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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Can't put 'em up on blocks for the winter...

Business has been slow.  Theoretically I am continuing riding lessons but in reality, winter makes it difficult.




The expenses don't stop though!  The horses still have to eat, even if nobody's paying me to sit on them. It's not like they can be packed away in a garage like a delicate antique car, waiting for spring.



Not that it matters.  For years I fed horses who didn't earn their keep.  They aren't here for the sole purpose of making a living, because I am not making a living with them! Not yet!  We have them because we love them, and they bring us happiness that we can't find in anything else.  Not TV and movies, or sports, or vacations.  Having these horses is a wonderful privilege, one that comes with a cost.  






I didn't get into the riding lessons business thinking I'd get rich off it, and I knew winter would slow things down to a crawl.  So for now, the horses are just eating and pooping and existing.


And I still love them.  Even if I feel like all I ever do is clean up after them.  Even if I've only ridden a couple times since the new year.



They are so worth it!





5 comments:

JoAnna said...

This is the first winter we've been at a barn with an indoor ring and I haven't had to stop. Usually, January and February and too frozen and snowy and March is just soooooo cold. IT's been great being in an indoor for the winter. Sometimes it's cold, but nothing like being outside!

Heidi the Hick said...

I think getting out of the wind makes a big difference, and we get pummeled by the wind on this property. Cold is nasty but that's what layers of clothes are for! This winter I haven't had to deal with deep snow but it's been either mud or hard frozen ground, and sometimes the horses look like they don't even want to walk over it. I mean they're pretty spoiled but I can't blame them.

I won't ever make enough doing this to justify an indoor arena! Sometimes I think if we found a place with a drive shed I'd convert it but that costs too. So I guess I'll just keep waiting for a decent day and in the meantime give the horses lots of pats and hugs.

mugwump said...

Always worth it. Aways.

Heidi Willis said...

Like babies.. eat, poop, sleep. We don't get rid of them either. :)

I love the picture of the nose. Makes me want to reach through the computer and pet him.

Butterfly_north said...

Two weeks ago it hit -12 in the uk and even riding undcover the ground had gone solid. I miss it when I'm not riding.