The Blue Barn - Sold!

 Back to those changes I promised in Thursday's post.

There are two, and both are pretty major. The first? Tim has sold one of the houses on the property and the blue barn!

The house (on the left) with the blue barn behind it. The barns to the right are a separate property belonging to someone else.

When Tim bought the property, his daughter Melanie and her family moved into the home. They kept an eye on the property and Brandon helped Tim feed, repair fence, and mow. When they moved, the home was rented to a woman who worked from home and also kept an eye on the property.

The owners of the agribusiness behind the new barn bought the house, the blue barn, and half of the blue barn's pasture - Tim is keeping the other half and plans to create a new, smaller pasture with a lane for the horses to move from the other pastures and into the small paddock.

The small paddock with the new barn behind it. To the right, an open lane and then the edge of the blue barn pasture. The roof of the agribusiness can be seen behind the trees. 

Currently we have to lead the horses individually to get them into the small paddock; I like that we will be able to simply open gates to get them there.

The blue barn is a nice little barn - the kind I'd love to have if I were younger and physically able to care for my own horses again. I will miss it.

Tomorrow, the other big news - actually two separate pieces of news but they are connected to each other.

Stay 'tooned!

Ground Water & Wet Feet

For some time now, there has been a drain problem near the horse trough. Most of the time it looked as though someone had overflowed the trough, but it was actually a matter of the topography of the ground and how it drained the ground water in that area.

Two weeks ago, Tim decided to place drains under the ground by the trough and then in two wet spots in one of the lanes the horses use to get from pasture to pasture.

His fix was successful and the ground by the trough isn't mucky and messy anymore.

This spot was not as bad as the one by the trough, but Tim went ahead and put drains here, too.

The lane out to the northwest and southwest pastures also got some work.

Tim's not done yet, but the horses are in the northeast pasture and not using that access lane at the moment.

Yesterday when I visited Abby, she and her friends had been grazing in some long, wet grass. Sometimes that moisture makes horses' coronet bands very visible and they stand out and catch your eye.

 

Abby's front hooves.

Hokey (with one of Abby's in the back left.)

Dolly shows off all four.

Sultanna and Two Socks are still using the blue barn and its pasture. 

Just like the old barn, any horses in that field are able to come and go as they wish - something I love for my horses.

It's a perfect place for a foal to do a little growing before she is put in with the rest of the herd.

And that little filly is doing just that - look at how her sides are filled out!

Diablo - Staying or Leaving?

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.

Time will tell.  

Diablo's New Pasture Mates

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?

New Faces at the Barn

 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.

The Perfect First 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.

Lucky Diablo, and lucky little girls. 

The Other Horse at the Barn

I talk a lot about Abby, Diablo, Hokey, Trouble,  and Sultanna, but there is actually one other horse out at the barn.

This is Scarlett. She's a 16 hand thoroughbred and that's about all I know about her.

The blue barn where she lives is east of the new barn and has its own large pasture. (The white barn belongs to someone else and isn't on Tim's property.)

Scarlett joined us last December. I don't know the particulars of the story, but from what I understand, the woman who owns her very suddenly needed a new place to board. She contacted Tim who let her rent out the blue barn and its pasture. 

People who rent the blue barn do all their own care for their horses. Tim does not feed or anything, although he will if the renters are traveling and out of town. (And when he is traveling, I get to do it!)

Since the blue barn is accessed by its own lane, I rarely see those who are renting it. I have met Scarlett's owner once but she works odd hours, so our paths don't cross very often. 

Scarlett seems healthy and happy despite not having a pasture mate. Her owner mentioned once that she wanted to bring another horse out, but that has yet to happen. Still, it would not surprise me to see a new face out there one day.

New Boarder in the Blue Barn

This weekend I got a text from Tim thanking me for the bridle rosettes and with a surprise addendum  at the end.

The blue barn and its pasture has been vacant for a couple of months. I figured that someone would rent it sooner or later so I really wasn't surprised. 

 The blue barn is really nice.

It has two box stalls, a hay mow, space for parking your horse trailer indoors, and a run-in area if you prefer to keep your horses loose with access to shelter when needed.

 There's a feed room/tack room,

lots of storage, and a large pasture. Tim rents it to people who want to do their own care for their horses instead of having him do it.

After giving Abby some apples that Pony Pal Mila, Ian, and Lukie had asked me to give her, I walked over to meet the new horse.

 It had no interest in saying hello and trotted off to the far side of the pasture.

Whinnying occasionally, it was clearly looking for its owner (and probably dinner - it was about that time!)

I hung around a little bit, hoping to meet McKenzie, but finally I had to leave. It was getting dark and I had some errands to run before supper.

I'll be out sometime around noon today. Maybe our paths will cross then.