Too Alike...

Ever hear that quote where "opposites attract?" But in reality it comes down to the things we have in common that keeps us together. Well... It isn't quite like that for Ava and I. At least for the most part.

We all know that Ava and I have had some major ups and downs. Ups being able to ride every single time I arrive at the barn to possibly selling her. And I have finally came to the conclusion that maybe we just weren't right for each other because we are too alike. The more I learn about horses, their personalities, and how we can sometimes feel a special bond to one another has made me realize that. I've never felt an amazing bond between Ava and I, not even a blimp. My aunt's horse Poco feels to have more connection with me than Ava. Maybe it was the way I brought her up or maybe it truly just isn't meant to be.

Besides us both loving to go on walks (which is about the only thing that our personalities can relax with) almost everything else is a fight unless I work it out of her. She likes to have her way, I like to have my way. She doesn't like taking orders, I don't like taking orders. Working is of course no fun to the both of us but we both love having a job and something to do. Some of these things are hard to work around because Ava won't do anything about it. It has to be me.

While we were at The Ranch it became fairly easy to work with her. Mainly because I would work her really hard and she would basically just succumb to anything I asked. She was never happy with it though. Now that we are at Sunset Ranch things have drastically changed, for the better. I've learned (from the amazing Mark Rashid) that I need to take myself less seriously, stop micromanaging, forgive and forget, and sometimes just take a break and relax with one another. This has helped so much. That and not having time to ride, it has made me appreciate the little things instead of always looking for perfection and the big picture.

We (especially myself) are starting to have a mutual understanding for one another and it feels so good. Things have changed a lot, some for the better.

Going up in Flames

Not sure if anyone has heard about the fires up here in Idaho but last night they burned around 40,000 acres in one day. In total the Beaver Creek fire has burned more than 145 square miles. We live in the area affected by the fire so last night we had quite an adventure.

Yesterday my family and I were out of town having a very mini vacation. My mom had a presentation the night before and we just thought that we would stay an extra night for some fun; and to get out of the smoke. We had a nice day and got everything done. On our way back we didn't even get but maybe ten minutes away until we got a phone call from my aunt saying that we got a pre evacuation notice for our neighborhood. The rest of the drive home was kind of a blur. When we were about half an hour away from home we got then got another call saying we need to evacuate. We bombed home as fast as possible.

When we finally got home we started packing stuff and getting all the animals in crates as fast as possible. We got everything done within twenty minutes, good timing. We then headed over to my aunt's. Only a few hours later we found out that we could return home... So, we did.

When we went home we decided to go see if we could see any flames. And boy could we!

We went to bed (at like one in the morning, so late!) but had things ready to go, just in case.

Only two hours later we heard our neighbor pounding on our door and telling us it is time to evacuate, now! I hurriedly got out of bed and looked out my window. The whole mountain side was on fire and quickly heading our way. I was freaking scared out of my mind, the wind was pushing it our way too. Quickly we packed everything and left.

My view after being woken up at 3am

Made it's way to the bottom of the mountain

Burning the mountains face

After we were settled we went back to watch the flames. It was burning up fast. What an amazing site to see.

It wasn't till 5 in the morning till I actually got back in bed and didn't fall asleep for a long time. Anyways later we went out to look at the now burned mountain, still had some flames and of course tons of smoke.

We are now back on pre evacuation but are going to stay in our "safe zone" for another night, just in case.

Firefighters are true heroes and I am lucky to know that we have such people to risk their lives for everyone else. What amazing people!

Hectic and Horsey Hooves!

Still nothing super exciting, I've been working everyday this week and am just beat! Luckily next week is less hectic and will hopefully *super crossing fingers* that I can get at the very least one little ride in. Not getting my hopes up though.

Lately I've been Instagraming a lot of photos of Ava because that is basically all I have time for and yesterday I got a beautiful one of her mane waving in the wind.

Her hooves also look amazing, well, at least compared to when we were at The Ranch. She got an abscess and Thrush while we were there but over here at Sunset Ranch her feet look a million times better. We're both super happy!

Hardy hoof!

Breezy mane <3

Field walkin'

Field grazin'

Bookish Fun

Since not much is happening with Ava at the moment I will post a little bit more about what is going on in the non-horsey world.

After much conversing I decided to drop my EMT class. Although it sounds like an amazing program I feel that it just isn't the right time. So instead I am taking a human anatomy class, literature class, and an awesome creative writing fiction class. Even though I am slightly bummed about EMTing I am ecstatic about these other classes. English and writing, to me, is so much fun and it makes me feel smart at the same time! Human anatomy will be amazing too, it is supposed to be a great class and finally I got a spot in it (the seats fill up really fast).

A bit of light reading

Sunsets and Soon to be School!

Work. All that has been going on lately is work. The job can be fun but it is definitely starting to wear on me. I'll be glad to start school up again. Upside though is that I'm rolling in the major G's!

As for school I am currently working on my application for an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) program. Crossing my fingers I'll be able to get all the references out in time, otherwise it is ready to go! A few weeks ago my grandfather, my uncle, cousin, and I were out at the golf course about to play a few holes. I was driving one of the golf carts with my grandfather next to me when he suddenly started having a seizure. In that moment I knew that this was what I was supposed to be doing, helping people in need. Luckily the cart wasn't moving and I was able to quickly take ahold of him so he didn't fall out. My grandfather ended up being okay, we called an ambulance and he was released from the hospital a few hours later. Through the whole debacle I remained calm and knew what to do. So, I'm really excited to see how the program goes, I mean, if I get accepted!

In other non-horsey news I got a second piercing! I absolutely love it too! Another amazing thing was that it caused almost no pain, it mainly felt like some one was just squeezing my ear really tight. The lady said it will take around six weeks to heal and I cannot wait to start changing it up!

As for miss Ava I have mainly just been checking on her and giving them some grain in the evening. I am trying really hard to at least take her on some walks (preferably with her saddle on) so she can still stay somewhat up to date on desensitization. She does great though, rarely will she spook and when she does it is very minor. Unlike at The Ranch, she was quite sensitive to things and would spook easily. I hope to ride soon, work is slowly coming to the end of its season so I can't wait to get a lot of rides in before the darn winter comes. Having a horse is so hard sometimes! But boy... I absolutely cannot get over them!

I think I came up with a name for the new place. I'm going to refer to it as Sunset Ranch because it has the most beautiful sunsets.

How Sunset Ranch earned it's name

Cute face <3

NOSE!

Monchy on foods

Night night girls

Horsey hide and seek, do you see the horsey?

The video doesn't have great quality but it is just of Ava and I fooling around in the pasture. Enjoy!

My double ear pierce, looooooove it!