Not much new here

Welcome to the world's most boring blog! We are trapped for the winter on a cold and rainy island where not much happens...ever :)

The weather has been downright depressing, but I have been getting out somewhat regularly to ride, maybe every second day or so. Ginger probably needs a little more than that to stay totally sane. She's been a bit more like her old self lately - in a good cheeky and fun way of course. We've put in quite a few miles on the trails and she just gets better and better. We've now crossed very busy roads, waded through nearly belly deep 'puddles', snuck down narrow trails with overhanging branches brushing her all over,  climbed steep rock faces, crossed bridges, and wandered the wide open spaces. She's even seen other trail users out and about, on everything from their own two feet to motorbikes to other horses. As typical with most Gingersnap Adventures, all of these things at one time or another were a Big Deal. Every day she is more and more reliable, though, which is something I love about her - when it comes down to it she's probably the most intelligent horse I've ever dealt with and learns from her experiences very quickly.

The ring has basically been flooded out the past couple of weeks due to the excessive rain and what seems to be a failed attempt to improve the footing/drainage a couple of summers ago. It's really too sad, the club got a large grant to replace the footing and the drainage and we were so excited, but somehow the work made it worse. Its almost like they added to much sand and didn't compact it properly.  It really wasnt too bad previously, now it's a bit worrying. After Lainey's suspensory injury a couple of years ago I am scared of soft, deep footing.  I've been steering clear of much ring work these days. Lets hope conditions dry up a bit and I can avoid buying a pass for the indoor a little longer.

Ginger had her feet done this morning by my most excellent farrier. After all the farrier drama of the past couple of years, it's a wonderful treat to come back here and have someone I know and trust a phone call away. He immediately sussed out her strengths and weaknesses and got to work correcting some issues that needed addressing. As I'm sure you've all seen from the pictures, she has nice straight legs with good angles and nice sized feet. On the downside, she's quite long backed and has a weaker hindquarter than what you'd expect given her front end. Visually, I can see all this, but it's fascinating to have my farrier show me how that affects or doesn't affect her feet. My understanding of what I learned today : Because she is a bit conformationally unbalanced back to front, her front feet are flatter that what would be ideal and tend to flare if not kept up to date. Luckily, they do wear quite evenly and are healthy and strong so we`re still ok to be barefoot this time around. He was showing me where they are being affected by the significant change in footing and climate out here though, and can`t guarantee she won`t need shoes or boots as the winter progresses if she continues to stand in the wet and I want to ride rocky trails. Sadly, besides her stall and the trails up the mountain there isn`t a whole lot of uber dry ground to be found around here at the moment. She seems to be partial to standing in a little muddy hollow in the back of her paddock as well so she can socialize with other horses over the fence - buying a load or two of gravel may be in my future. Às for her back feet, they were very unbalanced laterally - he suspects that was an oversight from the previous farrier, but something we`ll keep an eye on in case does partly wear them like that naturally. Overall, he liked what he saw and was quite taken with her. Of course, she was terrified of the poor man. She stood quietly but had to snort and sound like she was hyperventilating the whole time he trimmed her. Lets hope next time she`s a little more friendly with him. I`m the girl that previously always had the overgrown rescue or the baby with no manners given to me, which of course always got sold or passed on once they were healthy and had good manners so the cycle could begin again. I`m kind of thinking its time I gave him a break and had an èasy`horse or two - I`m starting to appreciate more and more how good he is at his job and need to keep him around :)

Again, no pictures - the weather has been very dark and rainy so all my pictures look like I took them in the middle of the night :(

Anti Social

Ginny and I went for another solo trail ride this afternoon. I'm beginning to think we both needed a time out and I didn't realize it. I feel a bit guilty because I've had a few invitations for clinics and group trail rides. I feel like I should be out supporting the club and catching up with my riding buddies but really all I want to do is sneak out on the back roads and go for a nice relaxing trail ride with Ginny. We pretty much keep it to a brisk walk and enjoy the quiet and the scenery. From my point of view, I'm still interested in being a better rider and training Ginny, so I'm sure I'll be signing up for some more interesting things soon. For now, though, I'm still recharging and am enjoying having little to no schedules or demands. You'll have to put up with pictures of random roads and trails framed by Ginny's ears for a bit more. Here's one from Tuesday:

 Welsome to the coast - the deciduous trees are still leafy and green. Its a bit surreal, even for here.

