09/23/2024
Barn break up
I had a boarder tell me as she was packing her things to move to another barn- “This feels like a break up…” She couldn’t have hit the nail more on the head!
I remember listening to a song once a long time ago after a break up. It was “Don’t think I don’t think about it” by Darius Rucker. That song instantly popped into my head after she said that.
I’ve spent more sleepless nights thinking about techniques for problem horses, how to address a boarder, what a horses diet should consist of, where a horse could’ve lost that shoe that we’ve still never found, Why Sally can only get on the trailer if Moe goes on first. Laying in bed at night watching Training videos. Watching myself teach a lesson or watching a ride I videotaped of myself riding a training horse. Taking notes the entire video… Going through my phone photos to make more storage and seeing videos and photos of others and their horses, thinking- where are they now? We had so much fun! I really liked that horse. How could he go like that for June but Molly had such a hard time with him? The little things you think we didn’t notice. The observations we took of you and your horse while you were with us. The holidays, the birthdays, the storms we got to spend with your horse. Caring for them as our own.
My point being- Don’t think we don’t think about it. The good, the bad. However you’ve left a barn. If you say, “good riddance” or “I really hope we can stay close” we’re thinking about you and your horse. Your trainer, barn manager or owner really does think about you. More than we’d like to admit. If we don’t check in after you’ve moved… please, don’t be offended. Many times it’s hard to communicate after. The space and emotions we’ve kept for you and your horse will always feel like a loss. Because at the end of the day; we wouldn’t be doing the ‘horse thing’ if we didn’t care.