Well, our/my decision to move to Bulgaria has certainly been fully tested since I last typed anything on here!
Life is a balance I know that, and some days are good and some are bad, I know that too! However, I have no idea what happened to my set of scales (I am a libran remember) when the Autumn set in and the days got shorter!
This next section is the Dooley story which will be boring so ignore if you like~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We started our life here with 4 horses, Indio was given to us by an amazing friend Emma, Luna and Baby who we adopted from a rescue centre in Alicante and Dooley an Irish pony that we had been given and we paid £500 for him from his previous owner Edwina.
Dooley was very much loved and cared for, however we did have some issues with him before we left Spain and he had caused some serious accidents. At first we had trouble finding a saddle that would not slip on him, and after a few trials we bought a great second hand one that fitted him great and didnt move. Even though he was not 100% great with the clients we didnt think twice about the finances involved in bringing him over with us.
We had a chilled summer here and didnt ride the horses too much, just letting them relax and settle into their new surroundings. Dooley suffered the worst and really didn't like the new bugs and flies. He would get very stressed and gallop around the paddock, bucking and going crazy when the ones went around his underbelly! One day trying to tack him up ready for a ride he went so mad we had to quickly remove his saddle and let him settled down for a while before we could even think about taking him out. We did keep him sprayed and special oil which did help.
I rode one day and made the mistake of handing a water bottle over to my friend, he did a full speed 360 spin and off I popped, thinking he would continue to eat the grass as he had been doing, I just sat and laughed! However, he had other ideas and galloped all the way home, breaking the tack on route.
A few weeks later my good friend Audrey said she would love to ride. She is such a confident lady I made the decision to put her on Dooley, I really shouldn't have and when I look back now how I wish I had put her on Indio. Audrey came off Dooley as he got over excited and wanted to canter which Audrey was not happy about. He galloped away again, Rich chased on Indio and got him back, swopped horses and they came back! I am sure Audrey was still in shock and on entering the gate Dooley spooked and made Indio come through the gate too fast and Audrey came off again!
I felt so ill for days and poor Audrey had some serious injuries. I decided that no matter how much we loved Dooley that we just could not use him for beginners. After asking the sister who lived here in BG if she could help us find him a more suitable home, maybe a small yard with just one person to love and grow a strong bond with him she agreed.
After a few weeks I then received a long facebook message saying basically we had caused the issues with the badly slipping saddle and that he was an amazing pony! This came as a shock and I decided I need to speak to Edwina and maybe get to the bottom of the problems we had encountered.
 |
| Edwina said she was surprised he liked me as he didnt like strangers! Should have rang alarm bells then! |
Edwina was a lovely lady and also loved Dooley, however after speaking on the phone for over an hour I soon heard the real side. He had the reputation on the yard as the most unpredictable, dangerous horse and no one else would ride him. Edwina had been thrown and he had bolted back through a busy street. He had been seen by someone to use oils to calm him down, he was on a supplement to try and keep him calm. Edwina is now disabled due to a broken shoulder. The picture became clear. I contacted the sister and said please come see us as I didn't want to type any of this on facebook.
Then it all went a little crazy and the other sister who had owned him and had moved to NZ contacted me, basically saying that the horse was on loan to us and was angry that she had kept out of any details about the issues etc. She had just had a baby and we had been told not to contact her from the sister here in BG. I asked her to show me anywhere in our conversations about a "loan" I had cut and pasted the whole lot and done a search for the word! Nothing!
We had been given 2 horses by friends and never, ever, would we have driven all the way to the UK costing us over £1000, then paid £500, then drive him all the way to BG, had he been on loan! We asked for £1000 if the sister wanted him back to allow us to purchase another horse more suitable.
We could of course not use Dooley now knowing his story. The sister got angry and so did I. Then our whole conversation then was cut and pasted all over facebook by BG sister. Her boyfriend in the UK jumped on the bandwagon and posted all over his page that we had stolen a pony and wanted to sell it to the gypsies! He even made fun of me having migraines! Shows what kind of person he is!
I started to post my side of the story, however it soon became very clear that no matter what I said it was wrong so I went silent. The posts naming and shaming us continued. The boyfriend has 150 mutual friends, the Bulgarian horse owners kept seeing posts, the sister tagged many horse people here warning them about us stealing the horse and how we are con people!