I'm still trying to figure out Ginny's perspective. She's obviously very happy exploring the trails. She meets me at the gate, follows me around everywhere and gets excited when I take her out to tack up. She also either has the worlds worst sense of direction or she doesn't want to go home, since she consistently has to be directed back to the barn - she'll try to keep on going past the trails home. Funny how she knows how to find the trails out though.

What I'm currently puzzling over is the fact that my ride at the ring this morning was vintage Ginger - all spooky silliness. As soon as we hit the trails after she was essentially bomb proof - we even went past an operating gravel pit and a machine clearing the forest in our travels today. If even a toy version of this stuff ended up anywhere near the ring there would be some interesting antics - yet somehow its all cool and we are playing dude ranch pony, marching quietly past :

I'm left wondering if she's simply bored in the ring and creating a little pony drama or whether there's more to it. My gut says it's the latter. I'm still thinking this one over, and I'm pretty content to do so on the trail. This could take a while :)

I've got a ride to the lake planned tomorrow . The weather has been rainy and horrible for a couple of weeks now so I get to feel all awesome and dedicated for continuing to ride outside.  Really, I'm getting tired of climbing back into the truck and feeling like I've showered with my clothes on. G is tired of me bringing horsey gear home to dry in the basement. It smells like a barn down there, apparently. I pretend not to notice  ;) Here's the view from my window tonight - I hope that means we'll still be seeing some sun in the morning:

 

If not, I'll probably pout like a little kid, then go buy a pass for the indoor riding arena. I'm pretty spoiled these days - my biggest concern is usually whether its going to rain when I head out to ride. First world problems, right?

Weekend Away

We left very early this past Friday morning for a fun weekend away. Since this is a super isolated town, we like to escape now and again :) We got to Vancouver around noon and both decided since we had tickets for a football game later in the day, it would be too much to try to fit in a couple of hours at the horse expo, especially when it's about an hours drive outside the city. Besides, our hotel room ended up being pretty awesome and it seemed a waste not to spend some time there! So, a completely horse free day - how crazy is that! I admit to being a little disappointed, but I was so tired it was nice to not have to rush around the whole day.

Saturday was all about the horses. First off, we watched a couple of the Trainer's Challenge sessions. They have three trainers with 4 one hour sessions over the three days to get their horse ready for an evaluation consisting of W/T/C and some obstacles under saddle. G always finds them super interesting - I usually seem to get annoyed by them.

 Trainer #1 was a younger guy from Australia and it was immediately apparent he knew what he was doing. There was a whole lot happening with his body language and timing and he was getting things done while apparently standing around telling jokes to the crowd. I liked how his first 'ride' consisted of just hopping on bareback with a halter and lead and immediately sliding back off  even when the horse seemed super accepting. He called that good and ended a bit early. I still hated how rushed the whole thing felt, and how little he explained what he was doing. He made it look so easy on the surface and didn't explain or even acknowledge all the more subtle stuff going on, instead wanting you to believe that you need to buy into his 'program' to learn.. The horse seemed very sweet, but I got the feeling it was really overwhelmed, which I found a bit unfair and upsetting.

