Post by Roselyn Teegarden on Mar 15, 2013 22:10:08 GMT -5
roselyn sylvie teegarden.
TWENTY-THREE. FEMALE. GROOM. HETEROSEXUAL.
Oh, hello. I didn’t see you there. Are you new? Who am I? Oh, I’m Roselyn Teegarden. You can call me Rose if you’d like. I’m a groom here at Halcyon Farms. I guess most people would call it hard work, but I love it. There isn’t any place I’d rather be all day than a barn.
Oh, I’ve always loved horses. They’ve probably been the thing I most talk about since I was four years old. I guess I never grew out of my “horsey phase”. When I was six I decided I was going to be a veterinarian who specialized in horses. As I grew older, I realized I really wasn’t a good enough student for that. But even with that set back, I knew I belong in a stable, so I started looking into other jobs I could get in the field.
My first job as a stable hand was when I was eleven. I’d just gotten my first horse, Lux, and I was working part time at the stable down the road to pay for board and lesson fees. I was there every evening on week days and all day on weekends, and I don’t think I was ever happier. I didn’t mind the heavy lifting and I loved the smell of the barn and the sound of horses all around me. I still do.
My second job came when I was sixteen. I’d just moved out and I needed a place to keep Lux since I couldn’t afford our old barn anymore. I debated selling him, but… I just couldn’t. A friend of mine from the stable told me about a rescue group a couple towns a way that might take him, and they’d be sure he went to a great home and keep me updated about him. I still didn’t like the idea, but it was my best choice.
So I went to talk to the person in charge of the place, a woman named Kathy Jones. I told her about my situation and asked if she’d be willing to take Lux. She surprised the hell out of me with the offer she made; she told me she’d be willing to keep Lux until I was back on my feet, so long as I came in and worked a little a few times a week. He would still be mine. Of course I took her offer. I worked there a few hours every day until the end of high school, and then Kathy hired me on full time. She taught me a lot about rescuing and rehabilitating horses. That was how I got my other horse, Justin. I have to say, it was some of the most fulfilling work I’ve ever done. Well, I should say is. I still work there on my days off, though as a volunteer.
I started working at Halcyon two years ago, a little after I adopted Justin. As much as I loved my job with Kathy, I really wanted to work on training Justin, and this was the best place to come for it, and financially I was stable enough to pay for boarding two horses so long as I kept worked as a groom.
Hmm? Why did I have to leave home at sixteen? Oh, you caught that, huh? No, I don’t mind talking about it. It’s a bit uncomfortable, but…
Well, my home life was never really good. Mom drank a lot, Dad drank and yelled a lot, nothing too dramatic. For the most part, it was just dysfunctional. It’s part of the reason I loved being at the barn so much; it gave me a legitimate reason to stay out of my house. Not to mention my parents weren’t exactly discrete about their short comings, so most of the barn staff knew and would make sure to being an extra lunch for me. It wasn’t great, but it was all I’d ever known. Besides, they did love me. They were just bad at showing it.
However, as I got older, things started getting worse. And by that, I mean my mother started getting worse; getting violent. Really, I was pretty shocked by it. If I’d have had to bet on which parent were to strike me first, I’d have placed money on my father any day. He’d come close a few times when I’d really made him cross. But the dark horse won that race. Again, it wasn’t anything too bad, and I was fifteen by that point, so I usually gave as good as I got, but it just wasn’t healthy.
I applied for legal emancipation when I was sixteen, got myself on student welfare, and left without looking back. Lux went to Kathy and the rescue and I found a cheap apartment in town so I could keep going to school. It was strained, but it worked.
Looking back now… I wish I had looked back. The next time I was my parents was at their funerals. Drunk driving accident. They were flawed people. But they did love me. They left everything to me, which was surprisingly more than I thought. Turns out Dad had good insurance. Who knew?
I wish I could have reconciled with them, but I’m glad I got out when I did. It was a toxic home.
