Honestly, there's so much content and information available out there, if there's better, you're not going to offend me. My aim with this blog is to provide some educational content while at the same time offering lighthearted escapes from sometimes less than ideal situations. I'm hoping that maybe, just maybe, someone who finds themselves in a similar situation might be able to have hope and inspiration. Life is so much more beautiful when you have people to share it with, If you've read this far, I'm glad to be sharing it with you. If you choose to stay, saddle up, it's a wild ride!

This question is addressed in the Archives section of this Blog, titled "It Happens in a Blink." I did pull quite a bit of inspiration through the song, as it was what came on my Project Playlist (wow, if that doesn't date things. lol) as I finished typing the entry originally. In short, I hadn't realized that I got caught in a rope as I was ponying a horse and things went south real fast when she spooked. It litterally happened in a blink and my world was changed. <<< Me at 18, five days post accident. (with my very patient gelding and first love, Sonni. RIP Skippabee Guard King).

Oh how I only wish it were that simple. I never struggled with Phantom Limb that was painful. I still feel as though I have my hand and fingers and can very much move them as if they were still there, in a way, it's very comforting. However, it unnerves me greatly when the feeling is reduced or I feel that movement is restricted, so I do little excercises to keep the sensation correct. You might be wondering about that first sentence though. While I don't have Phantom Limb Syndrom, I was diagnosed a little over a year and a half post-injury with Complex Regional Pain Syndrom (CRPS) and while never officially connected, it is belived to be very strongly correlated to overuse and improper placement/settings on a myoelectric prosthetic. This experience starts in the Archives in the entry titled "Living Hell." Now that I have that dragon awakened, it cannot be put back to rest. Since 2012 it has been a battle (litterally) to keep this autoimmune attack from spreading. CRPS eventually spreads throughout your entire body and is merciliess and relentless. Your brain literally cannot turn off the pain receptors and the sensations envoked in response are unimaginable (trust me on this, you don't want to). It also has some other fun side affects such as memory/focusing issues, intense mood swings, gastrointestinal anomlolies, and physical manifestations. For anyone with CRPS, there is no cure, only management. Management for most is nigh on impossible, as this disease is uncommon and manifests and spreads so differently for each person. Suicide rates are astronmically high for those affected (sorry, not trying to scare, just facts on the disorder). Mine has been full-body for about 3 years now. My dragon and I have come to see eye to eye and for the most part, it behaves.

lol. Every Time. No he is not. Blue is 100% Quarter Horse. I love my foundation lines and Blue is very "typy." BC Cats Royal, or "Blue," is a grandson of High Brow Cat and is my pride and joy. He's big, and thick and athletic, just as he should be. This horse has so much talent and potential and we're just now starting to tap into it. I will go into our history together as this blog progresses, but he has been one of my biggest challenges, but also my most highly prized reward. I trust him fully and he takes very good care of me and holds a very special place in my heart.

All of them. No seriously, I ride just about everything. My primary discipline is western, as I grew up riding working ranch horse, cutting, sorting, reining, roping, etc. I started Dressage and Eventing in November 2019, as something my best friend and I could do together, as Dressage is her primary discipline. I also started riding competitive drill in April of 2020 (Thanks Covid - also another story). What that means for me, is that most of what I'm riding lately, I have no idea what I'm doing (Thank you YouTube and Amelia Newcomb Dressage for the phenominal inpiration and teaching, and the Daily Strides Podcast for keeping me going). I'll give you the low down on these awesome resources later :)

Yes! I'm so happy to have my new logo completed! I wanted something simple, yet elegant, and I've been playing with lines lately {see my friend's horse trailer on Instagram ;)}. So I decided to make another little horse, but decided I wanted to try and capture my Blue's personality. I think I hit it spot on. Mind you, this isn't my medium of choice, so it's quite difficult. Since it's supposed to capture the spirit of my gelding, of course it would have to be blue! No other color would do. So I made a nice and broody stormy blue. It couldn't be more perfect! I felt pretty pleased, but still felt it was missing something, so I decided to be cheesy and throw in a heart, thinking I'd discard it immediately, but instead I rather loved it, but didn't want it to be the same color. Red was odd. Black was a no, So was grey, darker blue, purple, maroon, brown...nothing was right. And then I created this beautiful golden yellow color (I've been on a yellow kick, don't ask). It was so beautiful with the shade of stormy blue I had designed, just the right amount of contrast. And then it hit me, it's a heart of gold! And my Blue really does have a heart of gold <3 It's the perfect little logo for me and I love it so much!