Trainer #2 was a female trainer from California and she seemed to be a bit nervous about being in front of so many people. The announcer mentioned her session on Friday went super well - she was riding her horse around all tacked up by the end. This time, her horse was saying loud and clear that he'd had enough! He was rearing, not wanting to go forward, as well as biting and threatening to kick and strike. I found it odd she didn't try to address any of that - she said he was just anxious and would get over it with some saddle time. Meanwhile, I got the feeling he was turning into a big bully.I didn't see how he'd behave any different under saddle.  She got him saddled and bridled and he got her in the leg with a front hoof once, then almost had a big wreck trying to climb out of the pen with her in the saddle. Ouch.

 I'd had enough, so we went and explored the trade stands for a bit. I'm sad to report I bought nothing. There were a few good sales, but not on anything I needed badly enough to want to tote around the rest of the day. I was hoping to find Ginger a rainsheet. but I didn't see many on sale and her size had sold out the day before. We spent some time checking out trailers. I'm glad we did, because the one I had my eye on looks a tiny bit too small for Ginger in person. We found another one that is absolutely beautiful, but sadly a little over budget. We got the guys card though, because they do clear out the previous years models from time to time. G bought me a giant chunk of chocolate fudge as a consolation gift ;) The place was a zoo, and the food lineups were about an hour long, so we elected to pop out for a nice lunch. After a year and a half of living in different cities, I'm still finding it a bit of a novelty to just be able to have a spur of the moment lunch date with my sweetie.

When we returned, they had a welsh pony and cob demo! There was only one Sec D there, and he was a bit unruly and just being led around, but it was still neat to see another one in person. He was absolutely gorgeous - much more traditional conformation than Ginger so it was interesting for me to see the difference in person. He was impeccably groomed too - I wish I could get Ginger looking like that. I kind of wanted to take him home, even though I think he was scaring the audience a bit.

Following that, we saw a dressage demo which was fun and interesting, although very very basic since the audience seemed to be mostly new to dressage and just there to see what it's about. The clinician was Cesar Parra and I thought he did a good job keeping it simple for the newbies, but still adding a bit of useful advice for those who are a little more advanced. I sat and watched a hunter jumper clinic as well which was loads of fun - I just want to know how they make it look so EASY?

Following that, we popped back over to the Trainers Challenge since G was interested to see how the female trainer was going to make out in her second session. I was impressed with her because the first thing she talked about was how she was nervous about being in front of so many people and how she really played it wrong in the session before because she didn't want to get after her horse and have people think she was being mean to him. I have to respect that because I think we've all been there a bit at some point. She had a much better session with her horse, although there were still a few scary moments since he wasn't going to give up testing her quite that easily! I have to admire her toughness and 'just get it done' attitude, but it seemed like things didn't ever need to be so hard or confrontational. Mostly, I felt for the horse, who had really just had enough and needed a day or three to think things over a bit.

We stayed later for the little show they put on Saturday night, so we got to see some drill teams, liberty demos, breed demos, and even some trick riding. G saw some tricks he wants to teach Ginny :
;)

Once again, we ended up with the worlds best hotel room - this one was more of an apartment and even had a big picture of a welsh pony on the living room wall! Come Sunday G wanted to head back to watch the finals of the trainers challenge but I was sort of burnt out on behalf of those poor horses. Its tough because he's genuinely interested and I want to encourage that and not be too negative - on the other hand I really feel those 3 day training things are unfair to the horses. I did want to see a clinic 'All About the Canter" with a local guy who is excellent. Canter is what Ginny and I need the most help with. We were still facing an 8 hour trip home, so in the end, we decided to call it a good weekend and head home a bit early so G could get to bed at a reasonable hour for work the next day.

I'm off now to check in on Ginny. The sun is shining and it looks to be a beautiful day for a ride.

17 Days

Hi, my name is Ginger and I've been a Really Good Pony for 17 days now.














In the last 17 days, I've:

-Moved to a new home and not caused any serious property damage.














-Showed off my skills at a new venue without endangering my rider.



-Gone for my first trail ride.














-Stuck my toe in a big lake

-And today, I showed another horse my trails without once being scared, even when she was behind me.

