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In Loving Memory...
~ Gogo Fatale ~


6/2/01 - 10/11/11
~ Forever the Marest of Them All ~
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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Explodybrains

First of all, THANK YOU to everyone that donated to Denali's Mom's gift. In that first few hours, I got nearly $80 in donations! I'll keep donations open through Thanksgiving, and take down the button after that. We have lots of good options for gifts; Sydney has offered to do some custom horsehair work, but we will still have leftover money. Laz's momma had another good suggestion about custom posters like the ones she had made of Laz. I had another idea but we'll have to see how much money is left over. Any other suggestions would be great!
If you donated but haven't contacted me via e-mail yet, drop me a line. I'd like to have everyone e-mail me with a little message for her (and your name and/or your blogger name so she knows who you all are) and then send a collective card along with the gift.

Seriously, you guys are the best. Sometimes it completely floors me how much blogging and the connections you make through it can really touch the people around you. Thank you.




In other news, guess where I am right now!



Aaaah, yes. Michigan. I am home for a few days of rest, relaxation and turkey consumption, back in the good ol' thumb state where I was born and raised. I was definitely needing a break, seeing as I am inconsolably stressed about the upcoming move and Gogo's swiss cheese tendons. (Ok, so they're not THAT bad.... but they may as well be at this point.) Last night I finally received a reply to my inquiry about keeping Gogo at my new job despite her injury. The e-mail simply stated that the facility was not equipped to have a laid-up animal on the propery, and that I would need to make arrangements for her elsewhere. And also, if I could find a useful animal to replace her with, that would be good too.

Well. Very unfortunately for me, the salary at the new job does not allow for keeping a horse boarded off the property AND pay for the expenses of TWO horses, much less a dog and a cat and all my other bills. As the riding and training was such a huge part of the job, and because I really am not planning on snagging up the first project I find, that leaves me with no real choice but to decline the job offer and search elsewhere.

Only. All four of us - dog, cat, horse and myself - are all about to be totally homeless. Doggie, kitty and myself can of course stay in honey's apartment, despite the fact that said apartment is a bit small for that many creatures. But I need to find somewhere for Gogo, and FAST.

I have two options for temporary living. 1) stay in CT and live with honey and find someplace nearby for Gogo. 2) go to MI and stay with family and find someplace nearby for Gogo. Both are doable options. Neither are things I could do for longer than a month without a job. Both of these situations have one central problem: finding a place to keep Gogo, NOW. This in theory should be easy. I mean, all she needs is a field and a shed... no arenas, no stalls, no concerns about location or footing or amenities beyond the simple ones. In reality, I only have 6 days to do this. Barns in CT/NY are very, very expensive. Barns in MI are less so, but it all depends on where you are. I do know a lot of people in the surrounding area; barns where I've kept Gogo before, and where I've kept my other horses as well. There is the possibility of 24/7 turnout in the giant herd where Quincy lived for a few weeks while he was retired, right up until he died. I already spoke with the woman on the phone; I told her she probably wouldn't remember me, but when I mentioned that he had died and his name, she said, "Oh no. That day is burned into my head forever. We've been in business for 40 years and I've never seen anything so horrible." Um, yeah... me too.

So there are options. They take care of my immediate shelter-seeking needs (although if any of you have barn suggestions in either CT, NY or MI.... let me know). We can safely see our way through December this way, but not beyond that.

So now it's time to get serious. In reality, my job in NC was not going to me any further along the path to achieving my goals. Contrary to popular belief, I DON'T want to ride/train/teach for a living. I really, really don't. I love to ride MY horse... and I enjoy riding other horses sometimes. Doing it for a living? No. Teaching? I don't even have the slightest clue how to begin, and I don't want to do it. I guess the problem with knowing these things about myself is that I also know that it creates certain large limitations in my vaguely chosen fields.

Again, I keep coming back to it. Hoofcare. THAT is what I want to do. It's still just a matter of HOW. There's more to it than just trimming... I want to specifically get into sporthorses and farrier work beyond the traditional steel. I've had a lot of good recommendations, and I have a few good leads. It's all a bit vague still, but ideas are becoming more solid by the day. Maybe someday I'll be able to make this all work and not be completely homeless every single time I change jobs. Maybe someday I will have a big, booming business and my own farm. Wouldn't that be amazing?