The Police then came for a visit asking to see the passport, which we had had put in my name to leave the UK, the sister in NZ knew this. However, we read that we had forged this document. This visit from the police and the local mayor was the final straw for me and I said to Rich I give up. This made him super angry and he said he really didnt want Dooley to go to the sister here, as she does love her horses but they are kept in less than safe places as many people had confirmed to me. Mostly though, she had said she hated the bloody pony and didnt want him! Dilemma but Rich could see how ill this was making me. Jane my amazing friend helped and we drew up a contract to confirm that we had been his "whole" owner, we mentioned all this issues about him that had come to light and said that NO mention should be made on facebook about him in the future. The sister paid back £500 pounds and signed the contract.
Guess what? Photos of Dooley appeared very quickly saying he was out of condition and scruffy! we have heard rumours that he has escaped a few times and I am sure he will be not getting any special treatment, just what we expected really and so very sad. I am sure this side of my story will be twisted and made out to be lies, at least from what we can see none of our mutual friends cared too much for the nasty things said about us. One great thing to come from this however is the amazing support I got from the horse people here in BG.
END OF DOOLEY STORY!!!
Christmas was just around the corner, and I was ill, flu had got me, I think due to been low and fedup! Little did I know it was about to get much worse! The kids came and visited, the snow stayed on the ground, the house was cold, I spent most days in bed. I fell on the tarmac on my arse a few times which caused intense back pain! Then Rich needed to get to Bucharest to fly to Spain to work, heater went on the car and I drove back at minus 6 inside the car for 4 hours, crying a few times as felt so fed up! Then really spent the next 2 weeks in bed, snow came down hard so no driving around anyway. Chest more and more in pain and not able to breath properly the pipes froze inside the walls and the night temps dropped to minus 19! This was one hell of a test for me and one night I was panicked as I thought I was having a heart attack, who would feed the animals if I died in my sleep!
Friends gave me some natural tips to help me and after a few days of a hot compress on the chest I could breath a little easier, phew. Water was taken the horse in large buckets from upstairs and that really buggered the back even more! Had no energy to light the fire so stayed in bed most days the house just stayed colder and colder. Rich returned and so did a little energy, maybe just living on cornflakes would end and Rich could cook for me.
OK Bulgaria you have really given me a baptism of fire and do I want to stay here? I have just spent 3 weeks working back in Spain which was warm and I love my house on the hill and The Orange House has suffered since I left! What do we do, sell this place and drive back? I did think that was how I would feel when I returned and even that was an epic journey! You ready!
I cried at the airport with Rich leaving Spain! real tears I was so tired and felt awful leaving my business and him! I landed collected the large bag and Yordan my lovely BG friend collected me and took me to the car that Rich had left the week before! It didnt start, lets jump it! ok off we go, it broken down on the main highway leaving the city! Yordan to the rescue again, get some fuel just incase! No its not that we can see the shreaded belt from the alernator! Can we find another one on the Sunday no but we try! I am beginning to feel really ill! Hire a car and drive back, no I am in no state to drive so I get a lift to the bus station, no cash to buy a ticket bus doesnt take card! Find a card machine with a large bag I cant lift! Get on bus sit down in my seat number 34!
Another women gets on and says I am sat in her seat and shows me the number 34 on her ticket! WHAT THE FUCK!!! I cry again and I mean real sobs, I move my bags and find an empty seat at the back. No food, need a wee and phone about to die! Taxi from bus station, friend offered to get me but really am in no state to speak to anyone! Walk through the snow home to a cold house, even though Jane did light the fire that was hours ago! I eat more cornflakes and go to bed!
I stay in bed for 2 days the house stays cold, I fed the animals and thats about it! What the bloody hell am I doing here? Then day 3 and the sun comes out, the snow looks like it could melt. But, the most important thing happened, I felt liked and understood by some facebook friends that I have not even met! I will not name the mad girls, they know who they are. I laughed on chat with them and a little light came on, I lit the fire and the house got super warm. I took the coats off the horses and had some good cuddles! I went shopping and bought chocolate that always helps! The car was fixed in Sofia and is waiting for Rich on Sunday!
I came back to the house and know I/we had done the right thing, its not Bulgaria's fault all this shit has happened, I have met the most amazing people since I have been here in a short space of time. I love this house (when its bloody warm) and I can work from here looking out at my little plot and look forward to what the Spring will bring.
