The Big Move

The move back to the east coast went well! I’ve been without internet for awhile so thus the lack of updates recently.  I got packed up and moved relatively uneventfully; it seemed within a day my stuff was boxed up and whisked away, leaving me to eat off paper plates and live off an inflatable mattress for four days.  Whee.

Soonie had a good trip from what I hear.  I hired Brook Ledge to do the shipment, and was very pleased with the service.  Bubba may not have been a Triple Crown contender in his race days, but he sure is going to travel like one now!  He got on a truck at the old farm in the Midwest and overnighted in Lexington, KY.  I had hoped that maybe our cross country excursions would line up so I could visit him in Lexington, but I was a couple days ahead of him due to my own schedule and obligations.  I visited a wonderful college friend of mine who was showing at the Kentucky Horse Park that weekend.  It was such a great feeling to catch up and spend a few hours together before heading back to the hotel to plan for the next day’s final leg.

I rolled into town on Sunday night, and Soonie arrived first thing on Wednesday morning (right when all my household goods AND my new washer/dryer and couch showed up…three shipments to receive at the same time made me freak out for about 30 minutes!).  I had hoped to be there to receive him myself, be the overly sentimental owner and take pictures, but I was about 20 minutes too late for that.  Oh well.  I saw the Brook Ledge shuttle on the road back as I was headed to the farm (delayed due to the other shipments).  Apparently Soonie shipped on the big rigs to the general area (got a free upgrade to a box stall too thanks to available space!), walked off the rig and onto the smaller trailer which took him to the new farm.  The shuttle driver relayed to the barn owner that Soonie did very well on the trip, was a gentleman to handle and didn’t have any issues over his three day ordeal.  I got my beloved horse in safely, with a Brook Ledge hat and a pen for good measure. Obviously the first thing is most important, but everyone loves free swag.  Thank you Brook Ledge!!

FREE SWAG

Soon settled into the new farm very quickly.  He had just arrived by the time I rolled in and he was happily eating hay (and cribbing) in his new 12x14’ suite.  He was eating, drinking, and had good looking manure (only a horse owner can be happy about poo), and didn’t look any worse for wear from the excursion.  I had to leave and return to the unpacking, but came back to check on him later that afternoon, and he was doing well, even was turned out for a little bit in one of the paddocks.

We also have GRASS TURNOUT.  This is such a big deal for me because I think it’s such a wonderful thing for horses to be out in large areas with grass to graze naturally.  I also think it’s a big deal because I don’t know if Soon was ever turned out on grass, or how long it has been if he was.  We didn’t have any at the old farm; daily all day turnout, sure, but in a dirt field with 30+ other horses and four round bales.  The turnout here is a serious upgrade.  He started in the small paddocks behind the barn, where people could keep an eye on him, and he could test out the little grass nubs.  He graduated this week to the grass pasture on the offside edge of the track, where he’s got an acre or two of great grazing to himself.  Next week I expect he’ll be out in the bigger grass fields with company. I think he misses having others around him, but he’s not complaining and hasn’t made a scene.  He’s taking everything in stride, including the all night turnout now that it’s hot during the day.  I’m hoping he finds a good spot in one of the other fields and has some friends to romp around with. 

We’re working on putting some weight back on him that he lost, mostly due to the unseasonably hot weather we had before we left.  He’s starting to look much better, I hope the 12+ hours of grazing will help him put it back on.  We’ve gone undersaddle four times now (he had five days to settle in), and every time out he’s been absolutely perfect.  His attitude is good, he seems very happy and relaxed to be back in a program, and he has taken the new surroundings in stride.  No spooks, no snorts, no drama at all, he just brings his lunch pail to work and does his job! J  One of the boarders watched our very first ride and remarked how quiet and relaxed he was; when I mentioned to her that it was his first time out at the farm, and that he hadn’t been ridden in probably two weeks, she was pretty surprised!  And of course I didn’t lunge him, he doesn’t require prep.  

We’ve kept the rides pretty short and easy, mainly just focus on stretching and have only cantered the last two rides.  I don’t want to push him now that I’m trying to put some weight back on, I don’t need extra calories spent on trucking my sorry butt around.  We did do some flatwork in the jump field though as a change of pace, and it was very fun.  It was cool to feel him a little more naturally forward out there.  That will be a great area to work in, because part of it is on a slope, which is great to help build up muscle and balance.

I’m so excited to be in horse country, particularly Thoroughbred central.  There will be lots of great opportunities for Soonie and I just around the corner.  And in the meantime, I’m more than happy to spend quiet days and evenings hanging out on the farm, working with him and watching him graze and just be a horse.