Once again, it’s time for Thankful Thursday! I hope this post inspires you to consider the things in your life that you are grateful for. If you have a blog, consider posting about it there and link back here. If you don’t have a blog, please feel welcome to comment here on what you are grateful for in your own life. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, then just take a few moments to reflect on all that you have. If you’d like to tag other bloggers that participate, feel free to do that.

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a Thankful Thursday, but my family had an experience last week that definitely warrants a post for this week’s edition.  Sometimes we lose track of our purpose or meaning and then things fall into your lap that remind you to wake up and get back on track.  You all know about my recent struggles with the direction that my life has been heading in.  What you don’t know is how I’ve been brainstorming about ways to bring the passion back into my life and give me the joy I’ve been missing for so long now.  Obviously the horse world is a big part of that.  So imagine my surprise when my mom got a call last week from a voice in our family’s vault of memories. 

“J” was instrumental in starting this journey not only for me but for my entire family.  He was the first person to ever give any of us a riding lesson.  He helped us find our first 5 or 6 horses.  He was there for the birth of our first foal.  He took us to our first horse show.  In short, our experiences with J put us on the path that took us around the country and back and made two little girls’ lives so much brighter.  (And two parents’ lives so much poorer – but it’s worth it, right Mom and Dad?!)

Our visit to this gorgeous Alabama farm led to the purchase of two National and World Champion horses

We rode with J for about 5 years in total and gained a solid foundation in riding.  I still remember that his friend, “J-Girl,” would give us lessons on horse care in the parking lot of our stable, teaching us the parts of the horse and how to properly care for them.  We made a lot of friends and fell in love with the horse business, in no small part because of our experiences with J.  One of my favorite memories was a wintertime road trip from Pennsylvania to Alabama to look at some horses.   This was my first visit to a top rated farm and my initial exposure to very high quality horses.  I’m embarrassed to say that I can no longer remember the name of the farm, but the stallion that resided there was Zippos Countryboy and his babies dotted the landscape.  Everywhere we turned there were foals with their mothers, show horses, broodmares.  I very clearly remember falling even more in love with horses while we were there.  Our motorhome pulled out of their driveway after that visit in 1989 carrying a huge and beautiful yearling filly named Zippos Strawmaid.  This filly would go on to become a National Champion in the 3 year old Hunter under Saddle and my sister’s mount for years in the flat and over fences classes.  After her show career ended, she went on to produce Custom Maid Zippo, who was the Champion Western Horse at the 2004 Appaloosa World Show.  Strawmaid has been sold a couple of times and she keeps coming back to us.  This time she’ll live out her remaining days on my sister’s farm, alongside her last gorgeous foal.

Strawmaid as a yearling, just two months after we brought her to Pennsylvania.

Another life changing moment that came out of our trip to that Alabama farm was my parent’s introduction to a beautiful and talented yearling colt named Zippo Par Three.  Although we weren’t ready for a stallion then, that meeting paved the way to our first National and World championships (in western pleasure) and our future breeding program.  Just a little more than a year later, we had several broodmares and Easy Acres Appaloosas was created.  Without J, Tiny would have never been born.

It’s hard for me to remember how things ended with J, but I know it was sudden and final.  I believe he was at a crossroads in his life and wanted to get out of the horse business.  We lost touch and have had no contact for the past 21 years.  My mom relayed his shock at hearing about our successes in the show arena and in life.  He had no idea how powerfully he impacted our family back then.  Oddly, it was a missed transfer of ownership from a horse (Tammy) he got for us back in 1988 that brought J back into our lives now – he wants to register one of her babies that he purchased recently and apparently she was never transferred out of our name when we sold her years ago.  Talk about full circle…

Tammy's (and our) first baby, QT, shown in 1989 shortly after his Valentine's Day birth

I haven’t spoken to J yet, but I will.  I want to thank him with an adult’s wisdom for all the things he has done for my family and for me.  He brought a little girl’s dream to life back in 1985 and I can never thank him enough for that.

I hope you all have a happy Thursday and please visit these other sites that frequently participate in Thankful Thursday:

Akal Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch, The Pony Expression, and Tired Dog Ranch.

Once again, it’s time for Thankful Thursday! I hope this post inspires you to consider the things in your life that you are grateful for. If you have a blog, consider posting about it there and link back here. If you don’t have a blog, please feel welcome to comment here on what you are grateful for in your own life. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, then just take a few moments to reflect on all that you have. If you’d like to tag other bloggers that participate, feel free to do that.

