NEGOTIATIONS THAT AREN'T WORKING

My mother is raining on my parade. I guess you could call her a 'realist'. She is the sort of person that points out that no, you can't go _____ (insert awesome place here) because it's raining or the sky is falling or zombies are coming. She generally think in a very realistic, calm way. I love her for it, but it's also frustrating. She doesn't like horses. She doesn't want me to have a horse. Horses practically eat money for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and she realizes this. It's sad. Therefore, she refuses to buy a horse for me.

I've tried very hard to negotiate my parents buying Sparky for me. My father is actually not saying no. He seems interested in buying the horse I want. But it's my mother who I really have to convince. Without the approval of my mother, my father won't go through with it. For the moment, I'm stuck trying to negotiate with my mother.

My negotiations have gone something like this:
ME: Spaaaaaaaarky, Spaaaaaaaaarky mommy!
MOM: No.
ME: But I will work for you and do whatever you want forever!
MOM: No.
ME: I'll write a signed contract that agrees I will listen to you and do things without being asked. Also, I'll go into dad's work and clean for free, clean the house, and do the laundry.
MOM: No. How on earth would you do that when you have to do your schoolwork and take care of a horse AND go to gymnastics?
ME: I'll give up gymnastics!
MOM: No. You cannot have a horse.

Thus, I am getting nowhere. It's very sad. I'll keep you guys updated on how the Sparky negotiations are going. Everyone so far but my mother has been Pro-Sparky. My father is more Neutral-Sparky. This is frustrating. D:

OH, AND EXTRAS

The other post below was very long, so I decided cut it off and will put my other news and junk in an extra blog entry. This is good! I'm catching up on my blog writing!

First of all, I'd like to give a shout out to my awesome BEDA buddies Dimitra, Sierra and Katherine Hardman. I'm really excited to do the buddy program, and now I have to go read some of your blogs and leave comments! Thanks for the comments. I like my layout too, LOL. :D

Second, I have to report on how my barn's Fun Show (it was a "Mock" horse show) went. I got to ride the horse I wanted to. His name is Radar, and he's a big bay Warmblood cross. He was really good for me, and was REALLY responsive to all the aids I gave him. We didn't place in the two flat classes, but in the ground poles class we got 4th (or 3rd, I don't know because I had to leave before they gave out the ribbons) and I'm really happy. It was really fun... I got the official job of horse holder when people needed to do stuff. It was a great day!

And lastly, I have to go to bed. I'm really tired, but planning to possibly head to Greenhawk tomorrow to look at more horsey stuff and prices! :D

THE COST OF A HORSE

I have a wonderful cousin. Well, I have many wonderful cousins. But this one in particular found me a horse.

You see, ever since I was about 4 years old, maybe earlier, I have wanted a horse. Or a pony. Whatever came first. It didn't have to be a gorgeous, perfect horse. It just had to be a horse, that maybe I could ride. If I couldn't, I would've probably been satisfied anyways. I took lessons around the age of 8, maybe even earlier, for a couple months at this one barn, then later took a couple months more at this other barn. Then, for about 5 years or so, probably longer, I stopped riding. It was a very sad time, and whenever I would see little kids riding along I would mourn for my dashed dreams. Last year, I began nagging my parents again for lessons. They told me if i wanted them, I had to pay for them myself and organize them myself. So I did. Now I take lessons.

Horses have been in my family for a long time. Since I was born, I guess. Two of my aunts breed horses, and live on farms. Another of my aunts rides, and three of my other cousins ride. So, I guess I could say I have experience with horses. I've been around them all my life. I don't have as much riding experience, only 1-2 years. But I love them TONS.

Anyways, so my cousin rides horses for this guy just to help out at his barn. She found a bay (brown, in case you don't speak equestrian) 6 year old Thoroughbred (same breed as racehorses) for me to buy. He's $3,000 initially, but he's very quiet, easy to ride, laid back, and apparently wonderful. So the point of this BEDA blog is to calculate the cost of Sparky, the horse I want to buy, for the first month I own him. (Maybe) These are all approximate numbers... they can vary.

Initial cost: $3,000
First month of board: $300
Saddle: $400
Bridle: $100
Extra Miscellanious Horse Apparel: $200
Weekly Lessons On Sparky: $150
TOTAL FOR THE FIRST MONTH: $4150 - $4500

This all doesn't include vet and farrier (which can range in cost) and lessons for myself, too. So yes. It is going to be quite hard to convince the parents to buy this horse for me, as I have nothing to contribute to the buying of the horse except maybe $40 in savings, $50 in my bank account, $40 floating around my wallet and $100 from my birthday. So I can contribute about $230. Oh my.