Sometimes things really do work out for the best, even when
they seem to start out a little rocky.
We just spent several super years in a wonderful equestrian
community of horses and humans. The facility was beautiful and well-managed.
The clientele was pleasant and fun. And the barn offered on-site horse shows
and training clinics, in which we happily participated. We made lots of fine
friends and merry memories.
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| Moving to a new barn means leaving the familiar herd. |
It was all good.
Overnight, our horsey world turned upside-down. The barn owners
sent an email to all of the boarders, announcing that the facility would be
offered for sale immediately and that they would be closing their business
within a few months.
With winter just over the horizon, dozens of
horse owners began searching for stalls in other barns. We asked around in our
horsey network of friends and contacts. We visited lots of equestrian
facilities.
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| Stepping into new stables can be a horse-human adventure. |
We packed up the
ponies and moved.
Fairly quickly, we were able to find a suitable and
reasonably affordable spot for our own herd. We acted promptly, as stables with
indoor arenas tend to fill fairly fast in this region in the fall.
Heck, we had four horses to place.
Although we already miss many friends from the old barn, we
are happy to report that our horses are settling in nicely in their new home.
We are making lots of new horse-world friends and reuniting with some long-time
pals as well.
We are even saving a few hundred dollars a month, while
enjoying excellent
horse care and fine facilities.
But here’s the best
part.
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| LAN photo by L. Davis. Used by permission. |
I am re-discovering the preciousness of the
horse-human bond, which seems only to be enhanced by settling in together in unfamiliar
surroundings.
As horse owners, we know that our equine companions look to
us for their care and advocacy. When we move them to new, unknown spots, they
depend on us more than ever for consistency and assurance.
My young
sport horse mare and older
Thoroughbred gelding
(along with my daughter’s
Morgan mare and
Quarter Horse gelding) had to leave
the herds they knew. They were loaded onto trailers, carted several miles away,
and led off into strange stalls and pastures. Horses they’d never seen gaped at
them.
I don’t want to personify my equines, but I could swear each
of my horses gave me the same look, as if to ask:
Where are we?
Will I be fed and watered in this
strange place?
Will you still spend time with me?
How will my life change?
Is everything gonna be OK?
Within a few days, after experiencing their new care,
turnout,
grooming, and
schooling routines, our horses quickly grew accustomed
to their new residence.
Here’s another
intriguing development we have noticed.
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| Sometimes sharing a new spot brings familiar equines closer. |
Although our horses were never pastured together at the
former location, and they did not occupy adjacent stalls, they surely knew one
another. Now, in their new home, they get along famously. We even placed my
daughter’s mare with the two geldings for the first few days, until they
settled in enough to assimilate into other turnout groups.
And my mare has grown very fond of a two-year-old
Quarter Horse filly, pastured next to her. She even tosses hay over the fence
to share with the youngster.
I’m not a
barn-hopper, and I do not recommend relocating horses often.
But, when the need becomes pressing, it can turn out to be an
opportunity to build an even deeper relationship between horse and human.
You don’t belong to the herd.
You
belong to me.
And that's magic.
Image/s
Unless specified otherwise,
all photos
by LAN/The Mane Point
All
rights reserved.
