Yesterday's barn visit was from a distance - the horses were waaaaaay out in the north field. Abby deigned to put her head up when I called her but decided that seeing me the treats that I bring were not worth the walk up.
As I stood there and whistled again, I heard a nicker behind me.
Diablo knows what that whistle means, and she had ambled over to see if she might snag a treat. Sweet girl! But since she no longer belongs to Tim, I didn't give her anything.
I did get some information on her pasture mates - Tim and I crossed paths at the barn.
The two new horses actually belong to a friend of the family who bought Diablo. With Tim's permission, they brought their elderly horses in and are splitting the board bill with Diablo's owners.
The question he and I both have is, are Diablo's owners still planning on moving her to their trainer's barn when their lease is up at the end of this month? Or is our time with her growing shorter and shorter?
I've known Diablo for almost ten years and am very fond of her. She may no longer be in the pasture with Abby, but she's close by and I still get to see her. I will miss this sweet mare is she if moved.
Sunday afternoon when I visited Abby, Diablo and her two new pasture mates were out in the field and came over for a visit. (Diablo is on the right.)
I don't know their names, but Tim has said they are both old, calm geldings and good with the family who owns them. (First time horse owners with daughters who are 9 and 6.)
This boy (Appendix QH? Thoroughbred?) came right over as soon as he spied me. I think he was disappointed I did not offer him any treats, but I don't like to give someone else's horse treats unless they have told me I could. Sorry, guy!
This gelding and Diablo tend to stick together. His high white socks and big blaze are lovely! But, when he turns sideways...
Look at that back! I would think that that would be very uncomfortable if not downright painful. (Says she who has had two spinal fusions and knows back pain.)
He moves freely around the pasture, though, so maybe it doesn't hurt him. Or, it could be that they have him on a good pain management program.
I've only met the mom and one of the daughters, and at that time they only had Diablo. The mother told me their plans were to move Diablo to their trainer's barn in November when their lease on the blue barn was up.
I wonder if they will still do that now that they've added the two geldings?
Diablo (now known as Xena by the two little girls who own her) has two new friends!
Diablo (left) with one of her new friends - such a pretty white face and socks!
Diablo's other new friend is smaller and solid colored.
A quick text to Tim gave me a little information, and I am looking forward to chatting with the family and learning more the next time I see them.
Last time we spoke, their plans were to move Diablo to their trainer's farm when their lease with Tim was up in November. Now I am wondering if they will be staying on with Tim.
I am so glad that Diablo has some pasture pals now and that Sultanna will be staying with Abby. Horses are social creatures, and with Trouble and Hokey buddied up last winter, Abby was pretty lonely. Now she has a friend with her again.
No visit to Grammy and Boompa's home is complete without a barn visit, so after all the family had arrived for the Christmas holiday, we headed out to see Abby.
As soon as they were out of the car, the kids took off running for the paddock by the old barn where we always pet the horses.
Abby came trotting up when she spied the kids - she knows what they mean! And when we finished with Abby, they took off again to go to Sultanna and Diablo's pasture.
Lukie reminds me of Randy from A Christmas Story - always trying to catch up with the older kids!
Sultanna and Diablo were happy to have some peppermints, carrots, and the last pieces of Halloween candy corn. (Pony Pal Mila, Cowpoke Lukie, and Pony Pal Kate.)
When the treats were gone, the kids began plucking blades of grass and handing those through the fence.
It wasn't much, but Sultana was agreeable to nibbling on them one blade at a time.
The flatbed hay trailer kept the cowpokes and pony pals entertained for quite a while, but eventually the damp, blustery, cold weather drove us into the new barn to warm up.
Mila loves Tim's "mousetrap," a wooden outhouse with a door labeled, "Do Not Open." Of course, everybody does, and the mousetrap collapses into pieces. (Pony Pal Mila, Emily, Pony Pal Kate on the piano, Vanessa, and Teacher Daughter Lisa.)
Pony Pal Julie gave the cement floor a good sweeping with the antique broom that hangs on the wall.
Then we headed down the barn aisle to look at Tim's vehicle collection. Julie and Kate climbed into the family buggy and discovered the sleigh bells tucked inside.
We were treated to an enthusiastic (and loud) rendition of Jingle Bells.
Cowpokes Ian, Lukie, and Pony Pal Mila see the vehicles a lot, so they really enjoyed showing their cousins around and sharing what they knew about them.
We spent a good part of the afternoon out at the barn but eventually it was time to head back to the house and the rest of the family.
At the end of October, Diablo was sold, but she didn't go far. She is still on the property, just in a separate pasture and barn.
While I enjoy getting to see her, I think staying home may have made the transition a little harder on her. I often arrive and find her standing by the fence watching her former herd mates.