We won't talk about that squash I stole from the garden and didn't eat,

Or the beautiful hairdo I got the other day while exploring.

Til next time!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

It was miserable this morning even by BC coast standards. When I woke up early this morning to wish Mr G a good day at work, I could hear the wind and rain and happily snuggled back into bed. Sadly, pretending it was all a bad dream didn't work - the weather didn't seem to be clearing when I woke up again 3 hours later. A quick look out the window confirmed everyone seemed to be hiding inside, and the only boat visible on the water belonged to the Coast Guard. I had planned to volunteer at the club grounds this morning, helping to fix our show stalls for next season. Thankfully, the worst of the rain held off for a couple of hours and we got a good amount of work done. I'm forever impressed by our little club. Probably half the members and even some non members showed up today in truly miserable weather to dismantle our old stalls and make room for new, bigger and better stalls for next year. While I do love the barn in Alberta, the sense of community with our group here on the coast is amazing and so far I've yet to find anywhere that can compare. Besides, it's just generally kind of awesome to be surrounded by women very capably using power tools, tractors and chainsaws. It's a good thing Mr G was at work - he might have got a bit intimidated by us all :) I believe a fun time was had by all, even with the weather. I know I had a great time catching up with old friends and it always feels good to give a little back to the club. It's  humbling to look around at our beautiful grounds and facilities and realize that every single bit of it was accomplished through volunteer work and donations.  Membership is also ridiculously inexpensive at $30 a year - after paying 'real world' prices in Alberta you can bet I gently remind everyone here just how lucky we are!

I didn't end up riding today, poor Ginger's rainsheet is apparently NOT waterproof anymore. I ended up moving her to a paddock with a shelter and a big pile of hay so she can dry out. I feel guilty about her being out in the wind and rain last night with a wet blanket. The temperatures are still really mild so I thought she'd be happier out in the pasture with a rainsheet than locked in the barn - obviously not considering her rainsheet might not be up to BC rain standards! She seemed her usual cheery self though, and all was forgiven with an apple ;) I think I'll leave her in the paddock now for the winter. I don't think she'd be overly happy locked in a stall at night, and since not all the turnouts for the stalled horses have shelters, it may be best to just call 'dibs' on the paddock she's in and leave it at that so I always know she has a dry place to hang out if she chooses. I love to shop for horse gear so I'll still be getting her a new, non leaky, rainsheet. I don't think I'll clip her this year, so a good rainsheet should suffice, with a warm fleece liner for the couple of weeks we get of freezing weather.

The good news is I managed to get out for a ride yesterday. The storm was getting warmed up yesterday so we had some wind and rain and Ginger was a bit on edge. I skipped the free photo session, as pictures of a wide eyed Ginger and me freezing and wet didn't really appeal to me! Instead, Mr G came with me for a hike, so I was brave enough to hit the trails regardless of Ginger's behaviour. We very intelligently decided to head up the mountain, so within about 10 minutes of packing me up the hill, Ginger suddenly decided to be the sensible trail pony I love. Funny how that works, although it does make me wonder if I need to go on a diet ;) She was convinced Mr G was actually leading her around, which was a bit funny at times as he would randomly walk over to check something out or start to jog and she'd try to mirror him if I didnt remind her I was riding. She was really, really well behaved. I opted to get off and lead her for a cool down (and me for a warm up jog!) the last 10 minutes or so towards home. Mr G ended up leading her and I was, as always, so pleased at how careful she is with him. As I've mentioned before there aren't a whole lot of people that she'll trust, so it makes me very happy that she's chosen him to be part of the select few. I appreciate that she doesn't take advantage of the fact that he's not overly experienced, either, if anything she is more careful with him than me. She even stood tolerantly while he petted her and told her not to worry when a car drove by. I didn't have the heart to tell him she's fine with vehicles, it was just too cute.

