Necessity's a Mutha

"You can't always get what you want

But if you try sometime, you might find
You get what you need."
— Mick Jagger

In looking back through the archives, it occurred to me one might infer from the lopsided subject balance of posts that I care more for Poco than I do Jazu. It's true that Poco is my first horse, and I need say no more. The reason "little man" doesn't get more headlines is because he's so danged perfect all the time, there's not a lot left to say! Jaz has his moments — don't they all? — but he's a great teacher and I would have given up long ago it it weren't for his sweet, patient ways. Not to mention that he's a character, and just a hoot! I am privileged to own him.

Poco gets the headlines not in a cover-of-Rolling-Stone kind of way, but in a National-Enquirer-scandal-du-jour kind of way. Continually raising the bar, he has forced me to keep stepping outside my comfort zone to keep up with him, for which I am grudgingly grateful. Jaz is smart, but Poco is smart in a different way. Poco is ... clever. He seems to be very much in his own head — you can almost see the wheels turning. He is easily bored and his (warning: imminent anthropomorphism) mantra is, "What's in it for me? Can it please be food and can I trick you out of it instead of actually having to do something to get it? Oh hell, just give me the damn cookie!"

I am always looking for ways to interact with Poco on the ground that are easy for me and engaging for him. Sometimes I make little obstacle courses that I walk him through — stuff like that. I have been very successful driving him, but I have yet to grasp the finesse of longeing. I keep saying I want a lesson from Heather and Nita, but when we get together, we always end up doing something else more fun. I don't have a lot of time these days to spend with the horses, and I want it to be quality time. I thought long and hard about buying the Parelli Success Series DVDs, but I simply can't afford it. And I absolutely refuse to pay for their implements. That said, I gritted my teeth and bought the Seven Games DVD.

As I began to watch it, I realized I was going to need similar tools. Armed with the confidence of one who passes probably six good tack shops on my way home, I left work a few minutes early yesterday and headed to Candyland, aka Paul Taylor's. I spent about 40-45 minutes digging around and here's what I found:

*Prices taken from a flier I got when we saw them in Fort Worth (regular prices, not Savvy Club prices). As Emeril Lagasse says, "Hey, I don't make this stuff up."

Lest you think I'm bashing them in any way, let me reiterate that my background in marketing makes me admire the empire the Parelli's have built. More power to 'em, and to those who can afford their stuff — I can't. I think I did a pretty darn good job of finding substitutes to make this work without breaking the freakin' bank!

And sorry, but I couldn't let this go without mention. This is a replacement closure on the Parelli 12-ft., 22-ft., and 45-ft. lines. The line I bought has one just like it. They want $26.60 ($19.95 for Savvy Club members). Paul Taylor price: about $2. If you have any of the Parelli lines and this breaks, send me $5 and I'll be glad to mail you a replacement.

I had hoped to get out there today and put all this to the test, but I tweaked my back somehow. I have no idea how or even when (middle age BLOWS) but I know my body well enough to take it easy today and maybe it will be good enough to play tomorrow.