Rodney Goes Places!
On days 2 and 4 of our Thanksgiving adventure, Rodney loaded, shipped, and returned home with ears up and four on the floor. Yay!
Milton learned to be the one staying behind. He did not have the run of the pasture, but – as far as we can tell from the lack of horse sweat and the lack of churned up stall – he mostly stood about eating hay and napping. He did not start screaming until we began unloading. He makes more noise when I put him in the stall and take Rodney for a walk around the pasture.
Gold stars all around.
Rodney Is A Twerp!
The first day, I rode Rodney in the covered ring at a walk. Every two or three strides, I had to remind him to keep his eyes in the boat, not staring over the horizon. The second day, we didn’t even get that far. He decided that the horses in the next pasture where is newest bestest forever friends. It took 10 minutes of long-lining to get Rodney to even pay attention.
However.
Rodney was NOT being a special snowflake. Everything he did was typical of a horse excited to visit a new place. All of his attention was outward. Horses! Smells! More Horses! Grass! Other Horses!
He never thought about retreating into himself or about putting his hooves over his ears and going to his happy place. That, in its way, is also progress.
In Other News!
Since I have done a lot of body work with Rodney, I am familiar with his patterns of tightness and relaxation. I could feel how he used the muscles through his waist for balancing on the trailer.
Milton discovered that the only thing worse than going is not going.
It’s great to have a facility we can use so close to home, with such understanding management. OTOH, it does mean loading up each time we want to work a horse. I keep balancing the hassle of building and maintaining our own versus wondering how long we will need the rings before these two can work successfully at home.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Virtual Brush Box 
Yay!
I’m on my third time (and place) winter boarding so I can ride during the lousy New England weather. All I can say is that after having my horses at home my entire life, going elsewhere is NEVER ideal. Some women fantasize about nice clothes, pretty jewelry, perfect vacations or dream houses. I fantasize about having an indoor. Even a small one. I HATE having my horse off property and no matter how many times I tell myself I’m there for the amenities, I’m never happy. I honestly don’t know how people do it full time. And shipping out would run a close second. I just don’t have the wherewithal for everything that entails. So kudos to you for getting ‘er done!
My horses were always boarded because I lived in a suburban neighborhood and the neighbors would have objected. 🙂 I’m sure I would have spent more time with them if they were right in my backyard. At least it was only 5 miles away.
I sometimes wonder if one is better off never having had them at home? A lifetime of doing it myself (AKA: Doing it my way) means a bit of tooth-grinding when you have to go elsewhere. And yes, it significantly reduces the daily interaction. Where I’m currently boarding I clean my horse’s stall daily because they’ll give me a little off the un-Godly monthly fee. (Cough/gasp) Sometimes I’ll bring him in while I’m mucking because it’ gives us a bit more hang time together. This barn is a 20 mile, 35 minute drive (one-way) on a clear day if there’s no traffic. That’s not ideal by any means!
Don’t think I could deal with that distance! I was lucky to have a barn so close.
Yes, having had horses at home I would be a horrible boarder. I LOVE being able to wander up to check on them or sit with them. OTOH, while I dislike the time commitment, I don’t mind the shipping per se. Our goal is to go to shows, some quite far away. Many short trips are turning Milton into quite a good shipper. Let’s hope they do the same for Rodney.