No words for the loss of a great horse...

I heard from a close friend that a mutual close friend of ours lost her horse today unexpectedly.  It is a tragic loss of a great partner; our whole circle of friends is shocked and saddened by his loss.  I don't have sufficient words to describe what it feels like to lose a horse suddenly; having being there myself, I know it is horrible and there is a flood of emotions when it finally hits after the numbness and shock retreat.  I am sitting here tonight grieving for my friend, and in part myself, because I think we all loved that big grey guy for his beauty, athleticism, and antics.  He had a bounding sense of humor!  Most importantly, I think we all envied the relationship they shared.  He was a homebred, one of the last of the family breeding operation.  They grew up together.  I am sick over the thought of such a truly wonderful person losing such a wonderful horse in the manner that it happened.

Rest in peace, Per-Bear.  You made everyone smile, and I hope you're up there galloping around in Heaven and spooking at being in the front.

I've seen fire and I've seen rain

I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend

But I always thought that I'd see you again...

(James Taylor, "Fire and Rain")

On one hand, I went to the barn today intending to spend a little extra cuddling time with Soonie in an effort to appreciate him a little extra.  I appreciate every little moment and thanks to our little accident last month, am especially thankful lately for every day that I come to the barn and he is happy and healthy.  As one of my friends said recently, that is a blessing.  But on the other hand, I did feel pretty numb.  I had to remind myself to stop and just enjoy being around a happy, healthy Soon instead of going through the motions.  We had a great ride, despite him having the last four days off between my work promotion stuff and the low temperatures.  He was perfect as usual.  It was a beautiful day.  I gave him extra carrots, kisses, and hugs (he only really cared about the carrots), and got to enjoy watching him interact with his new turnout buddies.  There's Sammy, another off the track Thoroughbred gelding, and Sofee, a Thoroughbred mare who has decided that Soon is way more interesting than Sammy is (at least for now) and is attached to Soon wherever he goes.  Soon does not seem to care either way.  But just seeing Soonie out there, being a horse and enjoying other horses' company made my heart feel better.  I smiled.  :)

Soonie with his new girlfriend, Sofee

"Hey Carrot Lady, where have you been!"

He was happy to take a stroll outside

This is the best view in the world

Sleeps, doing what he does best after the ride ;)

Sofee LOVES Soonie

LOVES HIM

I love Fridays off

Came out this afternoon and found Soonie in his gorgeous paddock that was so big I had to use my zoom:

And we had a nice little jump school in the indoor. :)  I just put up a single vertical and a basic grid to keep it simple, because we haven't jumped since the first of the year, and we still settling in here.  But he was super rideable and soft to the jumps, went through the basic grid with confidence and I was very happy to jump again.

200th post!

We're 200 posts into War Horse and my journey with Soon.  :)

And to celebrate, I'm going to post another photo of my horse, sleeping, because he's that excited about you know...life.  And the blog.

Ta-daaaaa

He has been foot perfect as usual!  We've had three rides at the new place, did some canter poles last night, and he feels great.  His right hind is now fully closed and doesn't bother him at all now.  We've been taking it easy since he got injured; he's only had light work and with me being gone during the week for the last couple of weeks, he still didn't really get worked even when he was sound and ready to go.  But nowwww....we're reunited and ready to get shit done!

(Soon on the left, me on the right HUA!)

The barn owner complimented him for being such a wonderful, quiet horse to deal with despite everything be totally new.   We both agreed that so long as he has a place to crib, he could care less about where he is or what is going on. ;)

On the move again

Soonie loaded up and arrived yesterday at the new barn, just a couple hours down the road from where we lived.  He walked right on and from what I can tell had an easy, short trip; I got to the barn as the shipper was pulling out and Bubba was in his stall settling in.  He does very well when he moves, and even fresh off the trailer the most upset he got was calling some (he was the only horse in the barn, all the others were turned out) and doing his occasional little "I'm angry" kick out with a hind leg.  I spent some time with him and he settled almost immediately into his hay net and stopped calling.  He was content and relaxed when I left to return to work, and when I got there a few hours later, he was totally chill and looked like he had lived there for awhile.  :)

The fields were covered in ice this morning, so I was happy to hear from the barn owner early on asking if he could be turned out in the indoor for awhile, since she was unsure if they'd make it outside.  I happily accepted, and was even happier to show up this evening to a muddy pony!  It was great that the staff put the horses outside when things thawed out.  This barn is a little smaller, which is nice as it makes adjustments possible on the fly, and the horses benefit.  Bubba's stall was also bedded deeply with shavings up in this corners, his hay net stuffed and his water freshly topped off.  Those are little touches that made me feel great about the move.  I was thrilled to see Soon seemingly all settled this evening as well!  He was totally relaxed and happy, and his usual sleepy self.  We did a light walk/trot ride in the indoor as well, and zero shits were given.  I could feel him figuring out the footing (which is deep in places), but other than that he felt great undersaddle.  :)

Photo time!

First stroll around the ring last night, chain was not necessary ;)

Awake!

Asleep

First ride

Happy boy!