My New Buffardoo

As I may have mentioned before I have been some what passively looking for a new pony. I knew Midori didn't have the natural talent to take me places with the new direction we wanted to head (reining and reined cowhorse). She is great to tool around on and, while she is doing better now then I ever thought she would, she still has her issues. I've been keeping my eyes open and basically if the right horse came along, something that I clicked with for the right price and couldn't pass up, I'd get it.

My trainer was helping me look, but nothing felt right. I wasn't bummed about it, I still had Midori. Another local trainer in the area had a couple young horses come home from getting started and one of them was small. He had consigned her to the auction in Reno during the futurities, but was afraid with how small she was and the economy the way it was that it wouldn't even be worth taking her down there. He wanted someone small for her that would show her and knew that I was kinda sorta looking. He wanted me to have her and was prepared to make me a deal that got me interested.

I fell in love with her pretty much the moment I saw her. She is an absolute doll, so sweet and pretty darn chill for a baby.

Meet Buffy the Buffalo Slayer.

It's the name she came with and unfortunately, it stuck. I tried to change it, but every one already knew her as Buffy and I'd been calling her Buffy for about a month by the time I actually picked her up. It was a lost cause. I usually call her by some variation of Buffy...B, Buffardoo, Buffardoodle, Doodle...anything but Buffy. lol

She is a 2 year old out of a Shine Like Hail mare by Laredo Blue. My trainer has a gelding also by Laredo Blue and apparently he puts that head on a lot of his babies. It's not the cutest head, but it grows on ya. I just hope she grows into it! lol

She is a really strange color and it changes almost weekly. She looks really gray now, but not too long ago it was going to be bay roan on her papers. I'm not really sure what to put at this point! I'm pretty sure she'll end up gray, but she's not quite there right now.

Check out that ass though!

Love those nice Quarter Horse asses!

She's got quite a chest on her too for how small she is. She was 13:2 at the wither and 13:3 1/2 at the hip when I got her. I meant to measure her today, but forgot. She is probably just over 14HH at the hip right now and in the middle of a not so flattering growth spurt.

Her mom was short, a little over 14HH, but stout and super athletic looking. She was shown as a 3 year old in cow horse and did well. I think she's pretty much just been a broodmare since. B's sire, Laredo Blue, is apparently not to shabby of a cutting horse. I don't know much about bloodlines and such so I won't pretend like I do.

Doodle is a very curious pony. Of course, she's 2. She was in my face the whole time I was out there taking pics today.

Like, reeeeally in my face!

Despite her small stature, she doesn't ride like a little horse at all. She has a big stride and since I am only 5'2" we make a good pair. People are always surprised when we walk up to them after watching us go. They don't expect us to be so short.

These last two pics are from the first time I saw and rode her. The last picture is the one that sold me on her. Check out that smile! I LOVED her from the very beginning.

My goal with her is to do the NWRCHA futurity on her next year. I'm hoping she starts growing because I don't want to be looking those cows straight in the eye while I'm chasing them down the fence! If she doesn't grow and I don't feel like she's ready to go down the fence, I'll do one of the local reining futurities with her. She's already got a sweet little lead change, decent turn arounds and plants her butt when I say whoa. She is super talented and a total natural. I just need to get my stuff together and learn to stay out of her way!

If futurities don't work out I still have her derby year. I'm not going to push her faster then she's ready to go. My first priority with her, above all else, is to raise a good, solid horse.

Sunday Stills Challenge - Halloween

Wow, it's been a loooooong time since I did a Sunday Stills Challenge! Way too long!

I've got a bit of Halloween paraphernalia around my house and I was finally able to take a little time with my camera to get some pics of it for this challenge. Mostly just because I was procrastinating doing other things.

BOO!

These last ones are some candle holders that I have.

Happy Halloween!

To see more Halloween pics go through the comments here.

They Lived!

I actually had some sunflowers that came up this year! Wohoo! Last year I planted 3 packets of seeds and not one single one came up. I did start these inside first and then transplanted them to the flower bed. In late July or so. I was just slightly behind. Gardening and yard work isn't generally very high on my priority list.

I took this picture at the end of September. They didn't get very tall or big, and the dogs took a few out, but they bloomed so I'm happy! :)

That Marriage Thang

I've been thinking lately about the whole marriage thang. I am currently teetering on the edge of 30 years old and not married. I don't have any thing against marriage, nor was it ever part of my "life plan" to be nearly 30 and unmarried.

Actually, I believe my life plan went something like: graduate college with bachelors degree at 21, meet guy, fall in love, marry at 23, buy house, have horses, live fairy tale. May or may not have included kids, I don't remember. Never been much of a fan of them.

Instead of that, life has gone more like this...go to community college. Meet guy some where in there. Buy car and horse that you need to continue working to pay for. Work 2 part time jobs, go to night classes, still a full time student. Take a little time off from school. Go back. Finally get AA after 4 1/2 years. Never make it to "real college". Get engaged to guy because we've been together for 3 years and that's what you do. Besides, I'm almost 23 and that's when I'm supposed to be married. Break up with guy after a month of being engaged. Date some more. Pass 23rd birthday, which is when you were supposed to be married. Buy yourself a truck and horse trailer to cheer yourself up. Continue living with parents. Date some more. Finally meet boy of my dreams. Move out of parents house into house with boy of my dreams after 2 years of being together. You're 25 by then. Talk about getting married. Buy house together instead. Talk about getting married some more. Buy new tractor instead. Buy new horse trailer. Buy new horse. etc. etc. etc. And now, here I am, owning a house, truck and horse trailer with boy of my dreams, firmly cemented in this relationship, possibly more then if we had that piece of paper telling us we're legally married. But we're still not married. Technically.

I've never been one of those people that thinks it's "just a piece of paper". Ever. I've never NOT wanted to be married. I certainly never expected to be here and not married. But life has a funny way of carrying on and changing priorities. I'm happy. We are happy. We love our life. Neither of us has any thing against marriage. No previous marriages, no baggage with parents surrounding the idea of marriage. We do plan to get married, just haven't done it yet.

It is strange to me when people that I haven't seen in a while ask if I'm still with the same guy. We bought a house together. We are in it for life, just as much as any of my married friends. Does not having that piece of paper making it legal or rings on our fingers make our relationship not as committed?

Every once in a while I get the wedding bug, but it usually passes fairly quickly. It's just not a priority. I refuse to go to Vegas. Just not my style. I'm not opposed to a court house wedding, but I want to include my family and friends. That means doing the whole wedding thang which requires planning and time and money and that is probably the main hold up. There are other things I'd rather do with that time and money. We own and show horses. 'Nuff said. lol Besides, why mess up a good thing?

And so here I am, almost 30 years old (OMG!!!), been together with the Boyfriend for nearly 6 years, and I have the whole fairy tale life I had envisioned (mostly anyways, there is always the crappy real life stuff that comes up, like work), with every thing I hoped for. Except that little piece of paper.

I know at least a couple of my bloggy buddies have been with their bf's for quite a while and are not married. It's not uncommon. And this isn't a rant or anything, I'm just really curious about this. Why? Was it a choice to not get married? Was it something that just happened, like me? Why is that "piece of paper" so important? Or so important to avoid?

It's a very curious phenomenon.

To me at least.