Hey guys! I'm sorry I've not been around as much as I usually am, but now that it's warming up, spring is here and the weather is beautiful, I've been ridiculously busy! I not only have a beautiful new show horse as a gift from my grandparents, but I've also been working a lot! I got a new job working at Whispering Pines Equestrian Center which is actually pretty incredible! I'm a stablehand/horse exerciser and once I get in enough time with the horses, I'll be able to start helping train them as well which is really awesome and will be tons of fun! I'm also going to be possibly getting a part time job working Victoria's Secret with my dad's girlfriend, so that'll bring in some nice, extra cash! It's a fuckload better than what I was making at Carson's, I'll tell you that! I enjoy working at Whispering Pines and I'm going to be getting in a lot of time riding and conditioning my new horse!

New horse you say? Why yes! His name is Royals Eagle aka Lightning. He's a purebred Arabian gelding, and he is honestly the most amazing horse I've had in a very very long time. He comes pretty close to my old mare, Ginger, who passed from a dangerous bout of colic 5 years ago. I've been around and ridden many horses, and never have I had such a connection on how I do with Lightning. Even the one I had awhile ago, Sugar. She was a Quarter Horse and sweet, but I just didn't connect with her like I did my old mare and like I am with Lightning. There's something about him and me. He comes to me, he shows me affection, when we ride, it's like we're one. There's nothing like a bond between a horse and his rider, and it's amazing what I have with Lightning. I'm not really sure how to explain it.

He has that true Arab spirit about him and he loves to act like a colt and roll and run and play and buck and kick when he's outside or in the arena, but when you're on his back he is the most loving, gentle, smooth-gaited horse I have ever ridden. I don't feel like I'm being jostled to death in the saddle when we trot and canter, and the power behind his gallop is just incredible. He's a smaller horse because Arabs are in fact a smaller breed, but his strides are incredible. For an Arab, he's pretty long-legged, standing at 15 hands high. He rides both Western and English so I can ride him for pleasure, on the trails and I can show him as well. I'm going to start training with my boss, Dena, at Whispering Pines next month for some upcoming Dressage shows which is really exciting!

In other news, my 8 yr old son, Logan, will be out of school on May 23rd, and he's interested in getting on Lightning and learning how to ride him. I think that's pretty awesome and very exciting for my boy, and my nephew? lol Wyatt is 3 years old, and I took him out to the stables with me to meet Lightning and the boy is hooked. He's also eager to ride my horse. Lightning is not only a show horse/pleasure horse but he is also a children's horse. He's very used to having children climbing all over his back and he never flinches,  never sidesteps or backs up when you're mounting and/or dismounting. He's honestly a true dream when you ride him. A blind girl took lessons on him for 2 years and she started out at 9 years old if that tells you anything.

Ummm let's see... what else... There's really not too much left going on in the world of Mandi. My mom is working on trying to get a job transfer down here so she can move back home and be with us. She lives all the way out near Davenport, IA so she's a good, long way away! About 7 hours I believe. So, keep your fingers crossed that she can get moved back home! She's really alone out there and doesn't really have anybody. She needs to get back here! Oh! I'm sure some of you may remember awhile back my husband sustained a pretty harsh work injury. We've been to physical therapists, orthopedic specialists and now a neurologist. He has three discs in his vertebrae that are protruding outward and pressing into his spinal cord causing him immense pain.

The doctor is trying to exhaust all other options before he has surgery, but it's looking more and more like surgery. The neurologist has pretty much stated it's neurological because sometimes Dave said he feels like his legs disappear out from underneath him and he falls. I've seen it happen. He is constantly in pain unless he's doped up on pain medication which he's getting sick of and he had a really bad breakdown not too long ago because of how hard and frustrating this is for him. He's on workman's comp and his company is paying for the doctors, but this still isn't easy for him. He's been a working man since he and I got married and has never slowed down. It just breaks my heart honestly to see him like this. So, if anybody could give us some positive, healing vibes, well wishes and prayers, it would mean the world to us! So yeah, that's pretty much everything that's happening in the world of Mandi right now lol! I'll part this journal with some videos and pics of my horse!

Here are a couple of video clips of my horse (ignore my atrocious voice *hides*) :

[link]
and
[link]

Here's some photos of me and him:
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]

Enjoy and take care everybody! Much love to you all!