Thinking Sideways

When---as is often the case---the path to our goals is obstructed by some delay or complication, Donna and I encourage each other to find ways to "think sideways" around the obstruction.

I spent today "thinking sideways."

I was writing emails all day long. Mostly, it was answering people who were inquiring about horses. For example:

One person decided against a horse she had been interested in, so I suggested another that she liked even better.

A fellow Icelandic sheep breeder wanted to decrease his sheep flock and get a couple of horses. I want to reduce my horse herd and add to my sheep flock. We exchanged emails discussing the possibility of a trade.

A horse trainer/breeder wrote to ask about breeding her mare to Senter, but our facilities are not really ready to host outside mares yet. So I suggested the idea of trading breedings for training at her facility.

A young rider was interested in one of my horses as a show prospect, but her favorite was out of her price range. We discussed payment options to help her afford the one she wanted.

I feel like I accomplished a lot today, even though I barely had time to get out of my chair. I think the most fun I had was discussing trading a horse to the sheep breeder. It was really entertaining to make out a whole list of possible options, using "sheep" as my base form of currency.

"It would be this many sheep to buy the horse. Add 1/2 sheep per month for board, or 1 sheep per month for board plus training. If you want her bred to my stallion, that'll cost you another sheep."

I don't know why, but I just had a lot of fun making out a price list in sheep.