It was an 11 hour turn-and-burn trip to pick up the new horse in Ridgefield, WA. Mags decided to come along and keep me company (thank you!!) and Rebel expressed the fact that he wished he could have joined me (made me feel special). And even though the day didn't start out quite like I wanted (bad Hutch!! bad!!) it did turn out OK.
I was supposed to use Hutch's truck and trailer to pick up the new pony to save on gas. However, at 3:36am she decided that she was going to go to Lebenon, OR instead to pick up a horse her aunt had found for her. Needless to say, I was not pleased. Well, super pissed actually. But I had already made commitments and people were expecting me to show up so the trip went forward.
I decided to take Flash too, to keep the new pony company. Turned out that was a good move. The trip up was uneventful. We stopped briefly in Portland and then finally made it to the farm. KA was there to meet us and I laid eyes on Cat for the first time. He was a tad on the scrawny side, but that'll be no problem to fix. That boy does like to eat and he'll be muscling up soon.
So I spent some time getting to know him, filled out the paperwork and then proceeded to introduce him to the concept of loading. He's really only been on transport trailers, so this was new to Cat. KA wasn't really experienced in loading and had no problem letting me take charge. After a little examination of the trailer (and Flash showing him how it's done) he hopped right on and rode quietly back to the farm.
Getting off the trailer was a little more interesting. He decided to try backing all the way off which kind of scared him a bit so I decided to load and unload him again (this time letting him turn around) and he did much better. Plus he actually got back on the trailer without too much fuss. Good boy!!
And then he saw the goats. He decided they are the spawn of the devil. Can't really blame him...
Then it was time to introduce him to his new digs. I decided to put him in the dry lot next to Cowboy. He hasn't been on pasture at all this year, so throwing him out there didn't seem like the best idea. Might be a bit of a shock to the system. He's got a big pen to roam around in plus a run-in shed when the weather isn't the best. Also, he won't have to fight for food. The plan for now is to keep a lot of hay in front of him and try to start putting a little more weight on.
Anybody over there?
Out of my way, woman. I have things to check out...
Oh hai!!
Oh hay!!
Where are you going? Don't you want to be my best
friend forever and ever?
He seems to be doing pretty well (minus trying to rip down the panels between the lots and hanging out with Cowboy... the panels held up just fine). Tomorrow I'll let him wear a saddle and I'll pony him out on the trails near the house. Time for his trail horse education to begin.
BTW, what do you guys think of the name Cat? Or should I change it to something else?
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