I awoke on Saturday morning with the idea of getting stuff done around the house. I needed to laundry and otherwise clean my living space, as last week's schedule of two exams and a project due didn't allow for much time for chores. I ended wasting the entire morning, save for doing all my laundry. Ah, well.
I showered and headed out to the bank to get my wad of cash to pay for Brian. I was so nervous driving around with it! I ended up getting to the barn about 2 and spent an hour riding Callie around the field. We've been working on her canter, as I've never been able to reliably get one under saddle. I think she's starting to catch on, although we've yet to do any cantering AWAY from the barn. Kristin arrived about 3, and we paced the barn waiting for M to call and say she was 25 minutes away. At 3:45, the phone rang, and I was pretty excited because it meant they'd be just about right on time. But she said they were right outside the barn, and didn't know which entrance to take. I was instantly elevated to pure excitement!!
They pulled in and said the trip had been very good, and that Brian had been very well-behaved in the trailer. M said she had been worried he fell out the back since he'd been so good! Anyways, he unloaded and looked very bewildered! We turned him out in the indoor arena, where he pranced and trotted around looking very handsome and happy to be out. He discovered the stunning horse in the mirror, and had a nice, long pee. Then we turned him out with his new pasturemate, Shadow, who did not ever allow him to get even close to her. He spent the little bit of time trotting back and forth at the fenceline looking at everything. M said her sad goodbyes, and we left to give them a tour of the vet school.
I went out today with an open mind. If he seemed ready, I would ride today. When I arrived, Meg (the barn owner), said they'd moved Shadow out since she wasn't letting him near the feed. She said he'd only been picking at his food, as he was so busy trotting back and forth being a looky-loo. I immediately became concerned something was wrong, but when I went in and started quietly talking to and stroking him, he calmed down enough to eat. I took him out and hand-grazed him for a half-hour or so, and, deciding he was nothing other than completely overwhelmed, saddled him and took him into the arena for a little ground work. I wanted to take advantage of the newness to take on a leadership role with him, and it seemed to work. Even though he was looking around, he absolutely respected my voice commands. We did a little work in the outdoor arena, and then I took him for a walk and a snack around the field. He did very, very well. And I'm in love.
Tomorrow I'll head out with an open mind again, and the hopes that he's calmed down.
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