Sorry, I really didn’t mean to get on this. And I’m doubly sorry, because I really do have to get back to work now. Stalls to be cleaned, and all that. I hope you like it here. It really is a good place.
luxury tax.
THIRTEEN. GELDING. AMERICAN PAINT. PLEASURE.
Lux is my baby. I’ve had him since I was eleven and he was a yearling, and I learned how to ride on him. Was it wise for my parents to buy a year-old, green-broke horse as a Birthday and Christmas present for their young daughter? Probably not, but I’m glad they did. Besides, I lucked out with Lux. He’s possibly the world’s most good natured horse. Even as a yearling he was passive and generally did whatever he was told without complaint. The only issue I ever found with him is that he can be extremely lazy, but how do you really get mad at that? When he doesn’t want to do something, does he pull some nasty trick to get you off his back? No. He does the same thing he does when something spooks him: he freezes and refuses to move a muscle. Irritating, but not the worst thing her could do. On a bad behaviour scale of 1-10, I’d put it at about a 3, maybe a 4 depending on what we were doing and where I was riding him.
I tried getting Lux into jumping, cross country, even dressage, but he was never happy during those lessons. The only time he seemed to enjoy our rides was when we were off on the trail together, just the two of us with no agenda or schedule. When we’d come to a field I’d just turn him loose and it was the best feeling in the world. So I decided that was the only thing I was going to do with him. I won’t force him to do anything he really didn’t want to just for the sake of pleasing me.
Maybe that’s silly. I’ve had a lot of people comment about how there are less expensive pets out there, or that by not working him in a specific field that I’m harming him with boredom and letting him become out of shape. The former I ignore; the latter I tell to take one good look at him and try to honestly tell me he doesn’t look in shape or unhappy. I still do flatwork with him every day, and go for hacks at least twice a week. Lux likes his life just fine, and I won’t change a thing about it.
just in time.
SIX. GELDING. THOROUGHBRED. JUMPING.
Just In Time (or as I call him sometimes, Just A Jerk) is my show boy. I call him Justin for short. As you may have probably guessed, he’s not always the most well behaved horse. I’ve gotten more than a few complaints from angry stable personal about bitten arms when they’ve wandered too close to his stall. He can be pushy when you handle him, refusing to listen and decided to go wherever if wants to if there isn’t a really firm hand on the end of his lead shank or riens. He’s a terrible bully, unable to get along with almost every horse I’ve tried to put him to pasture with. He also absolutely hates flat work, and asked to do anything more than a warm up he’ll through the biggest hissy-fit imaginable. Though come to think of it, his temper tantrums have really boosted my ability to sitting capabilities.
However, despite all this, I really love him. I guess it’s because I know his first home was so terrible. He was rescued at the age of two in terrible condition, both malnourished and almost completely wild. At the time I was working with the rescue group that saved him and… well, I don’t know. Maybe I saw the penitential there was under all that mess? Or maybe I could just relate to having a rough start in life? Whatever the reason, I put a lot of extra work into him and eventually adopted him. I’m really glad I did. Awful as he can be sometimes and downright dreadful as he can be to most other people, and horses, Justin does listen to me. I feel a real bound with him, something developed over countless hours of work and patience. He's the first horse to stick his head out and greet me cheerfully in the morning, and I wouldn’t trade him for anything.
Besides, as much as he hates flatwork, you should really see him when he jumps. It’s incredible! I barely have to ask and he’ll go flying over anything I point him at. And he hates knocking down rails even more than I do! I mean, maybe that’s anthropomorphising him too much, but he honestly jumps higher after he’s knocked a rail, as if he wants to make sure he won’t do it again. Jumping even seems to improve his behaviour. If he starts acting up while I’m riding him, I’ll go over a couple easy jumps, and he smartens right up and listens the rest of the ride. How could you not love that?
I’ve only recently started training with him with the serious intent of showing. I don’t know if he’s really ready for that sort of thing just yet, and frankly I’m not sure if I am either. But with his talent and drive… it would be a real waste not to do anything with it.