A lot can change in a year.  And the time can fly by in a whirlwind that sucks you down and out and before you know it you’re off the track you were once on.  It’s been 296 days since my last post.  Since the last time I even logged on to this beloved website (or that of SlobberDog).  And since the last time I opened my Outlook folder to check my blog subscriptions, address comments, or generally attend to this adventure I undertook a couple of years ago.  This hellish year has included (but is not limited to) the near loss of my love-cat, Milo; a terrifying health scare for me and another for my dad;  a relocation followed by 2 months of internet shortage; Tiny’s relocation to a place neither of us is satisfied with; a job transfer that fell through, thereby exponentially increasing my financial stresses; the final fracture in a relationship I thought I’d spend the rest of my life in; and most recently a computer virus that has rendered my trusty old dinosaur of a computer nearly inoperable.  I can only hope that some (or maybe most!) of my loyal readers will welcome me back to the world of blogging.  The barrage of events that have unfolded over the past year of my life have drained my creative energy, but it’s trickling back and I’m going to try to get back on track with this.  I have missed this blog, and all of you, more than I realized.

So here goes!  Thank you so much to each of you that is reading this post.  Thank you for supporting me and coming back after my extended absence.  I hope that you will not be disappointed.

Once again, it’s time for Thankful Thursday! I hope this post inspires you to consider the things in your life that you are grateful for. If you have a blog, consider posting about it there and link back here. If you don’t have a blog, please feel welcome to comment here on what you are grateful for in your own life. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, then just take a few moments to reflect on all that you have. If you’d like to tag other bloggers that participate, feel free to do that.

Photo by Stacey Wright, Courtesy of www.PeacefulGirl.com

This week’s Thankful Thursday is dedicated to a good friend and coworker of mine and a fellow blogger, Stacey.  Stacey caught the blogging bug from me last summer and has taken off running with it.  She’s not a horse person at all, but she has been such a source of support and encouragement for me in this venture.  In fact, she just called me to make sure I was productively blogging this evening!  Her ears must have been burning.  =)  She has become such a successful and active blogger and is always there for me to toss ideas at or get feedback from.  She has even been a big supporter of Pets Blogroll, dedicating part of one of her sites to her cat so she could join up and be involved!  Stacey is a diverse and unique individual and I encourage you to check out her great sites:  the dark and dangerous Fear Fragments - dedicated to the genre of horror in movies, music, etc; and my personal favorite, Peaceful Girl – where she showcases some of her amazing photography and her kitty’s antics.  Right now, she’s participating in a 30 day posting challenge on Peaceful Girl and I’m sure she’d appreciate some new visitors and commentors on her posts.  You can also check out some of her horror convention/dead doll photography at Flickr.  Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks to a great friend who has been a source of support both in blogging and in life over the past year.  Thanks, doll!

Happy Thursday to everyone and please visit these other sites that frequently participate in Thankful Thursday:

Akal Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch, The Pony Expression, and Tired Dog Ranch.

Once again, it’s time for Thankful Thursday! I hope this post inspires you to consider the things in your life that you are grateful for. If you have a blog, consider posting about it there and link back here. If you don’t have a blog, please feel welcome to comment here on what you are grateful for in your own life. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, then just take a few moments to reflect on all that you have. If you’d like to tag other bloggers that participate, feel free to do that.

I bet you all thought I was going to let *another* week go by with no Thankful Thursday post, didn’t you?  Nope!  Wrong!  Here it is, a little late but better than never.  The weeks have slipped by a little too quickly and as I looked back to my last Thankful Thursday post (almost a month ago, gasp!) I realized that it was also about my intended topic for this week, the lovely Hazel (or Crazel, but more on that later).  When I wrote that post, about the little tan dog I found, I was purposely vague and didn’t include any photos.  The situation was a bit complicated at the time, but I feel confident now that she is truly Grady’s and my girl and want to share her with you all a bit more.  It’s still tricky here, as two out of two foster homes have bailed out on me at the last minute, and she’s right now residing illegally in my “over-the-legal-limit” apartment.  Which is what brings me to Thankful Thursday – the University of Doglando!  Grady has been going to Doglando for over a year now for daycare and he absolutely loves it.  This place is a doggie heaven -  located on the East side of Orlando, it encompasses 3.5 grassy, fenced acres where dogs of all shapes and sizes spend their days playing until they collapse.  I found this place by accident when Grady was driving me (and my partner at the time) nuts, with no playmate and wayy too much spare time on his paws.  Teena is the owner and she is brilliant with the dogs, able to manage huge groups of up to 40 dogs with no problem. 

Yes, I know she's skinny - she's actually gained weight since I got her!

