Celebrate, Regroup and Proceed

I guess now is just as good of a time as any for updates.

Echo is no longer being leased by the girl that was riding her. I had made the difficult decision to sell her. Lauren went to go check in on her, ride her and see how she was doing to proceed with selling her for me. However, what she found was an underweight mare with some new bad under saddle habits. Nothing terrible under saddle, all correctable, but the weight bothered Lauren and wasn't comfortable riding her in that condition. We decided it would take 6-8 weeks to get her to a comfortable weight to have her riding again and another 6-8 weeks to likely correct a few things under saddle. With that, I found an alternative route to take with her. I still own her, but she is now living with friends who are going to breed her this year for a foal to race. She knows them and if anyone else is going to have my horse for nearly two years, there's no one I'd rather have her with. No one.

As for Dakota and I... we will probably be moving. Again. Last Wednesday I lost my job. Something I'm completely ok with. About three weeks ago I had a reality check about the job and some health issues possibly going on so two weeks ago I had already started searching for new jobs here in Louisiana. If I decide to move of substantial distance, the job I had here will at least pay for Dakota and I to move. I'm relieved I had the Echo situation figured out before this hit, one less thing to organize. My lease is up on my apartment the end of March so if I can't find anything job wise here or elsewhere I guess I'll be moving back to Kentucky or Michigan (ugh). Kentucky is far more likely because well... I can actually find a job there.

Plans = Overrated

So much has changed and happened since I wrote my last blog post. 

Last Friday night I had my going away dinner at our favorite restaurant, Jalapenos with my favorite group of people. Lots of goodbyes but it was a fun night that ended with yours truly getting ketchup in their milkshake after drunkenly asking for a steak and shake at Steak n Shake. Gross. 

Sunday Dakota moved down to the owner's house where he'll stay outside 24/7 with a run-in until he ships down to Louisiana. 

Final hack with Dakota until he's in Louisiana.

My car is still not cleaned, my room where I'm living is only 75% packed and I'm running out of time, but oh well, I deserve it for being such a procrastinator. 

Lauren got a great opportunity to switch boarding to the farm she trains with. Echo isn't going. Which threw all the plans out the window we had previously hashed out. Luckily, April, who has been riding where the horses are boarded for about a month, was looking for a horse to potentially lease. Sunday Lauren and I met up with her at the barn to see how her and Echo would interact with each other. To my relief, they seem to have gotten along great. April has a lot of hunter / jumper experience and Echo did all of her quirks while jumping so she shouldn't pull any new tricks out after Lauren and I have both left the farm.  

Echo jumping a week and half ago with Lauren.

Way to jump the standards mare...

My last day of work is tomorrow and the it's show time. Getting the u-Haul loaded tomorrow and may or may not drive a few hours tomorrow night.