Shortly after the sickness I met a guy who is still my boyfriend and the best guy that I could be with! He puts up with everything. He and Trinity learned to share the spotlight and really bonded in the process.
For the next nine months we lived in new horse bliss! We had our ups and downs, but for the most part I rode with friends and she learned fast! Then one day, as I was coming to the barn to take senior pictures, she sliced her foot open on wire (though the barn owner still swears that there was/is no wire in the field). The vet came out an inserted 50 stitches internally and 20 stitches externally and prescribed 3 months of stall rest. I was getting ready to leave to visit my parents for the holiday and was so nervous, though my boyfriend stepped up and really took care of Trinity while I was gone.
The rest of my senior year went without a hitch. We rode and loved everything about our lives. When I graduated I moved Trinity back to Texas for the summer, as I would be living with my parents in preparation for graduate school. My mom had been a HUGE support and gone to find Trinity the perfect barn. She understood that I couldn't pay for and didn't want to be at a show barn. She found a spot 10 minutes (on a bad day) from her house. The owner was such an awesome guy and the boarders would become some of the best friends I ever had! The barn was 100% western, which I had never ridden, so I was nervous and excited at the same time (plus Trinity would get to live in a huge 70 acre field with other horses for the first time in her life!). I got Trinity a western saddle and we went for it.
Trinity meeting her first cows!
Trinity in the field with her friends!
All suited up a ready to play!
Trinity annoying the other horses in the field!
It was a sad day when I finally moved to Colorado and had to leave all of my Texas friends. They had taught me so much, and reminded me of the amazing camaraderie that horse people have. While in Texas I learned how to compete in "play days" or "gymkhanas". We had SO MUCH FUN! Trinity loved running the barrels and hanging out with our friends. We would trail ride and run across the fields and do anything we felt like!!
But, I had already committed to grad school in Colorado so we packed up and headed out west. I had found Trinity a wonderful home in Colorado at a large boarding barn. I quickly learned that turnout in Colorado was SCARCE! So, Trinity went back to being a stall horse. We enjoyed the time at that barn and met some wonderful people; however, the politics and rules became over powering. The barn owners began dictating when we could and could not jump, barrel race, etc. I did not like that in the least so I began another barn search (it seems this has consumed most of my life). My boyfriend happened to be visiting for Spring Break and we stumbled across a small self-care facility on the other side of town. The people seemed nice and I loved the thought of seeing my horse every single day! It also happened that there was a small studio apartment for rent on the property. So I packed myself and Trinity up and we moved across town.
I moved in April and we spent the whole summer getting to know everyone at the barn. I met some amazing friends that are to this day my best friends in Colorado! That winter the harsh reality of self-care really began to set in. I was getting up 30 minutes early so that I could break ice out of Trinity's water bucket, feed, and muck all before getting ready for work. What made it slightly worse was that I couldn't ride for about 4 months due to the lack of a covered or indoor arena...
One morning in January I woke up and went to feed Trinity only to find that she wouldn't come out to eat (this horse is a HOOVER!). I knew that I was in trouble and called Dr. Rice (the best vet in the WORLD) to come out. I will cross post my Trinity Colic posts from a different blog above.
In February my friends went to an auction and bought several young horses. One, frosty, was a little two year old Quarter Horse. I was helping my friend to break her when my boyfriend came back for a visit. I have not seen anyone fall for an animal faster than I fell for Trinity. He bonded so tightly with he in just the week he was visiting that I spoke to my friend about us leasing her once my boyfriend moved to Colorado in May. He agreed to the arrangement in exchange for my help training the little mare.
Frosty filthy from a good roll in the arena!
Josh, Frosty's "real" daddy, on her for the first time.
Shane's, the boyfriend, first ride on Frosty.
Frosty and Trinity were stalled right next to each other and bonded in a bitter sweet capacity. Trinity acted as though she hated Frosty, but in turnout they loved on each other and Trinity became Frosty's protector. Everyone began referring to them as momma and daughter!
By June the barn owner had become unbearably obnoxious and the living conditions were declining rapidly and some of my friends moved their horses to a full care facility slightly farther out east. I seriously contemplated moving Trinity for a month, and finally made the decision when the boyfriend and I bought a house and moved off property. The new arrangement is perfect. It has an indoor arena, a HUGE outdoor arena, very few rules other than safety, and is quiet and drama free. The horses love it! Trinity is there with Frosty and their other three friends Deter, Bug, and Dexter.
On October 3, tragedy hit, and thus the reason for this blog...read on...
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