Kitt

Happy day! Got anything good planned?

An insight to the D/s dynamic. Lovely work.

You get to choose family. Relatives you are stuck with!

You could have been writing what I felt watching my mom pass slowly, also from cancer. Hurts, but also feels good, to remember.

I've no idea who Tommy is, but he has a wonderful friend in you.

You put into words what I was feeling. Bravo.

Post when you are ready Mark. We will be here when you are ready. So glad you are feeling better!

Lovely. I am so glad you did not give up! tim does love and need you, as much as you love and need him. Were that everyone could find the perfect spouse.

Looking forward to the insight this story is sure to impart.

Knowing he is ok makes waiting much easier! Thanks David.

Lovely. I can honestly say I DO understand this one!

I can't say I truly understand it fully, but the important thing is that you and Mike do!

I read this a goodly while back, but was comment shy at the time. Long story. Terrific. Thought inducing. Amusing. Also sad that the narrator was so lonely. Everyone should have someone to hold and be held. Well written. I loved it then, and I love it even more now!

Eventing is tough. I never quite understood why people want to jump over chicken coops and the like. We lost a horse from one team and a rider from another in separate accidents at a single event last year at the HPNJ Jersey Fresh.

That works. My kid has netflix

I want Shadowfax!

No I didn't but you can bet I will be seeing it, and probably buying it on dvd.

Dang - there simply are not enough hours in a day to keep up with everything! Favorite horse movie? Don't laugh, it's animated, Spirit, Legend of the Cimmaron. Favorite book? ( yesterdays q) Gotta be Black Beauty. Was the first one I ever read, and I blame it for getting me hooked on horses! Now to go back and see what q's I missed!

LMFAO! Sounds so much like a real Convo I had with my mortgage company over escrow payments about ten years back. You conveyed Fred's frustration beautifully!

You can count on one thing from us Jersey kids. We call em like we see em! Loving is something you should be proud of, and it speaks volumes that you can allow yourself to love easily. So many can't at all.

You are so right Gary! My old man pulled a suspensory and I was told he would probably never be able to be ridden again at all. Stall rest, anti-inflamitory meds and a horse version of ben-gay were prescribed, with retirement and turn out when he tollerated it. I didn't accept that he would not heal. We gave him the whole summer off, built him a rehab pen in his regular field so he could be outside with his buddies but contained and not running around like a colt (thats how he did it in the first place) and started hand walking late in the summer. By christmas we had progressed to cantering on the lunge, then started walking him out under saddle. Had one of the skinny teens work him at each gate first before I got on him. I'm a big girl and didn't want to push too fast. Bottom line is while he is no longer allowed to jump (something he is not happy with!) he is sound and carries me anywhere I want to go!

We have both competitive trail riding and something we call a hunter pace. Split what Gary did into two separate divisions. The specified gates, obsticles etc are the comp trails, and a path with spaced out jumps ( with bypasses for western riders/ those who don't wish to jump) for optimum times.

My lessons or the horses? Fell off twice in one lesson when I was a beginner, both my stupid mistakes. I quickly learned the true meaning of "Look up, stay up, look down fall down". Three times when training a huge QH ( the first one I ever taught to carry). First day I backed him was great. Second day he was antsy right from the go and tossed me three times before he settled down. Around here (NJ) prices vary from about $30 up depending on the reputation of the stable and trainer. Ask for references, watch them teach, and ask questions. Most riding schools have lesson cancellation policies too, so be prepared to call if you can't keep a lesson. I have also had lots of students I have had to "unteach". What they said! I have shown western pleasure, and my stetson stayed on the fence post, my helmet on my head for the duration. The stetson only went back on long enough for pictures if I won. I am the one at our barn everyone calls when having issues with the horses. I am not sure which one I would call a troublemaker. I am a firm believer in the idea that there is no such thing as bad behavior, it is the horse trying to tell you something. I tell my students I am not teaching them to ride, anyone can teach them to sit on a horse and look pretty. I am teaching them to communicate, to "Speak Horse". This is what I meant! That horse was hollering "OUCH!" Sorry for the huge post. I just found the thread!

These two are going to make each other crazy! Nicely done.