Trucks are Still Expensive

Wouldn't you know it? I quit keeping track of what my ponies cost me and out of the blue my truck battery goes dead. I spent almost $150 to replace it on Sunday. Even though I am no longer keeping track, I am still a bit peeved about it. Crap. That's a lot of feed, lessons, vet care, shoes, etc. 

Now, I say the battery went dead out of the blue, but that isn't quite the truth. It might have had something to with the fact that the battery is at least five years old and the truck hasn't been started since ... October? Really?  Has it been that long? To be honest, I can't remember when I started up my truck last. I think I can safely say that the dead battery is really mostly my fault.

For weeks, okay, Dad, make that at least a month, I've been telling myself to go start the truck up. I leave my truck hooked up to my trailer, and both are parked at the barn. I nearly drove the wheels off the pair this last show season. We went to 13 shows and several other events over a nine month period. But after out last event, the ride-a-test, which was in October, I don't think I've taken the horses anywhere. And even before that, I had been noticing that it wasn't firing up as eagerly as it normally does.

I finally decided to give the truck a warm-up on Saturday morning. I was a bit puzzled that the clicker didn't work, and then I was slightly panicked because I wasn't sure how I would get the door open without the clicker, but then I remembered that I was holding the KEY in my hand, which SHOULD unlock the door. Sheesh! But seriously. Who unlocks a car door with a key anymore? I truly can't remember the last time I did THAT.

I finally figured out how to unlock a car door with a KEY and slid said key into the ignition. I gave it a quick turn and knew right away that my poor, neglected truck wasn't going anywhere. It was dead as a doornail. We tried jumper cables, but it was a wasted effort. On Sunday morning, I bought a new battery, and Hubby had it installed in I would say no time, but that would be a lie. The battery cables were so corroded that it took a monumental effort to remove them, clean them up, and then put in the new battery.

My trusty old truck fired right up once it had the proper juice. Hubby suggested I let it run awhile so I decided that it should probably be moved as well. I was about to drive around the block when I realized that the trailer was empty and the drive would be so much better if there was a horse involved. Speedy is an awesome loader and needs no additional practice. Sydney, on the other hand, is still a bit timid about loading so he got a quick lesson. I was quite pleased that he only needed about 30 seconds to be convinced that loading up was what I really wanted him to do. I dropped the window so he had a nice view, and then we drove around the block.

At least I know my truck will start up for this next show season. Now I need to get it gassed up, cleaned up, and ready to go to Ventura for the Christian Schacht Clinic in two weeks!