Tim has put Sultanna in with her, and that has helped.
But now Abby is a little out of sorts herself - Trouble is the herd alpha and Hokey is much of a loner, so she is feeling the separation, too.
She is missing her girlfriends,
especially her bestie.
The December 4 advent surprise is (at last) a horse!
Tim has been traveling again and so I am in charge of the barn. While I don't want to live with my horses any more, I do enjoy short spans of time when they are totally under my care.
Hokey and Trouble at the gate waiting for me to come over and say hello.
I always check the water when I am out at the barn, but when Tim is gone, I also walk through the new barn to make sure lights are out, doors are closed, and that things are secure.
This time, I checked the blue barn, too, as Diablo was now over in that pasture.
A few weeks ago, a family came out to look at Scarlet, the horse being boarded in that barn and who was for sale. The family had two horsey daughters that were taking riding lessons and were looking to lease their first horse. Their trainer was with them and together they decided that Scarlet was not the horse for them. (Scarlet was sold and left a few days later.)
Diablo, on the other hand, was perfect. She and the two girls really clicked, and the family came out several times to visit her. Long story short, they asked Tim if they could lease her. He agreed, and Diablo moved over to the blue barn and its pasture November 1.
Since the family was brand new to horses, I have been checking Diablo, too, during Tim's absence. Last night I texted Tim my daily report and did I get a surprise.
Wait... Diablo had been sold? I felt a big wave of sadness that she had new owners.
But then, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a good thing for Diablo and for that family. She's in her twenties so she is an older mare and pretty bomb proof. She's smaller and she is very gentle. Since she is half Tennessee Walker, Diablo gaits and is easy to ride.
She's actually the perfect first horse for two horse crazy girls. And just think of all the attention she will be getting! I can picture those two girls putting bows in her mane and tail, brushing her until she shines, and bringing her daily carrots. Hopping up bareback and hacking around the pasture with just a halter and lead rope. And so much more.
Me riding my first horse, Amy, bareback and with just a halter and lead rope, and Leslie on her first horse, Pokey.
That mare is going to have a great life in her twilight years and the girls have made a wonderful choice for their first horse.
Teacher Daughter Lisa has been a real force behind the "get Mom back in the saddle again" movement. (I think she was as excited as I was when I rode this past weekend!) But even though she has been asking me to give her riding lessons, she is already a skilled rider herself.
She hopped onto Diablo after I was finished riding.
She has only ridden twice in the last eight years.
And she had never ridden in a western saddle before - she has always ridden English and was jumping while in high school.
But her seat and hands came right back to her as she took Diablo around the arena.
It only took twenty-seven years, but this finally happened.
Totally unplanned. Totally unexpected. And totally wonderful.
Horse Buddy Trinity is visiting from Colorado, and she and Teacher Daughter Lisa had gone out to the barn with me to check the horses. While there, we ran into Tim who was getting some barn chores done. He asked Trinity and Lisa if they'd like to ride, and I took a (very) deep breath, and asked if I might ride, too.
The surprise on Tim's face at my question was comical - after all, I've boarded with him for eight years and never once asked to ride. But he immediately responded enthusiastically, "You bet!" and we rounded up Diablo, found helmets (I dug mine out of my tack trunk), and got her tacked up.
Tim invited me to ride first, but it was a real struggle for me to mount. Both my knees are artificial, and I just could not get into the saddle despite using a step stool.
Lisa brought in a chair from the barn lounge, and that gave me enough height to step into the stirrup and swing my leg over Diablo's back.
I absolutely could not believe I was sitting on a horse again. My heart swelled with joy. (You can see by my daughter's face just how excited she was.) After leading me around in a large circle so I could settle into the saddle, Tim turned me loose to ride as I wished.
It was absolutely wonderful.
I just could not stop smiling. Diablo went into a running walk a couple of times and I felt like I was floating on air. (She is half Arabian, half Tennessee Walker.)
Unfortunately, dismounting was even more difficult than mounting had been. Not only have my knees been replaced, but my right hip is also artificial and has been very weak since the surgery in 2004. I was dismayed to discover that I did not have the strength to lift it and swing it over Diablo's back to dismount. I tried and I tried, but I just could not do it. Fortunately, Diablo is a tolerant mare, and she let me lean my body way over her neck for leverage and then drag my leg across her back.
I was teary with happiness, Lisa and Trinity were hugging me, and Tim had a big grin on his face.
Finally, after years and years of being unable to ride because of health issues and surgeries, I had made it back into the saddle again. (Truth be told, I should not have ridden. I didn't remember my post op restrictions from my June surgery until I was driving home. Oops!)
What a feeling to be on a horse again! I still cannot stop smiling.
