Moving Day!

Calvin moved today out to his new boarding facility! I talked about my decision and why we had to move in my last post. I was a bit nervous because Calvin hasn't been in a slant load trailer ever, and his last trailer experience took at least an hour to load him. Despite his past, he was a very good boy this time. It's clear he trusts me more and even looked at me for help a few times like "why is this strange man tying me to a trailer? Are you sure this is okay?" He snorted at the trailer and was a bit nervous, but he walked right in with the help of some carrots. The hauler I hired used to do the hauling for my past horses too, so I knew he was a patient guy. He did not rush Calvin and didn't whip him to get inside like some haulers do. The only thing Calvin didn't like was being confined in the slant position and would paw at the trailer, but once we were on the road he calmed down and stopped.

He got a 6 horse trailer all to himself! He was in the 3rd window down (closed window), you can't see him because they close the windows for safety, but he got to keep the back windows open for airflow.

Once I got to his new home, we unloaded him pretty easily. The goal was to make this a positive experience for him, which I believe that it was! Once off the trailer, he was actually very calm and brave walking into his new surroundings! But oh my gosh was it hot out there, 97º! Luckily, his stalls have shade, but I'll have to ride early in the mornings. The owners were very friendly, they put fresh bedding down and filled his water tank right before he got there so it wouldn't be too hot. Quite the difference from my last place. They also have 3 labs so Heidi will have company when we come to visit Calvin, anyone who knows Heidi knows that labs are her favorite breed :)

The property goes all the way to the back house in the distance. They let the horses roam night & day and bring them into the stalls to eat 2x/day. From the stalls to the back house, Calvin will have an acre to roam with the other horses.

The facility owners decided it would be best for Calvin to stay in the large stalls for the evening and then turn them all loose tomorrow. He paced the stalls a bit and whinnied, I think he misses his friends and is nervous in the new place. However, I know he'll make friends with these horses as he's pretty easy going. I even told the owners that I don't mind if their horses chase him because he could use the exercise! Can't wait to head out on some new trails once he's more comfortable, and I'll be sure to keep everyone updated!

Calvin in his stall, this is normally just where he will eat until he's finished and then he'll go back outside and roam the acre.

Last Group Trail at the Ranch

We signed up for the same ride that we did back in May. Since we're moving locations at the end of the month (see previous post), this would be our last time on this trail. Unlike last time, we were told to arrive at 8am and then we could do the trail twice since it's not that long. I could see some major improvements since the last time we did this trail. Calvin was calmer and trusted me more as the rider. He was also in better shape and took until the second time around to get tired!

It's a fun ride because you get all sorts of horseback riding levels and personalities. The scared amateurs who don't know how to control their horses and/or are afraid of their horses. The confident trail riders on dead broke horses who make riding look too easy. The advanced riders on younger/more difficult horses like myself, and the people on gaited horses who always ride in front because their horses walk so fast!

Calvin bonding with Mona Lisa. Never mind that she tried to kick him a week ago, he holds no hard feelings toward her ;)

This is Calvin's previous pasture mate Olive, he misses her and enjoyed sticking with her for most of the ride. We could actually see the ocean before the smog arrived.

Trail ride by ourselves. Sometimes he's a little too in touch with his wild heritage and will veer off the nicely paved path into the brush. Notice how it goes up to his shoulders, silly Mustang!

Overall, a nice ride to end our time at the Ranch.

When it Rains it Pours

Hey readers, sorry for the lack of posts lately! I have had some major life changes happening, including moving into a new apartment. Not only moving myself, but I had to find another boarding stable for Calvin.

As some of my family and friends have already heard, I put in my 30 days at my current boarding location. They sent us a letter at the beginning of August saying that they are shutting down the pastures where Calvin is located. They apparently got fined around $40,000 and given the option to either shut it down or to fix the problem & pay the money. The boarding place where Calvin is was fined by the city for not having permits for horses or the land, I'm not savvy about permits so I'm not entirely sure what permit they did not have. The stable owner does not own the land Calvin was on, he only leases it and he wants out of the horse boarding business. Therefore, we were given the option to either relocate to smaller pastures, relocate to stalls that he owns, or find somewhere else. I decided to move Calvin somewhere else. In a way I'm relieved, Calvin will have shelter from the rain and I won't have to shovel poop anymore. As my mom put it, "you're taking care of him like he's in your backyard" except that I was paying over $300 a month. Out where I'm looking board is less expensive, but it's a drive and I'll miss the beautiful oak trees from this location. The hardest part will be moving him away from Graf, they are such good friends now and really do love each other.

My friends I've made at this new barn are also leaving in the fall, which is a huge reason why I decided to look elsewhere. Also Graf, Calvin's new pasture buddy, is also leaving in the fall because his owner bought horse property. With no reason to stay, I decided to look in another area for horse boarding. I asked on facebook to see if anyone knew of pasture boarding and I actually got some offers from private boarders. I went to look at these properties a few weeks ago and found a place I really liked. The owner feeds the horses 2x/day in stalls and then turns them out on her 1 acre property to roam the rest of the day/night.

I was excited about the fact that Calvin could now have an entire acre to roam on with other horses. He would also get good orchard hay (grass hay) and not the alfalfa cubes which he's eating now. Side note, I'm not a fan of the alfalfa cubes because C. has found dead mouse bones and barbed wire in them before, plus long stem hay is healthier for them anyway. I am disappointed that he won't be free-fed anymore. He has gained weight and looks absolutely fabulous with a shiny coat! The thing is that free-feeding is so rare with boarding facilities, most think that free feeding will cause horses to gain weight. If we lived on the East Coast or somewhere with grass pasture, this would be a non issue because he could munch all day on grass and then get hay on top of that. Yet on the West Coast we have lovely "dry lots" with no grass, so most people only feed 2x/day and that's all the horses get. I had to decide between two less-than-ideal options: keep Calvin in a stall and free-feed OR keep Calvin in a pasture and get 2x/day feeding. Due to his young age, I opted to keep him in a pasture. They will feed him separately at the new boarding location so at least he will get his fill before being turned out again with the other horses. Since I already paid for Aug at the current boarding location, he won't move to his new boarding location until Aug. 31st. I'll make a new post of him in his new home after that.

Calvin and Graf getting into trouble knocking wheelbarrows over!