In horsey news.

We (I), after much thought, decided that Jack and I are not meant for each other. We just don't have enough experience to be a good match. So I had to make the decision to let him go. Had I held onto him, he would have either become a pasture ornament, undoing all the training we just paid for, or one or both of us would've gotten hurt. It was a hard decision, but I definitely feel it was the best decision to make, and I am very much at peace with it. He is a good horse, he will go on to be a great horse, and he will make someone very happy.

Dwayne (very generously) offered to trade one of his horses for Jack. Jack is going on to cow horse schooling. When he's there, he'll be worked/trained in actual ranching work. Dwayne thinks that Jack is a rare horse that will be excellent for that work and in very high demand. I'm excited for him and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to have him in my life and bring him to a place where he can realize his potential.

In return, I have a nice, well-broke 11 year old gelding in my life. His name is Charlie, and he's a registered Quarter Horse. (I still can't figure out how I keep getting registered animals.) Charlie has been used for team-penning competitions, dressage competitions, english lessons, western lessons, trail riding, etc. He's a well-rounded horse with tons of experience and I am very comfortable with him.

Andrew built me a fence here, so I even get to see Charlie every day. Katie has petted him a couple times but as yet is fairly uninterested.