Yes. But first.... I need to have a place to live.

Baby steps.

14 comments:

Dom said...

Have you looked here?
http://www.appliedequinepodiatry.org/iaep/index.html

DockStart said...

Before totally ruling out your latest job offer you might explore turning GoGo out on a polo farm. There are a lot of polo players/farms in NC/SC. There are also plenty of polo horses in CT and NY as well. In or out of work high most polo ponies live in large herds and get to be horses year round so that they stay sound. Perhaps Fugly Horse of the Day could connect you so someone, I believe she is actively in the polo world. Just an idea. Good luck!
-DS
Adventures In Colt Starting

Mrs. Mom said...

Then. Go. TRIM! ;)

Girl, I'm telling you-- YOU will make an excellent trimmer. Do It Already!!

Unknown said...

Glad I could help. Whatever Denali's mom wants. If she wants a special pendant or something? I know when my old girl Naigen died I got 4 silver horse pendants off e-bay for about 10$ each. One for me, and one for the other three special people in her life, the lady who originally found her, the lady I gave part ownership of her to and her granddaughter who learned to ride on Naigen after having open heart surgery and a heart attack at 11 years old. The chain of course was Naigens tail hair.

Check out belleville horseshoeing school. I know the owner of those schools Red. Hes a great guy. Join me in Oklahoma ;)
What part of Michigan are you from? I am just a hop over the border from Detroit. Come visit sometime.

Unknown said...

psst I forgot the link silly me http://schoolsofhorseshoeing.com/schools.aspx

Katherine Erickson said...

Ugh I'm so sorry about the job! That tone of email sounds pretty familiar...

If you were closer, I'd offer you to keep Gogo at my house! I'll ask around for layup places in your area.

SprinklerBandit said...

I meant to post this before, but if you're looking for a market to work in, I know of at least 3 professional full-time barefoot trimmers who work in the arena (Boise, ID). That's just who I think of offhand; there are more.

I don't know how accepted barefoot trimming is in the east, but it's relatively common here. The show scene is definitely different, though. ;-) Best of luck and thank you for all you're doing for Denali's mom.

Abby said...

Maybe a scholarship would help? You've probably already heard of this:

http://www.jafffs.org

You could definitely write a great application!

Unknown said...

Don't totally shut out the idea of the NC job...there's some preeetty cheap pasture board places around here that are good places too. In fact, board is generally cheap compared to the northern states here...

So don't totally rule it out! :) Either way, I hope something works out for you guys.

Nicku B said...

Board in NY/CT is inhumane! I wound up keeping Pongo in NJ when he was a yearling. Pasture there was only $250 compared to every barn in Westchester county where it felt like I could only find barns with full board, for $2000+/month. Unreal!!! Good luck in your search! You're in the perfect place for opportunity to come knocking at your door!

Nicole Redman said...

Come live with MEEEE! Gogo can live..on the balcony?

Muriel said...

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you soon find a nice place to board The Prima Donna Gogo.

It is interesting that you are not into teaching/training horses. I am the same. I find difficult to live without horses, I am trying to find my "job" in the horse-world. I realised like you that I do not like teaching people, or training. I am a carrer. I love pampering looking after horses. I have also an obsessession with feet.

I wish you to find the right school/people for your new career. Perseverance works!

Many thanks to your wonderful blog!

Andrea said...

Honestly, I don't think I have a choice but to rule it out. If pasture board is going to cost me around $300, and then I have to pay expenses for another horse, and then I have to pay for horse/car insurance, presuming I go back on my parents' insurnace for one final year, and I have to feed all of the critters and take care of their veterinary needs, and pay for gas..... with the salary I'll be paid, I will easily be in debt every month. Which does not work.

Val said...

The response to your email sounds very odd to me. What do they care if your horse is in work? And if they require you to have a competition horse, they should provide one to you or pay you the big bucks so you can meet their demands. Yeesh.

Some therapeutic riding barns board horses to help fund the nonprofit programs. The rates are usually reasonable and the people always welcoming!