Barn Update

It's been a weekend of deliberation. With June 1 looming next weekend, I knew I had to make a decision soon about whether to stay at my current barn or go somewhere else. The way I figured it, I had three options:

1. Find another barn in the area that had an opening on such short notice and that wasn't completely out of my current price range (um, right, that will be easy)
2. Avoid the drama, at least in the short-term, and trailer Charlie down to Melody, Kate and Maddy's barn, for the time-being. It's facility I love, with a great indoor, tons of trail access, very low key atmosphere and (best of all) friends :) However, each trip to the barn would take me 45-55 minutes and it's completely rough board
3. Keep Charlie where he currently is in the hopes that my barn owner is right and nothing bad will happen before we can find somewhere else to move

Option 1 was quickly out. I'd already checked in to many other barns and they were all either too expensive (no working board option) or too far away. Option 3, at least at the time, didn't seem that great either. I really wanted to avoid Charlie getting caught in any potential crossfire and the limited information I was able to gather from my BO up until recently wasn't making me any more confident that this guy wasn't a nutcase. So that left Option 2. As I said before, I really loved Melody and miss it every day. Plus I have the most amazing friends there who were willing to do anything they could to help me out if I would move Charlie down there. So as of 10:00 Sunday night, I had talked to Kate and was all set to go for Option 2.

Then I heard back from my BO. We talked for awhile about the situation, what her plans were, etc. and she eased a lot of my fears. That woman is tough and she's got her ducks in a row. Though she still hasn't heard back from Palmer River (the potential new barn - which is awesome by the way with 2 outdoor rings, a XC course and a climate controlled indoor), she said things are looking very promising and she hopes to hear from them by the end of the week at the latest. She also has hired a lawyer and, through some fishing, has found out that it was actually a friend of the guy who owns the property who hung the fake Board of Health signs. Low and behold he works for the BOH and this is not the first time he has gotten in trouble for doing this type of thing. My BO has a meeting with his boss tomorrow to file a formal complaint and has also filed a restraining order for harassment against the man who owns the property, essentially preventing him from getting anywhere near the barn/horses until we are able to leave. Apparently she has threatened to do this several times in the past but this time actually followed through.

From what she said today, the man is mostly just old and crotchety and tired of taking care of a barn. That's no excuse for not keeping up his end of their deal and ultimately screwing everyone here, but at least he's not a psychopath. She seemed very confident things would work out ok, and told me that everyone else at the barn was sticking by her, but that she completely respected any decision I made.

So I went back and forth, back and forth, listing the pros and cons of each option, wishing there was a black and white answer (which of course there never is). Moving Charlie to Melody would only cost me about $60 more per month, but it would require a decent amount of money and time for initial set-up (-) and would double my trip length to the barn (-). Would I be happier there? Yes, I think so. I'd have complete control over what Charlie eats, we could do more than just putz around in a ring, and I would be able to hang out with my friends way more often than I currently do (all +). Would Charlie be happier? I didn't know, probably...I'm sure he'd like the turnout a little better and he would surely enjoy the added variety of the occasional trail ride to his workouts. Plus he has sexy ladies like Lucy and Pretty to look at, much sexier than the ponies at the current barn :P  If I moved him, though, my availability to ride would be drastically cut, maybe to only a couple of times a week if I was lucky...

Disney nerd alert: this quote has been running through my mind all weekend haha

Ultimately, I knew deep down that no matter how much Kate and Maddy offered to help me out, right now I live too far away to make it really work to be at their barn. It wasn't even the rough board/co-op part. I know we could have figured something out between all of us and put together a doable shared work schedule. But I knew in my heart that the longer trip to the barn (now 45-55 min each way) would make it really hard for me to find the extra time to take on a rough board situation and get to ride, and I really want (and need) to be able to actually ride Charlie right now. I think the desire to move back down to a place that I loved, with people I love hanging out with, was heavily clouding my better judgment. So, after all of this debating and after speaking with my BO, I have decided to stay at Edinger.

When I made that decision my heart broke a little. I really miss the old barn with Maddy and Kate and I had gotten myself pretty excited about the chance to go back. In addition I would relish the chance to have more control over Charlie's care (not that he's not getting good care where he's at, I'm just a little anal and it's hard not being totally in charge). Plus, I just know Lucy and Charlie would be BFFs :P

I think what really stung, though, was that this week's dilemma brought to the surface many of the living situation/financial issues that have been nagging Dan and I for the past several months....I feel that if just a few things were different, if we both had jobs (even crappy ones) for example, we could afford to move Charlie to Kate's barn or a nice full-board place and we'd have that one less stress in our lives. I know we're just in a rut right now and that it will get better, but it's so easy to think about the "if onlys"...

I think I made the right choice, though, to stay at Edinger. If we do end up getting to move to Palmer I will have an amazing facility at my fingertips and who knows how much Charlie can grow when we have so much more at our fingertips? Plus I do like the people I'm with at Edinger. We may not really hang out but everyone is nice and respectful, and no one is crazy which is always a good thing :) We'll see...