I took off work early, headed right home, hooked up the trailer and brought Moon up to the house and loaded him by 3:30pm. Dragged the Hubs and daughter along while I was at it (note to self, they do NOT enjoy this stuff as much as I do).
Took no time to arrive at the barn, and owner SL was there to greet us. Moon unloaded like a dream (he nearly self-loaded too, so I'm over the moon about how he handles trailering even in my small trailer). We walked him in, and I feel like she raised an eyebrow to my shipping boots. Thank gawd they weren't all shiny and new! I just always feel safer when he travels with them.
He stood in the cross-ties nice and we got him undressed and ready to meet his new "friends". Out of the barn we went and down a little alleyway to the field he'd be living in. They have a neat setup where the outdoor horses are divided into different groups based on their feeding needs (skinnies, fatties and normals). Moon is in the normal category, so he joined two bay geldings and a newly introduced buckskin mare. He didn't have much issues moving in while I was there. A quick kick to one of the geldings and a couple of paws. We'll see how he does today and tomorrow. I'm really hoping his blanket survives...
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| The dark dot near the middle is Mr. Moon in his new paddock. |
The walk was a little muddy (the snow was melting), and it's a bit of a haul. I think I'll try to sneak the short way from the barn to get him next time :P By haul, I mean I'm used to my horse being right where I drive up :P Gawd home is a spoiling too lol. Thankfully the actual paddocks are clearly pastures, and huge. And surprisingly the only muddy spots are along the walkway and at the gate. Which is odd because it almost seems like the pasture is a flood plain for the river that borders the property, but maybe that's only an issue in the spring and most of this group doesn't stay that long (most were snowbird horses; folks who head to Arizona for the cold months and let the horses they're not riding spend the winter looked after by the barn. My retirement goal ;) ). A couple were people like me, who just wanted a nice warm indoor arena to ride around in, and a barn out of the snow and cold to tack and groom.
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| No shortage of space to roam! |
She hadn't cleared us a space in the tackroom yet, so we just stored our gear in the viewing lounge. I think I have too many saddles...
I filled out the paperwork (she keeps a binder with all the horse details, vaccine records, farrier, vet info, maximum values for medical treatment and conditions, contact information, emergency info, etc.). Signed my waiver, and handed over my cheques! That was it! We were moved in!
And I took B for a quick tour and she squealed at the sight of all the ponies <3 I can't wait to take her for a visit on Sunday after breakfast!
The place is just as beautiful in the daylight, and I'm super excited to head over on Friday for a ride. I figured I'd give him today to settle into the new group, and then see how he feels about the arena! I really really hope it's just like it seemed when I visited the first time, and I have the quiet peaceful barn all to myself in the late evenings. I know, I know. But I'm an introvert and I love quietly puttering around on my horse.
The weird thing is that my very social job had me caught between wanting to introduce myself and shake everyone's hands, and wanting to just go hide quickly away. Thankfully it seems SL is also an introvert and we all happily just exchanged smiles and ducked away to our own thing ;)
Eeee! Moon is moved in! I started packing away his gear out in the field too. The horse trailer is tucked under shelter, and I need to put the quad trailer and wheelbarrow away too. I'm a little peeved at this snow though. I pick my paddocks every 5-7 days, and everything since last Friday is now buried under snow :( Really hope it doesn't make my paddock a mess come spring.
I have about a bale left of hay when you add in what still in his hay nets. So I'll probably just toss that out into the field. Everything that's "mouse proof" is in the tack room, and I guess I'm about ready to call home winterized! Oh, and I need to dump the trough! I drained the water tank last weekend before it froze, thankfully!
I'm so excited for Friday night!!! :D
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| The New Barn!! :D |
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