Originally when I officially bought Stormy, the plan was to keep her at Terrie's until the 20th of December, at which point we would bring her home. This was because both our family and Terrie's family were busy until that time. I boarded her at Terrie's, but when the 20th rolled around, both farms had been faced with a snow storm and we weren't able to venture out to trailer her over. We ended up having to wait until the 22nd to go out to Riner, but once we did, she loaded and traveled like a champ.
Upon her arrival, Woody, Teddy, and Charlotte were gathered at the fence, waiting to see what the latest trailer excursion had brought back to their farm. After unloading just as well, she spent couple minutes surveying her surroundings before we brought her into the rest of the herd. There was still melting snow on the ground, so it was very slick out, but thankfully the horses didn't feel the need to run around a whole lot. She settled into the new herd quickly, and the only disturbance was with Charlotte trying to figure out pecking order.
Come next morning, Stormy was even more relaxed in her new environment, so I ended up taking her for a walk down our driveway and in our hayfield. She was in tune with me the whole time, and didn't seem worried about being away from her new friends. When we got back to the field I hopped on her bareback and rode her around some in the field, and besides being a little pushy through the halter (I rode her in a halter rather than her bridle), she handled that well too.
I rode her again a couple days later bareback, and we ended up venturing our into the world outside the fence. I rode her down the driveway some, along with in our yard a bit. She did well again, but she did seem more distracted than in her previous ride.
This past Saturday, Mom and I both went out to ride, and boy was that fun! We tacked up Stormy and Woody, mounted up, and headed out. We went down the driveway, back through the hay field, and as we were trotting around the hay field Mom spurted out the idea to cross the parkway and hit the trails. Of course, Stormy and I were game.
We went down this back road which led to our neighbor's farm who also occasionally rides with us. We rode down her lane, and after Storm and Woody calmed down from showing off to Lisa's horses in the pasture, we turned around and headed back. On the way back, Mom and I both had a nice canter on the horses up the road, except Woody got a little carried away as he usually does. Mom handled him well though and he recovered and we continued on our journey.
We headed back to the barn afterwards, but we both had a great time on that ride, and I believe the horses enjoyed it just as much as we did.
Sunday afternoon I went out again on Stormy, and Mom took Charlotte out on a walk with us. Charlotte has been on field rest for a couple months and hadn't been out, so I know she was happy to get out and see the world. Stormy and I walked, trotted, and cantered in our hay field, which was really fun. We rode down by the pond some, too, which she wasn't too concerned with.
Overall, Stormy has settled in remarkably quickly, and she is already venturing out on daily adventures! She and I have a bright future ahead of us, and I can't wait to spend more time with her!
Come next morning, Stormy was even more relaxed in her new environment, so I ended up taking her for a walk down our driveway and in our hayfield. She was in tune with me the whole time, and didn't seem worried about being away from her new friends. When we got back to the field I hopped on her bareback and rode her around some in the field, and besides being a little pushy through the halter (I rode her in a halter rather than her bridle), she handled that well too.
I rode her again a couple days later bareback, and we ended up venturing our into the world outside the fence. I rode her down the driveway some, along with in our yard a bit. She did well again, but she did seem more distracted than in her previous ride.
This past Saturday, Mom and I both went out to ride, and boy was that fun! We tacked up Stormy and Woody, mounted up, and headed out. We went down the driveway, back through the hay field, and as we were trotting around the hay field Mom spurted out the idea to cross the parkway and hit the trails. Of course, Stormy and I were game.
We went down this back road which led to our neighbor's farm who also occasionally rides with us. We rode down her lane, and after Storm and Woody calmed down from showing off to Lisa's horses in the pasture, we turned around and headed back. On the way back, Mom and I both had a nice canter on the horses up the road, except Woody got a little carried away as he usually does. Mom handled him well though and he recovered and we continued on our journey.
We headed back to the barn afterwards, but we both had a great time on that ride, and I believe the horses enjoyed it just as much as we did.
Sunday afternoon I went out again on Stormy, and Mom took Charlotte out on a walk with us. Charlotte has been on field rest for a couple months and hadn't been out, so I know she was happy to get out and see the world. Stormy and I walked, trotted, and cantered in our hay field, which was really fun. We rode down by the pond some, too, which she wasn't too concerned with.
Overall, Stormy has settled in remarkably quickly, and she is already venturing out on daily adventures! She and I have a bright future ahead of us, and I can't wait to spend more time with her!