Teena is very knowledgable and active in the rescue community and has really stepped up to the plate to help me out with Hazel.  She’s provided tons of free advice on problem solving, the legalities of the situation, training, and more.  She’s been an ear for me and a tremendous resource.  If all that weren’t enough, she’s been allowing me to bring Hazel in daily while I’m at work which has allowed me to keep her until I get her foster situation sorted out.  If it weren’t for Teena and the great staff at Doglando, Hazel would have had to go to rescue two weeks ago.   A special bonus:  she’s getting great socialization and training while she’s there!  Her “Crazel” days are becoming fewer and farther between.  So I want to say a huge thanks to everyone at Doglando.  You all are amazing people and I don’t know what I would do without you guys!

Of course I can’t leave out the Slobber Dog, and I am so thankful to have him in my life as well.  He has provided such stable energy for Hazel and she has been learning from him (mostly good behaviors, I’m happy to say!)  He’s also doing a great job of sharing all of his toys, his bed, and his mom with the little street urchin.  I am so thankful to have that adorable big lug and it makes me proud to see how far he’s come in his own rehabilitation over the past 5 years. 

I hope you all have a happy Thursday and please visit these other sites that frequently participate in Thankful Thursday:

Akal Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch, The Pony Expression, and Tired Dog Ranch.

 Once again, it’s time for Thankful Thursday! I hope this post inspires you to consider the things in your life that you are grateful for. If you have a blog, consider posting about it there and link back here. If you don’t have a blog, please feel welcome to comment here on what you are grateful for in your own life. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, then just take a few moments to reflect on all that you have. If you’d like to tag other bloggers that participate, feel free to do that.

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person. – Author unknown

This statement holds a lot of truth and the events of the past two weeks have certainly dumped me smack in the middle of deciding exactly which I’m presently dealing with:  a reason?  A season?  Or just maybe a lifetime?

I returned from my trip to Columbus refreshed and inspired, full of possibilities and hope.  The BlogPaws event I’d just attended had placed a huge focus on the plight of rescued and abandoned animals, and the week of the 12th was buzzing with news of the “Be The Change” challenge – a call to raise funds for Pets Without Parents, a non profit chosen at random during the conference.  I really do believe that things happen for a reason and that sometimes things are put into our paths at certain times for certain reasons, and this has never been more true for me than that April afternoon.   I’d returned home from Columbus late Sunday night and had left Slobber Dog with my friend Luke for one more night.  I left work on Monday, headed to Luke’s house to pick him up and along the way I noticed this dog sniffing around on the side of the road in a residential area.  In many circumstances I might have shaken my head at the irresponsibility of some pet owners, letting their dogs wander loose near a busy roadway.  But on this day, I was compelled to stop.  Was it the solidarity of the pet bloggers devoted to helping unwanted animals that I’d just experienced?  Was it the bones protruding from this dog’s spine and hips and the way she cowered at the traffic passing by?  It was probably some combination of the two that forced me to pull over on the side of the road and approach her.  It took a few minutes for me to gain her trust enough to get close but when I did, “Hazel” placed her head on my shoulder and stole my heart.  I promptly put her in my car and drove off with her, having no idea of how my decision would play out in the coming days.  To be honest, I still don’t.

From left: Photo courtesy of www.AmazonCares.org; Right: Photo courtesy of Tony Alter, flickr

Hazel has passed her vet exam – she just needs about 10 lbs (about 25% of her current body weight) to be in normal condition;  no heartworm or any other diseases.  She has accepted the other animals and they have accepted her.  She has proven to be a resilient and loving dog, and looks like she will make a full recovery from the likely abuse and neglect she suffered.  I have absolutely no doubt that this dog was in my path for a reason on that afternoon.  She has ignited a spark that I’ve been missing for a long time and I remember how helping rescue dogs has had such a profound impact on my life.   So why do I question her role in my life?

My current living situation dictates that I cannot keep her with me.  I am unable to have any more animals in my apartment, and her needs at this time are far greater than what I can provide for her.  My situation will be changing in August, but what to do until then?  I have been searching for options over the past few weeks and I want to do what’s best for Hazel.  She deserves a loving, stable home.  I have come up with a few options and I will remain hopeful that if this dog is meant to share my life, it will all work out.  Regardless of whether Hazel is here for a reason, a season, or a lifetime, she has shone a bright ray of sunlight into my life and I am so thankful that we crossed paths.

Each of these beautiful dogs is awaiting their forever home at Pet Rescue by Judy, photos courtesy of www.petrescuebyjudy.com

Please check out the Be The Change challenge and pass along the word to your friends.  It’s not too late to donate to the cause or to focus your own efforts in some way to help a rescue of your own choice.  April is Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month and Hazel has been a reminder to me that there are many animals out there that need help.

