Friday, October 5, 2012

The move - from highs to lows to?

On Monday october 1st, Pippi moved to the new barn. It was sad, and a little bit exciting. We knew how much we were goign to miss seeing Kevin and Donna every day, and how much they would miss seeing us. By "us" I include Pippi.
When we arrived at the new facility the BO and her husband were there waiting for us. I showed her the health certificate, the shot record and Coggins, before Miranda unloaded Pippi. Pippi jumped off the trailer and perused her new surroundings. She was really up, and seemed thrilled at the opportunity to go somewhere. BO suggested that we let her run around the indoor to explore a bit. Brisk trot around the arena, checked out the open door at the view outside, sniffed and checked perimeter, and then a nice roll in the middle. She was happy.

The new facility is quite small, only five stalls, a washbay, a great tackroom and an mid sized indoor arena. Outside there are two fenced in areas, big enough to roam and get in a quick gallop. Trees, a creek, sloping terrain, YAY!! BO and Hubby are home all the time, so they rotate horses in and out, and take excellent care of the horses and the grounds. EXCELLENT care!!! BO is a Trainer (western mostly I believe, and AQHA), and used to work at a well regarded Equestrian School. BO's Hubby has worked with horses his entire life as well, runs a local riding club, and used to breed Paints. So he was thrilled to see a Paint horse, commenting that it was going to be great to have a bit of color around.

Pippi seemed to settle in well, until I came back the next day when she was completely deflated. No welcoming nicker, no nodding head, no excitement, and no eating of hay. And no interest in her neighbor. I knew she would have a tough time since she is so tied to me, and used to a lot interaction (spoiled as can be) with Kevin and Donna. We played in the arena, and I groomed and massaged. Stood with her in the stall, and she finally ate her hay. Spinning around as soon as I tried to leave, so my visit was extended. Stopped by briefly yesterday and gave her some carrots. She was more up, and was watching the horses outside.
Tonight Donna is coming with me, and we are tacking her up and spending some quality time in the arena. She can not be ridden until healed, and we have no real timeframe on that, but she needs to remember what tack feels like, and so we are tacking up every week. And then doing some groundwork under saddle.

I miss having her down the street, and I miss hanging at the barn with my pals, but I know I did the right thing. Pippi needs a safe dry, and flat place to turn out this winter, and the ability to be out in spurts rather than all in or all out. She will get to out on grass soon, maybe tomorrow, to check out the grounds, but again, it will be in shorter periods. We could leave stallbound, which would shorten her recovery time, but she would be miserable and possibly cause other damage to herself, so we are taking the long wait approach. And that is okay.

I have not taken any pics of the new place yet as I have not asked BO about it. But here is a pic of Pippi from the show where she was hurt:

My stunning Pippi!

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