Whabuh?

Hey everyone,

I don't really go on FiSH ever any more, and haven't in some time. I don't feel any desire to get in a bunch of fights on the internet. I work hard at focusing on the positive, and finding my joy, which is something Bo really drilled into my head.

A lot of the lessons he taught me, a lot of the conversations we had, are a big part of my life today, in my head and in my heart. The experiences I had there changed my life. Often his words come back to me, often I find myself quoting him. Every time I am around a horse, something he taught me helps me... and often helps the horse, or other people, too.

I miss him a lot.

Anyway, I wanted to set some stuff straight, as it's finally made it's way to me along the grapevine.

No, Bo didn't raise my board. I ended up having some financial situations come up that meant I had even less money than before. I could no longer afford board there. I found a place and I moved my old man to it. Bo trailered him there for me for free.

Bo also went so far beyond just boarding my horse. He put countless hours into teaching me horsemanship, welcoming me into his home, and helping me to open up my world. My health, physical, mental, and emotional, improved so much because of the time he spent on me. When I was able to afford the drive regularly, he would often put 6, sometimes 8 hours in a day in with me. He did not take advantage of me, or rip me off. He gave an immense amount of knowledge to me, and wisdom, and care, and it was priceless. Just priceless.

Solomon did get thin for a while at Bo's ranch. It was not for lack of food. Everyone was trying to put weight on him. He just ultimately needed another environment, AND he had a really rough winter. He is VERY old and it got very cold that year. Keeping in mind what is the right environment for each horse is another thing that Bo taught me. He didn't have 95 acres with hills and a small passive mixed-gender herd for Solomon to run. As it turns out, that's what Solly needed to thrive... lots and LOTS of land with a TON of grass, and a job that he could do, and do well, with very little stress, all the time. He has that now, and thus, is in much better condition. He is the kind of horse who will lose weight when bored, because boredom causes stress for him. I wasn't able to visit him as much either, not NEARLY as much. I ended up having a serious medical issue for months that required medication that prevented me from driving. That meant even more boredom for Solomon, because I could rarely see him.

As it is, I don't get to see him very often now either... but now he's okay with that, because he has a ton of stimulation and a lot to do. He even gets to go along when the other boarders go on trail rides around the property. He just follows along like a dog, in "guard" mode, heh.

I don't see the point of people fighting and getting nasty about stuff, on EITHER side of the fence. But that's me. I fight in real life, to learn to protect, to learn to defend. Why would I seek conflict purposefully? Actually, why does anyone? What isn't being fulfilled? What hole is filled by seeking conflict? Does it actually fill that hole?

What's just fun, entertaining baiting for one person might be really hurtful to another. How will that fix anything?

Just my 2 cents.