Speaking of hayburners, after 45 years of talking about horses, last year around this time of year I got a beautiful American Paint on a care lease.  At first, all seemed to go well with Sly here at the Circle, if you don't count trying to kill a goat the first week and charging Cathy (stopping only inches from her at a full gallop).  He also challenged me at the gate with another charge that kicked up chunks of dirt because he stopped so fast.  I guess nobody bothered to tell Sly he was a gelding and no longer a crazy stallion.  Well after a month of training with a trainer using a variety of horse whisper methods, he only bit me once, kicked me once (all intentionally), rolled in the saddle, and spent so much time with his ears back, I thought they had been pinned there with clips.  All this fun, and I never got to ride him once because the trainer didn't feel confident enough in me and the horse getting "that connected"...yet!
Alas, Sly went back to its owner 4 months and $1500.00 dollars later.  So much for "kid friendly, husband ready" horses.

           Tara took this picture of Sly, Cathy, and Ron on the hill near The Circle of Trees.


Forty five years is a long time to have an itch, so I still have an interest in having a horse on site here at the Circle, but differently.   What would work is a partnership with someone who only has 6 months a year to put into their horse, and needs six months for work or other recreation.  We could also cover each other at other times so we could go away on brief vacations.  If you have a horse, and/or a horse property (or not), we could share a well trained/broke horse.  That way we could cut the cost and the time commitment in half, and still have all the fun of keeping a horse in our life.  So if any of you readers find this notion intriguing, contact me.