Visiting Sophie

Sophie lives at a farm about 30 minutes from my house, while Bridget is boarded about 10 minutes away. The extra 20 minutes shouldn't really matter, but combined with the fact that she's on full board and beautifully taken care of with a ton of room to roam, I usually just check in on her once or twice a week to say hi.

Hi Sophie!

I'm not sure how it's possible, but every week  I stop by and am surprised by just how friendly she is and how much enthusiasm she has for life. I think she'd be a hard pony not to like. Every time I drive away I'm sad to leave because she's just so happy and fun to be around. I always vow to make the time to drive out there and visit more often, but life was messing with me a little for a while there and it wasn't happening.

I like setting up easy days for her sometimes because I feel like it helps with her confidence and keeps her really looking forward to our interactions. So, this past weekend, we didn't get up to too much. Pony came running when she heard my truck. I thought it was pretty cool that I didn't even need to stick a halter on her, she happily left all her buddies and followed me into the barn without any prompting from me! She had yet another spa day, and yet another visit from the measuring stick. And, because she's spoiled, a few treats too.

Treat face

Overall, I'm so happy with how she's maturing. She's still quite baby like in her behavior and her attention span could still use improvement, but the worst of the pushy stage seems to be past, and she's generally very easy to deal with.

Physically, she's not quite what I dream of. She's not going to mature into my imaginary idea of a perfectly conformed sport pony. But, considering what I was willing to spend, and my future riding goals, I've got a fantastic prospect. I feel like I bought the nicest pony I could afford (and I do think she's the nicest thing I've ever owned!). Her temperament is icing on the cake.

As I drove away this weekend, she followed along the fence and whinnied for me. And yeah, I guess I'm easily won over because I stopped the truck and gave her one more ear scratch. Logic doesn't matter, my heart says I love her and she's absolutely perfect :)