I hope you all have a wonderful, happy Earth Day Thursday and please visit these other sites that frequently participate in Thankful Thursday:

 Akal Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch, The Pony Expression, and Tired Dog Ranch.

Image courtesy of lulinhapato10, Photobucket

Once again, it’s time for Thankful Thursday! I hope this post inspires you to consider the things in your life that you are grateful for. If you have a blog, consider posting about it there and link back here. If you don’t have a blog, please feel welcome to comment here on what you are grateful for in your own life. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, then just take a few moments to reflect on all that you have. If you’d like to tag other bloggers that participate, feel free to do that.

Happy Earth Day everyone!  This is the 40th anniversary of the Earth Day celebration, developed to inspire and encourage people to embrace sustainable living.  Here in Central Florida, we celebrate Earth Day with festivals and concerts to raise funds for environmental awareness.  For Earth Day this year, I’m going to spend some time working on my balcony garden.  Thanks to a great coworker, I now have a few more plants to add to my collection.  Grady and I will make a run to the local nursery, where we can enjoy being outdoors in this gorgeous weather and peruse the offerings.  Do you have an Earth Day tradition?  Do you celebrate the holiday?  Let me know what your tradition consists of!

I hope you all have a wonderful, happy Earth Day Thursday and please visit these other sites that frequently participate in Thankful Thursday:

Akal Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch, The Pony Expression, and Tired Dog Ranch.

Once again, it’s time for Thankful Thursday! I hope this post inspires you to consider the things in your life that you are grateful for. If you have a blog, consider posting about it there and link back here. If you don’t have a blog, please feel welcome to comment here on what you are grateful for in your own life. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, then just take a few moments to reflect on all that you have. If you’d like to tag other bloggers that participate, feel free to do that.

When I was in the 5th grade (yes, I know I’m dating myself here…) my school created a slideshow of photos for an event they were having.  The music they chose to accompany the slides was a song that touched me deeply at the time and still occasionally pops back into my consciousness even now.  I can remember the melody and the words like it was yesterday, and there are times in my life that it feels particularly poignant.  This is one of them.  Enjoy….

Friends by Kenny Marks

Friends will go anywhere with you
Friends share the good and the bad
The times that I share with my Best Friends
Are the best times that I’ve ever had

Whenever it’s cold, dark and lonely
Whenever my heart breaks in two
And I’m needing somebody to hold me
The love of my best friends comes through
When I’m facing a mountain of worry
That some people don’t understand
A friend will stay there right beside me
Willing to give me a hand

Friends will go anywhere with you
Friends who really do care
The times that I’ve really needed a friend
My Best Friends have always been there

Whenever I’m down and discouraged
Yeah, the love of my friends never ends
My life’s so much better for having
A life of good loving, good friends
And wherever my life seems to take me
God, He knows how to answer my prayers
‘Cause when I’m needing somebody to talk to
A new friend somehow is there
Oh Yeah they’ll be there

Happy Thursday to all and please visit these other sites that frequently participate in Thankful Thursday:

Akal Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch, The Pony Expression, and Tired Dog Ranch.

Once again, it’s time for Thankful Thursday! I hope this post inspires you to consider the things in your life that you are grateful for. If you have a blog, consider posting about it there and link back here. If you don’t have a blog, please feel welcome to comment here on what you are grateful for in your own life. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, then just take a few moments to reflect on all that you have. If you’d like to tag other bloggers that participate, feel free to do that.

First and foremost, this week I’d like to thank everyone involved in the successful launch of PetsBlogroll.com!  Jenn and Roberto from BlogSparks have done a phenomenal job of creating, designing, and hosting this new site and I really appreciate all of their guidance and help.  They are doing their best to develop a great network with lots of sponsors and prizes that is very user friendly.  So thank you guys!  And a great big THANK YOU! to all of you that have already joined the network and been such a source of support for me!  I can’t describe how great it feels to see something this personal meet with such positivity.  This network has been in the cards for almost a year now, and is a huge part of why I started From The Horse’s Back in the first place.  I really wanted to create a place for all of us to belong.  So thank you on many levels for helping me take one step closer to that vision.

On a more general level, I am so thankful for this beautiful weather we’re having right now.  I hope you all are enjoying a break from the nasties as well!  The past five days have been perfect for riding, dog park-ing, beach-ing, inline skating, and any other outdoor adventures you might enjoy, and believe me, I’m enjoying them all!

Happy Thursday to all and please visit these other sites that frequently participate in Thankful Thursday:

Akal Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch, The Pony Expression, and Tired Dog Ranch.

