The tide may be turning......

I need to lead off this post by saying that I choose to be an optimist.

People in this horse community have been working for years to open the eyes of the local officials to see the value in making this a more horse-friendly area. For the most part, it has felt like they have been banging their heads against the closed barn door.

I have reasons to believe that someone has been listening to the noise and they are thinking about seeing what may be inside the barn. Corny I know but I think that may be just what is happening.

I am a member of the City of Vancouver Urban Livestock Advisory Group, lead by John T Manley, Senior Planner from Vancouver Community Planning. I am very excited about our conversations. The general direction is that the city is leaning towards looking more favorably at having livestock (both large and small) be part of the community with reasonable guidelines so that we can all remain neighborly. Allowing smaller animals on smaller lots and larger animals on reasonably sized properties with due consideration towards the surrounding neighbors.

In the county area, I have asked to be a part of the the Equestrian Advisory Group. Just reading the previously posted News Release gives me hope that someone has been listening and is starting to see that the horse community does have a real economic impact on the area. With a bit of proactive planning, it would be possible to build this county into a horse mecca and I think that would be so cool. We have a lot going for us already. We just need the 'officials' on board.

I know that all these thoughts are optimistic but as I already said, that is how I choose to look at it. Come join me. Give me your ideas. Dream big. Let's make this "The Premier Horse Community" in the state.