An Emily Update

Here is a bit of an update on what I have been doing.

I had a really busy summer. A lot of it was spent working and doing homework. In addition to working as a kennel-tech at an animal hospital, I walked a few dogs in my neighborhood regularly throughout the week, and started teaching horseback riding lessons. I took three classes over the summer. One three-week class on campus, and two classes online. I worked every weekend but tried to spend as much time with my family and Justin as I could. I also spent quite a bit of time with my horse, Brego.

Getting a horse was a whirlwind in itself. I had been thinking that the timing would be right to get a horse the summer before my senior year, so just before the spring semester wrapped up, I ran the idea by the trainer/coach at MTSU.

“I’m seriously considering getting a horse,” I told her, “but I don’t know the first thing about horse shopping. Will you help me?”

She was excited about the idea and immediately dumped a boatload of advice on me, which is exactly what I was looking for. I discussed my budget with my parents and did a bit of price comparing online. Then one day when I was at Justin’s house I mentioned my horse search to his mom. She owns horses and spends a lot of time with other horse owners. I told her what I was looking for and my price range and asked her to let me know if she heard of anything for sale. One or two days later, she called and told me about a horse a friend of hers was trying to sell. The MTSU riding coach, my mom, and I went to see the horse the following weekend, and my coach had me set up immediate arrangements to have him hauled to MTSU. I kept him there on a three week trial basis. The second of those weeks I spent on vacation in Florida. The vet check showed he had a mild lameness, so his owner offered him to me for no cost. It was all very sudden. I had not expected to find a horse right off the bat. Right after I got back from vacation, my friend Katie took me to see a horse she found for sale on Craigslist. He is a nice horse, but I liked Brego, whose name was Fever at the time, better. Under pressure, because I knew I couldn’t think about it forever, I accepted Brego. It took most of the summer for it to sink in that I’m a horse owner now. It has been new and so much fun! Brego is everything I hoped for and more. I named him after a horse in the Lord of the Rings movies. My friend Katie ended up buying the other horse, and named him Caspian for the Narnia character.

Midway through July, Justin left for two months of training in Louisiana. Then I quit my job at the animal hospital. Then at the beginning of August I finished up classes. My whirlwind of a summer came to a grinding halt, and I got a two-week deep breath before the start of the fall semester.

I started classes a week ago Monday. I spend all day every weekday in Murfreesboro. Most of my classes are horse classes this semester, so I spend the majority of my time at the Horse Science Center off campus. In between classes, I walk down the hall through the double doors and give my horse a kiss on the nose. I give Caspian a pat, too. The two are best friends and hate to be separated from one another, even though they have only known each other a week and a half. Brego and I ride a lot with Caspian and Katie. What could be a better college experience?

The classes I am taking this semester are: Orientation in Agriculture (a one-credit survey class geared toward freshmen), Forage Crops, Horse Judging, Horse Breeds and Genetics, Equine Reproduction and Breeding, and Behavior and Training of Horses. In this last class, Brego is my project horse, and my homework will be caring for him and training him. I have early morning classes every day and evening classes almost every day, so I live in Murfreesboro during the week and only sleep at home in Franklin. I have plenty of time between classes to spend time with friends or do homework, although I haven’t been assigned any homework yet. I still teach riding lessons on Fridays.

Justin, having survived the deadly heat and humidity of Fort Polk, Louisiana, returned to Franklin this past Sunday. He got to celebrate Linnea’s 16th birthday with us, and everyone was happy to have him back. He has introduced me to cycling for exercise and even gave me his old road bike when he got a new one. We went for a 20-mile bike ride on Monday. I think between the animal hospital, walking dogs, riding horses, and trying to keep up with my boyfriend on a bicycle I have gotten more exercise this summer than I have ever been motivated to do before.

I guess that about sums it up. I’m enjoying this semester so far and think it will be a really good one, but at the same time I  can hardly wait to graduate in May! I have some other things to look forward to in the meantime. Spending the day on the lake this Saturday, a field artillery ball later in September, and a possible trip to Florida with the Pre-vet club over fall break.

And that’s what the Emily does.

🙂