The Smurf

Have you seen my horse trailer? You know, the one I refuse to put my horses in?

Granted, the frame is sturdy. I have hauled horses in it before. I don't have pictures of it (too ashamed) but a google images search found me one just like it. Like, it could be its twin:

It's even the same blue. 

We call it "The Smurf."

Here's why I hate it:

1.) Lost title. Granted, lots of horse trailers have missing titles, but I am paranoid. I did call the DMV and apparently the way to get a title is to haul it back up to WA (we got it in Vancouver), have WSP's Vin inspector try to get the vin off of it (I tried. It's not legible. It's all rusted off. I can make out maybe 2 characters.) If they can't read the vin, they have to assign it a new one. HUGE pain in the ass, and probably a lot of money to get done.

2.) Only 2 of the 5 tires (including the spare) are actual trailer tires rated for that amount of weight. The rest are "economy car" tires. The Les Schwab guy warned me that they aren't rated for horse trailers. I could only afford to replace the two that weren't holding air at that time, so that's why 2 of them are nice. I obsess over it when I have a horse in their. I have visions of tire blowouts. Eventually I would like to get ALL of the tires switched over to the correct type. But seeing as how the trailer itself was only $500, and each tire is about $150, I am having a hard time justifying the cost. So my game plan was to replace them one at a time as the rest of the car tires died a slow death. It is currently sitting with 2 flats. One on the trailer, and my spare is flat (well, the actual "spare" is on the trailer... to replace the flat one...) Yeah, I still don't have money to get new tires.

3.) The wiring went out last year, and Katie's non-mechanically-inclined stepdad attempted to re-wire it. It's Jimmy-rigged somehow. Not sure how. Enough said. 

4.) I re-did the floors myself. It's sturdy as hell. They don't make steel trailers like they used to. I *do* like that it's small enough that it's lightweight and well built, but there is a spot on the inside that has been so rusted that I can see daylight through it. It's where the front of the manger meets the floor (by where the horses' front feet would go). When I was replacing the floor, we found out that it isn't a structural weight bearing thing, so it's still technically safe. But it freaks me the fuck out. I shouldn't be able to see the ground from the inside of the trailer. I want someone to weld it back together. I'm anal-retentive like that

5.) I find it embarrassing to bring anywhere. Can you imagine how humiliating it is to show up to a horse show with The Smurf? And park it in the middle of a sea of beautiful, shiny, white trailers? I know, it's a silly reason to hate that thing. But look at this one:

Oh yes, that's the same effing trailer as the one above. From the same website. Someone showing their restoration project. I LOVE it!! They did a good job. I wouldn't mind bringing that thing to a horse show. And it kills me that it's the same goddamn trailer. [Insert: whiny voice] I want MY trailer to look that nice! I would be a badass showing up to a show in this!

(I'll admit, at first I wasn't a fan of the red interior, but it's really growing on me- looks neat and sporty. But due to horses not liking loading into dark places, I would only want it if the interior light got fixed. See #3, above.)

Sooo... my big debate now is: would this much of a project be worth keeping? It is structurally sound. It's paid for. It's not a horrible trailer.... Deep down I kinda *like* working on projects... Just don't tell anyone- I think I'm part guy in that respect... But oh, yeah, I'm poor. 

Sometimes things have to fall apart...

... before they can be put back together again. :-)

So my life for the last few months has been seriously messed up. Unemployed, unemployment insurance ran out, still unemployed, The Boy is being an asshole, I have 4 horses to feed, blah blah blah.

In the last two weeks, the following wonderful things have happened:

1.) I have someone interested in the pony. :-) She already came out to meet her, but there was a Christmas party happening in the arena, so she couldn't ride. She's coming out tomorrow to take her for a test spin. I really like this person, and I hope she taking the Drama Llama! One less equid for me to pay for...

2.) I have an interview tomorrow for a full-time job. Granted, it's Loss Prevention, which I DO NOT want to do again, but I need a job. That pays. Money. This one will, and it comes complete with benefits, too. I could do it in my sleep, and there is no contract saying that I have to stay there if the perfect surgical tech position comes along. It's a great job for my "in the meantime."

3.) Speaking of which, I also had an interview at Good Samaritan for a part-time surg. tech position (well, an OB tech position, but a foot in the door!). Just 2 overnight shifts a week, which I could easily do in conjunction with the LP job (LP agents are notorious for writing their own schedules). They even called back and told me they were very interested and asked me to re-apply after they had some union issues with the job posting and had to re-post the position. So that's a good sign. REALLY crossing fingers on that one!

4.) The Boy is still locked in his own little world at the moment (okay, that's not a GOOD thing, but hey, we can't win them all). I did, however, manage to royally piss off his borderline-psychotic soon-to-be-ex-wife, so that made my whole week better. But that is another blog for another day... bwahahaha.

5.) I had a great ride today on Stretch. We worked on really prompt walk/trot transitions with some whoas thrown in for funsies. He did great. He also let me know that he is not terribly comfortable being ridden away from the wall. I acknowledged that, and asked him to try anyway. He was a good sport about it, even if he was worried. We took it slow and got a few rein changes across the diagonal. To the asshole trainer who rode him in Texas: you're a moron. This horse plainly tells you when he doesn't like something. Just listen to him. He is not a dangerous horse. He's a baby. When he hesitates and then starts tossing his head, it means he's worried. I figured that out in, oh, about 2 seconds and you, Mr. Amazing Trainer, couldn't figure it out before he launched your stupid ass? You deserved it.

So here's hoping that everything works out the way I would like them to... It has certainly been a promising start!

PS- It's 1:30 in the AM and I am NOT proofreading this, so I apologize in advance for all grammatical errors that surely occur when one is sleep-deprived.