First, I'm having a welling up, emotional moment--all of you are so damn supportive. Thank you.

Second, I fed the Black Gelding (as my husband likes to call him) in my jammies this morning! He arrived on Monday, and by Friday, I'm out in his paddock, picking poop up and pouring out grain in poodle-covered flannel jammie bottoms. My husband was laughing at me, but Pantoum didn't mind at all! He was just glad to have the attention.

Third, 4Horses, I hadn't thought of the very real possibility that all of those things could go wrong at a boarding barn. Duh, huh? I guess I always think that everyone else is smarter than me about horses, so my horse is perfectly safe in someone else's hands.

Fourth, KG349, I'm already seeing the benefit of having me and horse time that's uninterrupted. I suffer from severe (SEVERE) stage fright. I mean, it's debilitating. So, at the boarding barn, if anyone is watching me do anything with the horse, I'm a complete moron. I drop things. I make stupid mistakes. I trip over my own feet. And I quake inside. I know other people think I'm an awful rider and incompetent, but then when I'm alone, I have moments like tonight during which I am able to navigate "stuff" pretty well. It was super windy, and Pan was definitely keyed up, but we worked through it. If I can focus (which requires feeling like no one is watching me), I can be an OK horsewoman. Finally, lokilola, I'll post a couple pics tomorrow. He's soooooo cute. Little but cute. His one big vice is that he's been historically hard to catch, but we're already working through it. It's amazing what positive, loving attention and a bucket of low-NSC feed twice a day will do. :-)