First Ride!

I was SO proud of the little boy last night! First I applied some MTG to his legs, and formaldehyde to his hooves. I showed my mom how to handle him (he really is easy). His only issue handling is that he has NO respect for your space, which for a 2 year old, I'm thankful is his ONLY leading issue. He doesn't like to tie very well, and keeps busting out of the cross ties (good thing they are safety velcro ties). I imagine that will come with time and a lot of patience. I also lunged him in tack for a short while, and he did fine. He got the hang of that right away. After all of that, I got my mom to lead him around while I sat on him. He did not care one bit. We walked around for a lap each direction of the ring, until I could feel his little 2 year old mind starting to have a boredom meltdown, so I hopped off.

I am so proud of my little boy. I don't think I will get on him too often. Maybe once a week or so just so that he doesn't "forget" that it's okay to let people ride him. I am waiting until he is 3 to actually start any real training.

The vet is coming out on the 23rd to do a full workup on him. I'm going to have her check his teeth before I put a bridle on him. I imagine that having a bridle on will actually HELP with Jinx's boredom issues under saddle...he'll have something to play with.

But fly spray IS the devil!

Jinx's only vice right now (besides normal 2 year old behavior) is that he HATES fly spray. He spent a good 20 minutes making me dizzy circling round and round me while I just lightly tried to spray NEAR him. That session ended well though...he was taking cookies out of my hands while I sprayed his butt. He's not 100% sure that fly spray won't kill him. Hell, he's not even 50% sure, but that's better than nothing! I suspect it will all come with time.

We also learned the basics of lunging (aka, yes, it IS okay for you to circle around me). He used this to his advantage when I was trying to fly spray him, I'm sure of it. We also walked over ground poles, trotted in hand (lord he is SO lazy).

We got hosed off, because water, too, is the devil. And we ended the session with a saddle on his back! I even laid across him, and he didn't care at all! I bet he was, however, wishing I had the stature of a jockey. Another picture!

Busy Boy

Jinx had a busy first day, which included unloading, figuring out that his life had been turned upside down, making some friends and lots of enemies, meeting his new big brother, getting hosed and brushed, learning it's okay to take treats and that they are actually really yummy, and our biggest task yet: learning that fly spray is NOT the devil. He also got his whiskers trimmed off and his bridle path cut.

Today, we had a horse show at our barn. Which meant lots of things for Jinx to look at and freak out about. He was a little leery of the chairs and people cheering and clapping, but he learned to deal with it. I took him on the trail in hand walking with Cortney, and he was well behaved, except for the pulling. He only stopped to spook at the dogs barking and some birds flying out of the bushes. I also held him outside the ring for a good few hours so that he could socialize with people and get used to all of the excitement. He was very, very well behaved given that he had been at this barn for less than 24 hours, and then we threw a horse show into the mix.

I tried to introduce him to his big brother today, but Izz was having no parts of this strange new horse that was eating up all of his Mom's attention.

And now for a few pictures!

Almost Here!

So it looks like Rinka's name might be Jinx after all.

I just got a call from the transporter, who said that after a few minutes of hesitation, Jinx loaded up just fine and is now on his way from Maryland to Richmond. He's coming with hay, a de-wormer, and I still need to get in touch with Ignat to see what he is eating so that I can feed him appropriately once he gets here. Words cannot describe how excited I am to see my new boy and welcome him home.

Pumula Horse Carriers (http://www.pumulahorsecarriers.com/) is taking care of the transport, and I am already satisfied with a decent price, contract, and update of everything.

All I have left to do is go by the bank so I can get some cash to pay for Jinx's shipment :)

Things are coming together.

I am using a company by the name of Pumula Horse Carriers to transport my new horse. The owner of the company was very quick to respond to any questions I had, as opposed to some of the other transportation companies which took longer than I wished.

I just called Ignat at the farm, and he told me he would take care of the hay, coggins, and halter/lead rope needed to transport the horse. I emailed Cynthia yesterday but have yet to hear back. I am interested in what Rinka's current diet is, and if I can have some of his grain to help him slowly get switched to ours. Mom said they were only eating oats, but I was so lovestruck I didn't pay attention to what the horses were eating!

So now I am sitting and waiting through what will be a painfully long and difficult week. I probably won't sleep at all Friday. Sunday there is a show at our barn, and I will be excited to take Rinka out and how him off...I mean desensitize him to the show.

I can't describe how happy I am right now!

Getting more excited, less nervous!

A big thanks to Elaine for allowing me to come on and board at HLS. I am so thankful I don't have to scramble around and get the fence ready up the road. I can just unload and go. The whole "searching" process didn't take much time. I hate to be the person that buys the first horse they look at. But when I saw him I knew I had to have him!

In Love

So this is Rinka. He is a 2 year old, almost 16hh Thoroughbred. He came right up to me from the field, and was very complacent (as complacent as 2 year old can be). I have put a deposit on him, and am arranging his shipment later this week. Unsure if his barn name will stay Rinka.

Now there is lots of scrambling to get ready for his arrival. To be honest I wasn't ready to make a decision so soon, but he is so cute and sweet, I knew I couldn't pass him up. Now I'm getting the fence ready and looking at all of my options.

I'm not throwing an official welcome party yet, nor have I posted this blog on my facebook yet, because I want to make sure everything is final before I start spreading the news.

I couldn't be any more excited or nervous!