Life happens and Lauren forgets to blog about it....

One day I'm writing about Marley and the next I start planning a wedding and the blog goes out the window.  To my readers who are still waiting, Marley is back and I'm so sorry to keep you waiting! 

Marley just a little over a month ago... before the winter coat started coming in and before the growth spurt

Look at that belly! And awkward conformation!

Since we have spoken last, Marley has grown.  He has grown so much that his butt is about 4 inches higher than his withers.  I realized this when his trot started to feel a little funny, not off or lame, but just different.  When I got off of him and stepped back, I realized what the problem was... Marley is getting bigger!  I have stopped training him under saddle because of it, other than very light work that is, and we have been doing a lot of ground training and fattening up.  I apparently didn't get the memo that only Marley needed to gain a few lbs, so lately I have been getting a daily workout with Marley in his famous games of chase.  Also notice Marley's dark coat coming in.... he is shedding like crazy and getting ready for winter!  It looks like his winter coat is almost a liver chestnut color, but it's still a little hard to tell.  It might end up red like his coat was when I picked him up from the BLM.  I still can't believe that was 6 months ago!  Although, he acts as though it has been much longer.  I think Marley loves his new life, and I'm not just saying that. 

In a recent talk that Marley and I gave to a 4H group about the benefits of positive reinforcement training and relationship building, Marley started to learn how to fetch.  Currently we are working with a soccer ball, and I hope to eventually add other objects to his repertoire.  

Finally, I have some big news.  Marley, Mike and I will be moving to California in December.  Mike is from the bay area and we have decided that Northern California will be where we make our eventual permanent home.  We have looked at several barns for Marley and the top two contenders each back up to hundreds of acres of trails and wilderness to explore.  This was absolutely the most important thing to me in regards to what I wanted for Marley, and I'm excited to work with him in a more rural setting. 

There is so much more to talk about, and I promise, it is all coming.  I will start posting once again about Marley's training in more detail, and I will get back to the videos and photos that everyone keeps asking me about.  And if you think I'll go right back to wedding planning, you're wrong.  I was so anxious about planning that I just went ahead and got it all out of the way, so now all we have to do is basically wait until June, minus a few minor details.  :)