I've got a ride planned for tomorrow on my own at the ring. I'm really itching to work on that canter a bit and we're having fun doing gymnastics over poles. Then a ride with friends either Tuesday or Wednesday, then Friday we leave for a long weekend away. I'll try to fit in a couple of extra rides this week since she'll have Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon off. I'm still all motivated to get ready for the shows we've got planned for the spring. We'll see how long that lasts, though - a few more days with weather like today and this blog may go suspiciously quiet :)

I'm happy to be back, and while I really miss my job (and the Alberta sunshine!), every day makes me more and more certain I've made the right choices. I can feel the stress melting away-to the point where I wonder if that's part of the reason for Ginger's big turnaround of late. Zen rider = Zen horse? Could be a topic for a whole new post!

No pics today - they all have G in them along with Ginger and although I'm sure he'd let me put them here if I asked, he's pretty private and shy so I won't. You'll just have to trust me that he exists and he is awesome. I'm going to have to start calling him something other than G or Mr G on here too - it's a bit confusing even for me when my horse has a "G" name too!

Trail Pony Deluxe

I gave Ginger a break Monday, but we have been back in action the last couple of days. 
On Tuesday,  as is becoming our routine, we stopped at the club grounds for a quick warm up. I was proud of her for not calling or acting silly. She had reason to be silly, because just as we arrived, there was a trailer pulling out, leaving us alone in the ring. The neighbouring therapy horses and riders were out doing a trail ride around the perimeter of the grounds. Since the grounds are quite thickly treed, you end up seeing them popping in and out of view, which some of the green horses find a bit unsettling. Ginger was certainly aware of them, but did her best to focus on me. I lunged her, then set up a bunch of cones and some ground poles and we did some patterns just for the fun of it. Since the ring is absolutely huge ( we can fit 4 full size dressage arenas in there and have room left over for a warm up area), I find it very helpful to have some visual cues as a reminder to stay straight and ask for proper circles and transitions. Left to my own devices, I tend to wander around a bit lost in there and my straight lines end up anything but :) Ginger seemed a bit sluggish and slow off my leg today, so I ended up playing with the spacing of the ground poles to help get a livelier trot without me having to nag. Looking cute in her lunging get-up:

The best part of our ride occurred after I opened the gate to head home. Ginger knew where to go and set off up the hill and on to the old logging road without any hesitation. She carried me home like a seasoned pro, even passing some 'scary' woodcutters that were up in the bush where we could only hear them. Again, she was pretty slow and steady for her normal self, even as we got closer to home and could hear her new best friend screaming for her. I'm left wondering what's going on with this new quiet pony (and how I can keep it!).

Yesterday, we ventured up to the lake. I skipped the usual warm up routine and I probably shouldn't have as she was pretty on edge for the first bit - I had the old Ginny back for a half hour or so. It's about an hour and a half round trip and she was nearly perfect on the way home. I still don't completely trust her in traffic, but out on the trails I'm nearly there and let her walk on a loose rein the majority of the way. Here's a view of the lake - sadly a very dismal grey and foggy day yesterday (there are actually fair size mountains hidden back there!):

 

After much snorting and with eyes bugging out of her head, Ginger managed to stick a toe in, And then immediately got the idea that this is essentially a giant water bucket and started splashing around quite happily. Another successful day.

 

The weather is kind of stinky again today (Welcome to the "Wet" Coast!) but I'm hoping Mr G will come out and take a few photos of me actually riding Ginger. Those are in super short supply on this blog, I realize. I was looking through the computer, and even with owning Lainey 5 years now, I have one set of riding pictures, and they're all from the same show 2 years ago! So, I'm hoping to reverse that trend. I'm hearing there is also a photography student from the college coming out on Saturday to take some pictures for her portfolio. I'm hoping to make it to that so I can have some decent photos of us.

 

No clinics booked as yet, I think we're both enjoying a break. I do have a few rides with friends planned over the next couple of weeks, as well as a trip to Vancouver for "The Mane Event", which is a horsey expo and should be lots of fun



Tired!

