying to keep things current are behind me. I may still submit a couple photos a year in the name of tradition, but it has been a long time since I felt connected to anyone on here. If you'd like to stay in touch and aren't already friends with me elsewhere, here are a few places you can find me: Facebook Instagram My blog The blog and IG are public, but if you add me on FB, please shoot me a message with the fact that you're a DA friend. I keep my circle on there a little more
2019 Year in Review
Every year I do a "Year in Review" post on my blog on Christmas Eve. Today was no different. You can read the post here.
2018 In Review
After I put Ozzy down, I started slacking on my monthly recaps on here. I still kept up with the public blog though.
I put up a year in review entry with links to all the related posts, if anyone is interested. I have copy/pasted the entry below as a way of making up for my 9 month radio silence on here.
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This year was a rough one in many ways, some of which I never discussed on here. Still, it featured a lot of good memories and wonderful people. At the risk of jinxing everything, it was also a financially lucky year for us, which is probably a first. Here's the month-by-month breakdown of 2018. Hopefully I'll tie up a lot of loose
RIP Ozzy
I feel like so many of you watched my Ozzy grow up, that I owe you an announcement about his passing. On Sunday, Ozzy's bad suspensory caught up to him, and I made the painful decision to let him go. He was still his goofy, happy, bright self, but his body couldn't keep up with his big, huge heart. I am lost without him, and I will miss him always. He went peacefully after enjoying a day of sunshine, mash, and more treats than any horse should be allowed to eat.
© 2014 - 2024 Goodbye-kitty975
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Thinking of you and the Oz man. Here's hoping for many happy years to come. 