It’s cold today by North Carolina standards. When it gets
below fifty degrees and the wind is blowing (today’s high is thirty-seven) I
feel it in my old bones and I am not sorry to be “retired” from the horse
business. And on those rare single digit days when I am in my nice warm house
and do not have to go out to a barn and chip ice off the water trough, adjust
the horse’s blankets and do all those other barn chores I smile and say, “Thank
you, Lord.”
Back in those days my best friends were fleece jackets,
hats, scarves, gloves and long johns. I made gallons of hot chocolate for my
barn buddies and myself to warm up after chores. It seemed fun back when I was
younger. Then I got old and it just plain hurt to be that cold.
But, still I miss being around horses and horse people. Most
of all I miss teaching riding lessons, workshops and working with the 4-H horse
program. Fortunately, I have lots of horsy friends and I do keep in touch. They
don’t mind me getting a “horse fix” when I need it. I am appreciative of that.
And I have found ways to satisfy my desire to teach through my writing. But,
writing is somewhat one-way. I don’t always know if what I’ve written has been
useful to the reader except when I get an occasional email or run into someone who
thanks me for something I wrote that struck a cord with them.
Fortunately I've found a way I can teach from home and at the same
time interact with my readers. I am working as a Horse Management Expert for
Justanswer.com. People can post their questions and for a small fee have an
Expert answer them. In addition to Horse Management, Justanswer.com has a wide variety of categories from legal
to computer and health to home improvement, each with highly qualified (and those qualifications are verified by an independent company) Experts
in their respective fields. My field is horses, of course.
Anyone, 18 and older, with a Horse Management question to
ask can follow this link:
They then just follow the instructions and type in their
question. Then one of the Horse Management Experts will answer you. (If you particularly want me to answer type my name, DonnaCSmith, in the subject line of your post.
I love that I can continue teaching – from the warmth of my
office and home computer. So, while I am retired from the ice chipping and
stall mucking in a below freezing barn I am still can have my connection with
horse folk and those who need a little helping hand.
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