Monday, October 24, 2011

The big move, and Pippi gets a pet!

This post encompasses the BIG move. I will also have to post about the costume class we had at the show Sunday, but I will save the pics of the Blue Ribbon Winner and Daughter for later. This is just too cute:

When we first leased Pippi she had just moved from the fairgrounds to a private facility. She was green broke, had been ridden a handful of times, and was easily spooked. The move there a few months earlier, had been her first, as far as I know, and she had left her companion since birth. The owner of the barn, wanted a new barn cat. Her current mouse deterrants were getting old, and the mice were taking over, so she went to the fairgounds and picked up a young stray. (The fairgrounds has oodles of cats that are fed by boarders). This cat was named Fuzzworth, and upon arrival he left the carrier, headed down the barn aisle, and ducked under Pippi's stall door. And that is where he lived as her constant companion; slept in her hay that she left for him until he woke up, killed mice and put them in her bucket and followed her around as we rode in the arena. Many times he would sit in the middle of the arena, calling to her as we rode around him. After noticing their bond we decided to see if Fuzzworth would like to ride Pippi, and lifted him to her back. After that he spent a lot of time riding around on her, and even sleeping curled into a ball, as she gingerly moved arund her stall. Sadly Fuzzworth was killed the next spring by Coyotes, which left Pippi looking out in the aisle for him, and looking around when the other cats meowed. We can only assume that they knew each other from the fairgrounds.


Pippi & Fuzzworth fall of 2009. We still miss him.
Sunday was the day of the last show, and since we were trailering her that day it was the best day to move her to our friends and neighbors house. They, Donna and Kevin, have and show minis, and we enjoy doing that with them. Their barn has become the cat shelter of the neighborhood, and at present there are ten cats living there.  
Dinner time


When we discussed the move, Daughter and I could not help but hope that Pippi once again would bond with a cat. We had picked out a cat, Target,  that looked a bit like Fuzzworth, and looked forward to introducing them.


We placed Target on the stall door a few hours after Pippi moved in.

Bad Pic, but he quickly checked out her feed.

They shared a meal, as one does to get to know one another.


Pippi then gave him a quick sniff.

Target was not shy about his immediate affection.


Target rubbed and purred and was quite vocal about how happy he was to get a horse.


The snugglefest continued for about twenty minutes, until Pippi remembered that she still had feed.

We now wondered how Target would take to riding, and placed him on Pippi's back. She did not bat an eye.




Suffice it to say that Pippi likes her new barn. She is the only full size horse there, but with her new pet I think she will be quite happy. The mini horses found her fascinating, while she was more interested in the grass than in them. Today she was able to go in and out at will, and stood inside while it rained only to go back out when it stopped. Daughter stopped by three times before two o'clock today, so I am being updated frequently on every detail. College classes give her a lot of freedom on priorities like these.

Kevin loves and adores Pippi, and checked on her three times after seven o'clock last night. He just kept saying "I just love that horse," while Donna was learning every detail about Pippi's care. Soon my posts will be about how Pippi is putting on too much weight, with all the treats and loving she is sure to get.

4 comments:

  1. That is just too cute! WAY cuter than my old gelding who had a harem of chickens who adored him (that was just weird).

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  2. Love that little cat! So happy Pippi is settling in nicely to her new home.

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  3. Amy - a harem of chickens following him must have been a sight. Hope you were able to take pictures of that.

    Pippi is settling right in, and seems to love the ability to go out at will. Daughter ride her around the enclosures today and the minis could not take their eyes off her. The all ran along with her inside their enclosure, and the Alpha mini mare was quite worked up. Pippi seemed unaware of the posturing.

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  4. Oh my goodness that is the cutest thing ever!!! I love the pictures. :)

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