I'm not used to all this activity-I've been stuck behind a desk too long!
Here's a quick weekend recap:
Saturday:
I took Ginger down to the club grounds/ring in the morning. She was excellent. I led her down the road and was happy I did since there must be construction somewhere. Dump trucks, backhoes, cube vans, you name it, it drove by. Ginger needed time to look but did just fine. We had a nice little ride at the ring after that. I got to catch up with some old friends and Ginger got to meet some new ones. She's still a bit unsure about letting new people or horses in her giant sense of personal space, but overall she was a very well behaved girl and seemed to enjoy the outing.
Later in the afternoon, I went out for a trail ride to the lake with another boarder. We tried out a palomino Curly horse we named Sarge. He seems like a been there done that no nonsense sort of guy so Sarge seemed to fit. Sounds like the barn owner was given him when he needed a new home. Lucky for all involved as I think he'll fit in just fine and stay a while. Yesterday ended up being a lot more hours in the saddle than I'm used to, I literally couldn't keep my eyes open last night and went to bed at 8 o'clock :)
Today:
I was still dragging myself around this morning so I didn't head out to ride Ginger until later in the morning. I'm hoping she likes the new barn because she is a lot more friendly and relaxed this past week that normal. Today she ran up to the gate to meet me and stood quietly without being tied for a good grooming. We headed back down to the ring for a quick lunge and warm up ride. Liking how relaxed she was, I decided there's no time like the present and we headed our for our first trail ride. I'm proud to say she didn't put a foot wrong and just generally seemed to really be enjoying herself. We were all by ourselves, too. Who knew my anxious, sensitive little mare would take a liking to trail riding? I'm ashamed to admit up until last week I didn't have much faith! She packed me up and down hills and through rocks and puddles like she's done it a thousand times before. I couldn't have been happier with her and I think she knew it - she seemed pretty proud of herself for looking after me so well ;)
Since Ginger did all the work, I headed out for a hike after our ride. It's been the best weekend in a long time, but I think it will be another early night!

Blurry, but heres the photographic evidence of our trail ride:

Fitness Hike Day 2

Ginger was a total star. We huffed and puffed our way up the mountain and then enjoyed the scenery on the way back down. It was obvious she was enjoying herself and she was very brave with all the new sights and sounds. I think tomorrow after our ride at the ring we'll test the waters with an actual trail ride. Ginger is going to be busy this winter being a riding pony and a workout buddy too!

Checking out the view:

Fitness Program - Day 1

Since I'm home again I have a laptop - no more posting from my iphone at work. Which means you get to see lots more pictures and possibly some better spelling :)

Mr G got called in for a night shift last night, which means he needed peace and quiet this morning while he slept. The perfect excuse to head up to the barn!

I love this sign above the barn door, it's like they knew we were coming :)



Ginny was still picking away at her breakfast when I arrived. Silly girl has been a bit off her food the last few days. I'm thinking it's partly because we transitioned her back to hay for winter and partly the stress of the move. She's never been super food oriented and this is the first time I've had her in her own paddock, so her leaving hay may not even be that unusual - I wouldn't have noticed with the Lainey vacuum hanging around. Something to keep an eye on, though, since she is due for her teeth to be done/checked. They feel fine to me, but it's been a little over a year since they were done last. Shes quite happy to eat her treats so it can't be too bad ;)

I gave her a good grooming and took her for a walk down the road to the club grounds and ring. She was a bit upset to leave her new friends and was calling a little bit. On the plus side she barely paid attention to the scrap metal dealer and the multiple cars that passed us on the way.

