Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm heading to the barn early today but I wanted to jump on the cliche of posting what we're thankful for.

Thankful this guy is still around and that I get to ride him this weekend

I'm thankful...
- That almost two years ago I got bored riding my retired GP horse lightly and emailed my friend who works at a breeding barn to see if she wanted any help riding horses that winter.

- That she said yes! And told me about a weird little barely backed 3 year old friesian x oldenburg gelding that I could put some training on.

- That TC turned out to be a hell of a lot nicer than I thought he was on that first day. Seriously I was told by multiple people that he was okayyyy but nothing special. I didn't think I'd buy him.

- That I went back on my word and bought him nine months later.

- That he had gotten me to love him enough where I was willing to do rehab with him when he busted his suspensory.

- That he came back better than I could have hoped.

- That the horse I bought for cheap ended up being a horse with bigger gaits and more talent than I thought I'd ever have access to in my life, let alone on a graduate school budget.

- That I have two amazing trainers that help me wrangle his talent into something that little ol' me can actually ride. Even if his movement scares the hell out of me sometimes and I REALLY hate him a lot of the time this winter.
 
- That I have supportive family and friends who let me vent to them when the horse is a nut and celebrate with me when I have a day where he makes me remember how lucky I am.

Like when he learned to canter like a real horse

Even if my seat is struggling this winter

I can't wait for the future with this horse... unless I murder him or he murders me first. Definitely possible.