Once again, it’s time for Thankful Thursday! I hope this post inspires you to consider the things in your life that you are grateful for. If you have a blog, consider posting about it there and link back here. If you don’t have a blog, please feel welcome to comment here on what you are grateful for in your own life. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, then just take a few moments to reflect on all that you have. If you’d like to tag other bloggers that participate, feel free to do that.

This Thursday, I want to say a special thanks to two awesome bloggers that have both nominated From The Horse’s Back for The Beautiful Blogger award.  This award is the very first that I’ve received since beginning this site last summer.  Upon seeing the other wonderful sites that were nominated as well as mine, I am doubly honored to be held in such fine company.  Thank you so much to Juliette over at Honeysuckle Faire and Jane at The Literary Horse for considering this site worthy of an award.  These sites are two of my all time favorites and ones that I regularly visit, waiting eagerly for a post.  If you haven’t checked out either of the sites before, please do so.  Juliette is a phenomenal artist (and all around wonderful chick) and her site always leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy.  Plus, now she has a new etsy shop where she’s offering some of her fantastic artwork for sale.  Jane has got to be one of the funniest human beings in the world and her blog brings me so much joy.  You just never know what you’re going to find when you head over there for a visit!  I especially recommend the Mr. Chips series of posts – but be warned, coffee spewing is a likely occurrence while reading!

Thanks again ladies, for such an honor and for being loyal readers even in the midst of my erratic posting! 

Happy Thursday to all and please visit these other sites that frequently participate in Thankful Thursday:

Akal Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch, The Pony Expression, and Tired Dog Ranch.

Once again, it’s time for Thankful Thursday! I hope this post inspires you to consider the things in your life that you are grateful for. If you have a blog, consider posting about it there and link back here. If you don’t have a blog, please feel welcome to comment here on what you are grateful for in your own life. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, then just take a few moments to reflect on all that you have. If you’d like to tag other bloggers that participate, feel free to do that.

Just one drop can change everything…

Photo courtesy of maddogmarquis, Photobucket

Back in October ’09 I did a series of Thankful Thursday posts titled “Nostalgia” (you can read them here, here, and here).  I guess I’m feeling a bit sentimental again, because this week I have been thinking a lot about someone who made a big impact on my life many years ago.  He was the man that I credit with developing that competitive fire in me and showing me the fun and social side of horse shows. 

I don’t even remember how my family came to be involved with “Vern,” but I remember our first business meeting with him back in 1990 at a little restaurant in Ohio.  He agreed to bring his burgeoning training operation to the brand new horse farm that my parents were building in southwestern PA.  In a sense we started off together, although Vern had been an assistant trainer for several years and was involved with some very high profile people in the Appaloosa world.  Vern was really the one that steered my family, and me especially, into the national and world arenas of competition.  He was the one that found Tyler for me, the white wonder horse that made me fall in love with riding.  He was the one that brought Icy and Seeker to our show string – two equally dynamic, well known, and talented horses that my sister and I were very fortunate to have the opportunity to show.  I could even thank him for Tiny – because he was the one that chose Super (her dam) to be my very first game horse.  Vern introduced my family to so many people and because of him we got extremely involved in the horse show world.  We became active members of the Appaloosa Pleasure Horse Association, regional Appaloosa clubs, and 4H.  One of my favorite memories was when he and my parents brainstormed and created this incredibly huge Appaloosa show for the now-defunct Pennsylvania Appaloosa Association.  They had jackpot barrels and pleasure classes with money added, sponsors, you name it.  Back in the early 90′s it was quite a feat for a regional club to have such a successful show.  I truly believe that Vern was the catalyst that took us from casual horse lovers to serious and actively involved competitors, and he got the whole family involved in some fashion.  He even spearheaded an effort to have challenged riders classes added to show lists at all the shows so that disabled riders like my youngest sister could be involved too.

We spent five very exciting and productive years with Vern before he moved on to other things.  I wish I could say that I’ve kept in touch with him over the years, but as so often happens we have drifted away to separate lives.  I recently met up with an old friend of his at the Quarter Horse show in Tampa and he told me that Vern is healthy and happy and has a beautiful farm in the Pittsburgh area where he continues to coach youth riders and maintains a successful breeding operation.   I hope to reestablish contact with Vern, if for no other reason than to thank him for being such a great trainer, coach, and friend to me and all of my family during our formative years in the Appaloosa business.

Happy Thursday to all and please visit these other sites that frequently participate in Thankful Thursday:

Akal Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch, The Pony Expression, and Tired Dog Ranch.