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I'm very pleased to report that I've found permanent housing for my two brats horses! Hooray!

As you may recall, a few months ago I quit my job as a therapeutic riding instructor. I'm happy to report that life has gone super well since then. I am less anxious, less stressed, less depressed, and am much more pleasant to the other members of the household. Johnny and I are in the midst of making home repairs/renovations; since I am indefinitely unemployed, I have the questionable luxury of spending large blocks of time on these projects. It's nice. Being unemployed has also allowed me to pursue other activities I enjoy, like cooking. The house is also cleaner than it's been, ever. A hiatus from work has certainly been a marvelous improvement for everyone.

Except, uh, the horses. When I left my job, I needed to move my horses. They were living at my boss's farm. While I didn't leave on bad terms, it seemed inappropriate to keep them there. It was also inconvenient to everything except work (e.g. my house, grocery stores, etc.). My friends graciously let me ditch the ponies in one of their small paddocks on their ranch. The ponies were out on good grass, being neighborly with my friends' cattle. I'm eternally grateful to have such wonderful people in my life. I think the horses secretly enjoyed living there; while there was zero shelter from the howling Oklahoma winds or frigid winter temperatures, both horses stayed hale, hearty, and in good weight. They grew extremely thick coats; the only time I've blanketed them this winter was when the wind chill was -20.

I didn't want to infringe on my friends' hospitality for too long, so I doggedly searched to find a boarding barn in the Tulsa area that offered full-service pasture board for a reasonable price.

And that's why it took me two months to find a place. The good people of the Tulsa area apparently value their facilities much more than I do; I've seen pasture board offered for $650/month/horse. Now, for most of my life, my horses lived at my house, so perhaps I am just not up on the costs of boarding a horse. But $1300/month was way out of the question.

Happily, I found a nice facility that doesn't cost nearly so much. There's plenty of pasture for Moe and Gina to roam. Hay and feed are included. Someone will see them every day, twice a day (in addition to living on-site), so I know if they're missing a leg or an ear or an eye, I'll get a phone call. There's no arena, but there's a huge flat area and I'm welcome to bring jumps. Everyone I've met is very pleasant, and no one has advised me on how to ride or care for my animals. The place is smack in the middle of Tulsa, so I can easily incorporate errands into a visit. There's a QuikTrip half a block away. (If you don't know the joy of QuikTrip, I am so sorry.)

My horses have found a home, y'all. I couldn't be happier.