For my first trailer-out ride of the year, I chose to take Q. She's my tried-and-true professional. All three horses are, really. But Q is the cream of the crop about it all. Countless endurance rides and training miles will do that to a horse.
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| Having upgraded to a huge truck and and a 3-horse trailer is such a great change. My nerves hauling are all but absent these days. |
It's crazy to think now, but a few months ago I had decided I was going to rehome this little mare. We've never gotten along perfectly. She's great for everyone, but she and I always seemed to butt heads. It's a big reason why I straight up quit riding her last year. It was far easier on both of us to just let her play tag-along instead of riding pony.
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| Happy girls who loaded themselves into the truck while I fetched Q |
She built a lot of confidence during that time without me astride her back. And I enjoyed watching her be her. Watching her build confidence in herself and her surroundings. I also enjoyed recentering myself without also balancing Q's emotional status.
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| Spring greens |
I'd gone so far as to reach out to both Austen and Jen to let them know I was ready to rehome Q if they happened to know anyone. Austen knows and loves the mare and has always been a great advocate for Q. Jen - who helped me rehome a friend's horse last year - understood where my headspace was with it all coupled with the desire to find Q a good fit like we did with Ivan last year.
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| The happiest dogs |
After I'd made the decision and shared it, my partner made a compelling argument for me to keep Q. Grateful for his advocation, and in a good faith effort to give it One More Go, I decided to put a ride or three on Q and see how things went. It'd be the litmus test for whether she stayed or went.
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| It was nice to see the river with short vegetation |
Long story short, every ride has been just lovely. Q and I have turned over a new leaf together. She didn't spook a single time on our entire 10-mile outing 2 weeks ago. In fact, when I dismounted at the end to pick up a heaping load of trash some redneck assholes left in the woods and wheel it out in the wagon they also left, she gave me a "WTF, woman?!" look, but was otherwise completely unbothered as I hauled the wagon down the trail in one hand while she was on lead in the other. (I did not take the wagon full of a cooler and plates and containers of food with me for the ½-mile journey down the road to the trailer, but instead left it alongside the road to hopefully be retrieved by some other good Samaritan to take to the dump. I hate inconsiderate assholes.)
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| The mosaic of greens in the spring is simply my favorite |
More excited than I've been in ages to spend more time with this little mare! And very grateful for my partner's encouragement to keep her.