She was a bit 'up' by the time we got to the ring - the horses in the neighbouring barn were calling back to her a bit and she was desperate to go meet them. We had to have a little discussion about who's in charge and a reminder to listen to me a bit more carefully. She lunged fairly quietly, partly because she was unsure in the new place and I really had to ask for forward, and partly because I suspect she's still a bit tired from the trip. I kept it very easy for her and gave her lots of praise, trying to give her a positive first experience there. All in all, not bad at all for her first adventure to a new arena.
Looking worried at the ring -also check out the fabulous part mohawk :(

We then made our way back to the barn via an old logging road that parallels the actual road to the barn, only up on a side hill. We had to go up a super steep and narrow trail to get up there and we were both puffing by the time we made it up. Its uneven and rocky as well, and poor Ginger had no clue where to put those big feet. I think in a way I was making it a bit more difficult, because after our discussion at the ring she was trying very hard to be a good girl and match her pace to mine.

I was  pleased with her because she did figure out very quickly how to put her head down and pay attention to the ground. It sounds so simple, but I've ridden more than one greenie on those trails that don't really 'get it' for a long time - they're too busy checking out their surroundings, and as a result, trip and stumble every time the ground changes. I was also very happy that those big Ginger feet tackled the rocks and stones without any soreness. Yay welsh cob feet!

 

 I'm glad I chose to take her out for a walk today rather than ride - it worked out really really well and I think it was a good way to introduce her to everything. I've also committed to getting out for a good hike every day and there is a ton of bear poop on the trails, so for me it's quite nice to have Ginger along for added security. Fingers crossed, the bears here are usually pretty timid and run away. I used to work as a park ranger and was responsible for monitoring all the bears in a park up north, so I'm usually a little more confident about keeping safe around them than most. There are so many around here it's kind of accepted you're going to see them in the more rural areas on a regular basis - and you'd better pick your fruit trees, otherwise they'll come visit you at home too! A couple of years ago I was out riding Lainey and one crossed our path and was a bit curious about us. I yelled at it, and it ran away, but the best part was Lainey pinned her ears and tossed her head at it too - I guess all the times it ran away before made her brave!

I've been offered rides in another young, but quiet horse at the barn as well as an older, been there, done that type. There's also Sadie, who I rode previously. She just had time off to have a foal, and is also young and green, but super quiet and sweet. So, if I want I can ride every day and the option to pony Ginger on the trails is there too. Based on today, though, I think we'll be fine - she handled all the new experiences better than most and seemed especially content once we got on the trail.



She's here!

Ginny arrived at noon today. Mr G and I went for a walk on the beach this morning and I was driving him nuts monitoring the ferry's progress across the water ;)
She hopped off the trailer looking pretty good after such a long journey. She settled right into her paddock and everyone was commenting on how quiet she is. I said just wait a bit, she's probably tired :)
The hauler said she was super quiet and well behaved and loaded well the entire trip. That made me feel better, because I was worried she'd be uptight and stressed. I'm going to head back up later this evening and give her a good grooming (5min trip to the barn now- so exciting!), then get her out for an easy walk around the new neighborhood tomorrow.
Her mane is a mess -she rubbed part of it out early this spring trying to reach for grass through the fence- it's now at the length where it looks like a mohawk :) I'll see if I can tidy it up a bit. It's going to be so nice to pop in at the barn anytime I want and not have to feel like I need to rush and get everything done all at once.

Embarrassing G by taking pictures of Gingers ferry arriving - such a touristy thing to do ;)

Patience is a virtue, right?

I'm sitting here at our house on the coast waiting for Ginger to arrive. She's coming on the ferry from Vancouver Island and we just happen to have a view over the water and the ferry route from our living room and deck. I'm getting our real estate dollar value today, peeking out the window every five minutes :) And what do I see out there? A sunny, but super windy day with big breakers at the shore and tons of whitecaps out in the strait. So either she comes later tonite or possibly tomorrow. It's a long route so there are only 4 sailings a day, barring any cancellations. It's a very large ferry, but they do still cancel sailings in high winds since a portion of the run is in open, unprotected water. So I must be patient. I wonder if horses can get seasick?