Wow it has been over 2 years since my last post...CRAZY that is how life has been but life has been good too.
I am writing this post in Texas USA where I have experienced the most snow and the longest cold spell I have ever experienced in Texas for almost 16 years since I started coming to Texas! So it is a good excuse and an opportunity for me to catch up on my long overdue postings to my Blog!
Since my last post we have moved to Toowoomba Queensland Australia in a small house located very close to the city while our horses are still located at Bellavue, our property located nearly 4 hours away. For the first year when my husband began his new position I continued living on our farm and commuting to Toowoomba to visit him on alternate weekends as well as travelling to Texas to check on the Ranch and make sure all our horses and everything was fine over there. The commuting long distances every two weeks became too much for both of us so we decided to purchase a small house in town with a small yard, as the apartment Peter was renting did not allow pets. So the hunt for a well located house that would be easy to rent out in a few years time was on and we fortunately quickly located a great affordable house walking distance to downtown as well as THREE shopping centers! Wow what a contrast to living on a largish remote rural property where the nearest proper shopping center was 45minutes to over an hour away...now it is just a short stroll or a few minutes drive to any city convenience....we are both liking the change and the conveniences but we both miss our horses very much. So we are now on the look out for a property where we can have the best of both worlds...fingers crossed we find one.
My husband is loving his new career and really loves being an instructor and engaging with the young students it has really given him a new purpose and satisfaction with his life and at his stage of his career while I am still trying to keep tabs on my horses in both the Mary Valley and in Texas USA...as well as continuing with my other passion of being a Stella and Dot Stylist and slowly developing a new business venture.....(but thats a secret!)
Why on earth did we get a place in Texas USA and why are we still there?...
I will tell all in my next post! Time to drive downtown and get a Starbucks and some supplies now that the roads are safe to drive on.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Friday, February 1, 2013
Why a horse addict?
You might be wondering how I got into horses in the first place?Why am I a horse addict. It is in my blood. I remember a photo of me as a two year old on a horse while visiting relatives who were breeding and competing with standardbred horses, in Maryborough Victoria. I always had a special love for horses and dreamed to own one while I was growing up and many friends that I associated with usually owned horses or had family that were into horses that kept my interest in them going through my younger years. I would regularly visit the horse pastures that were situated on the Yarra River banks a short walking distance from where I lived as a young girl...always dreaming that one day I would own some horses. Whenever given the opportunity I would go trail riding with friends who owned horses while a teenager and young adult..of course I knew very little but I just tried to go with the horses movement and try to learn the basics of control of a horse.
Finally when after many years of searching we purchased our own block of rural land that my husband and I dreamed of owning from the time we both met, my husband surprised me one day with my very first horse a grey Anglo Arab we called Missy short for her full name Miss Grey. I remember that day very clearly as Peter's father was very keen for us to own some horses and was there to witness the purchase of our very horse...we acquired through a local horse expert. Missy taught me the day to day responsibilities of owning and riding a horse and I began the long journey of learning the finer points of riding correctly and giving proper leg cues and developing feel for and timing with the horse...but I did not seriously get into horses until we discovered that we could not have children. We tried for many many years, over five years in fact and spent many thousands of dollars with experts to find that we could not have children naturally or otherwise and we learned that we were unable to adopt because of our age, already too late by our mid thirties!...So we made the hard but conscious decision that if we cant have children naturally or assisted then we must have some other purpose and there was a reason for it and it would become apparent over time.
So I threw myself into the horses, showing competing and breeding....I view my horses now as part of my family they are just not farm stock or breeding stock to me they are the reason I get up in the morning to feed them and be with them and to play and ride with them... they have become part of my identity now. I have great difficulty in parting with my horses and get very anxious and selective where they go and try to ensure I have found them good new homes with our youngstock when they are sold or listed for sale...I will not sell my horses to the first person that comes along they have to fit my criteria I have set of the person that will suit the horse that I have for sale...I have on many occassions repurchased horses that I was not happy with their situation or if they did not work out with the new owner. This does not make much financial sense I know but it is the horses long term well being as well as having happy owners that I am more concerned with. I cannot ensure that they all end up in good hands but I sure as heck try and by keeping our numbers small we can have more control of where they go as we are not seriously overstocked and forced to sell to the first person who comes along.
How I ended up with horses and a Ranch in Texas...well that is another story....
Finally when after many years of searching we purchased our own block of rural land that my husband and I dreamed of owning from the time we both met, my husband surprised me one day with my very first horse a grey Anglo Arab we called Missy short for her full name Miss Grey. I remember that day very clearly as Peter's father was very keen for us to own some horses and was there to witness the purchase of our very horse...we acquired through a local horse expert. Missy taught me the day to day responsibilities of owning and riding a horse and I began the long journey of learning the finer points of riding correctly and giving proper leg cues and developing feel for and timing with the horse...but I did not seriously get into horses until we discovered that we could not have children. We tried for many many years, over five years in fact and spent many thousands of dollars with experts to find that we could not have children naturally or otherwise and we learned that we were unable to adopt because of our age, already too late by our mid thirties!...So we made the hard but conscious decision that if we cant have children naturally or assisted then we must have some other purpose and there was a reason for it and it would become apparent over time.
