Horse Sense

So...I bought a horse last week.

Because what better way is there to plan for a potential pregnancy than to go out and purchase a horse...that needs significant training and 5+ days per week of serious riding?

Because what better way is there to manage the introdution of a significant truck payment to your monthly budget than to go out and purchase a horse...that needs daily food, monthly board, and a pretty new saddle (with matching bridle)?

Because what better way is there to plan for future expenses than to go out and purhase a horse...that will likely run up a $4,000 vet bill in the coming year after he sticks his head through the fence, gets stuck, freaks out, and causes great harm to his body attempting to free himself from this "horse-eating monster" that has him in a headlock?

So I agree - to the layman, it looks like this was a poorly thought-out choice.

But here's the thing: I DID think about this decision.

I thought about it A LOT.

I thought about it over days and nights for weeks. I thought about a potential pregnancy and the looming new truck payments and the remarkable ability that horses have to step on a rock and suddenly need thousands of dollars of vet treatments and chiropractic work. I thought about the money that we would spend on this animal...money that could be potentially saved...that would add up to tens of thousands of dollars over the next 10 to 15 years. I thought about the commitment that this horse would require; the potential that he could become unrideable but would continue to need 10 (or more) years of care.

I thought about all of these things until I was wringing my hands and furrowing my brow and sighing so much that Brian thought I was developing a sort of daytime sleep apnea.

In the end, it was that whole "you could be hit by a car tomorrow crossing the street" thing that got me.

Much like planning for a family, there will never, EVER be a perfect time to buy a horse. There will always be things that the money SHOULD be going to...always other ways that you SHOULD be spending your time.

But I've gone 28 long years WANTING a horse and not getting one. This is not a temporary hobby or a fleeting passion. This is me. This is what I do. This is what I love, and it's never going to change.

So I bought a horse.

I've already spent more money on him than I've spent on the truck.

I've already spent more time with him than I've spent working this past week.

And you know what?

I couldn't be happier.

Welcome to the family, Mikey!