So I threw myself into the horses, showing competing and breeding....I view my horses now as part of my family they are just not farm stock or breeding stock to me they are the reason I get up in the morning to feed them and be with them and to play and ride with them... they have become part of my identity now. I have great difficulty in parting with my horses and get very anxious and selective where they go and try to ensure I have found them good new homes with our youngstock when they are sold or listed for sale...I will not sell my horses to the first person that comes along they have to fit my criteria I have set of the person that will suit the horse that I have for sale...I have on many occassions repurchased horses that I was not happy with their situation or if they did not work out with the new owner. This does not make much financial sense I know but it is the horses long term well being as well as having happy owners that I am more concerned with. I cannot ensure that they all end up in good hands but I sure as heck try and by keeping our numbers small we can have more control of where they go as we are not seriously overstocked and forced to sell to the first person who comes along.
How I ended up with horses and a Ranch in Texas...well that is another story....
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Its been a long time since I blogged
Sorry I have not been blogging for what seems years, it has been at least one year since I last blogged..I cant remember the last time... So much has happened I dont know where to start!
The most important news is that my husband of 30+ years is now back in full time work flying in Australia after nearly 8 years of not flying and not working. For those who do not know his story he was involved in a near fatal car accident in Los Angelos while on slip with Qantas that left him almost crippled broken physically and mentally and it no fit state to work. It has taken him the past 7 years to heal and the last 12 months he had to overcome the many obstacles to allow him to get back to work and obtain his Aircrew Medical license which is a very difficult thing to achieve. Fortunately after inquiring and applying to a few positions available he was contacted in July by the company of his first choice who interviewed him and offered him full time employment! We finally breathed a sigh of relief as our savings were almost exhausted and we were both getting close to panic about our future.
It is truly a miracle and I am so very proud of him after what he has endured. Especially getting through the demanding retraining after so many years of not flying a helicopter for at least 18-20 years. I also thank my Ranch and horses in Texas for helping him get there as well, if he did not have the physical and mental challenge and focus of keeping it going while he was healing I honestly do not think he would be where he is today...we have spent a lot of money probably too much, trying to keep things going and every cent was worth it to know that it helped him get well and regain his physical and mental well being as well as the confidence to rejoin the workforce and regain some self esteem by being a worthwhile and contributing member of society again.
Our next challenge is we have to work out how we can keep the Ranch going in Texas to finally achieve our long sought after goals while both of us refocus some of our energy returning back to living almost full time in Oz..... in my future blogs I will describe some of the 'challenges' we have to overcome to get to the next stage in our lives with horses!
My husbands place of employment is nearly 4 hours from where our Australian horse and cattle property is located....so we are going to be spread very thin between the three properties!! Something will have to give in time!
The most important news is that my husband of 30+ years is now back in full time work flying in Australia after nearly 8 years of not flying and not working. For those who do not know his story he was involved in a near fatal car accident in Los Angelos while on slip with Qantas that left him almost crippled broken physically and mentally and it no fit state to work. It has taken him the past 7 years to heal and the last 12 months he had to overcome the many obstacles to allow him to get back to work and obtain his Aircrew Medical license which is a very difficult thing to achieve. Fortunately after inquiring and applying to a few positions available he was contacted in July by the company of his first choice who interviewed him and offered him full time employment! We finally breathed a sigh of relief as our savings were almost exhausted and we were both getting close to panic about our future.
It is truly a miracle and I am so very proud of him after what he has endured. Especially getting through the demanding retraining after so many years of not flying a helicopter for at least 18-20 years. I also thank my Ranch and horses in Texas for helping him get there as well, if he did not have the physical and mental challenge and focus of keeping it going while he was healing I honestly do not think he would be where he is today...we have spent a lot of money probably too much, trying to keep things going and every cent was worth it to know that it helped him get well and regain his physical and mental well being as well as the confidence to rejoin the workforce and regain some self esteem by being a worthwhile and contributing member of society again.
Our next challenge is we have to work out how we can keep the Ranch going in Texas to finally achieve our long sought after goals while both of us refocus some of our energy returning back to living almost full time in Oz..... in my future blogs I will describe some of the 'challenges' we have to overcome to get to the next stage in our lives with horses!
My husbands place of employment is nearly 4 hours from where our Australian horse and cattle property is located....so we are going to be spread very thin between the three properties!! Something will have to give in time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)