Playing Catch Up

Hello, hello!

I know, I've been a stranger. The good news is that I've been seeing my horse more than I've been posting on here. That's a start, right!?

I'll keep it brief and just try to update you on what's happened.

We're still with Jeff. He's a fabulous caretaker and has been helping me a lot. Rei's put on a bit of weight and is happier and healthier and getting better every time I see her! She's still one of the smartest, most well-behaved horses I've ever been around and I still feel absolutely lucky to have found her.

We went on a trail ride or two with Jeff and she behaved perfectly. In fact, she was more spook-proof (albeit more energetic and less bit-wearing) than Jeff's tried-and-true trail horse he puts beginners on. I was a very, very proud mom!

We did arena work and she learned to stand still for mounting really quickly. It took only once or twice around the dressage arena for her to realize that nothing was out to eat her (we played "touch it!" with three objects, a total of 5-10 minutes, and she was totally fine after that). We had a bit of an issue leading from the barn to the ring but otherwise she was perfect.

Jeff moved to a different facility, and we followed him there. I trail rode Rei over there on the side of a country road alone (don't worry, it was only a 10-minute trail ride, I had my phone and Jeff waiting on the other end timing me). We had a few bumpy spots where she was quite certain she didn't want to go forward, but we got through them alone and with me still mounted! The little traffic we saw didn't bother her, and she was a champ! She didn't even try to take off when we got to the new barn and her friends were yelling at her; she waited and listened and was very polite (albeit vocal). So proud. :)

The new barn has tons of grass for my girlie to munch on and she's made lots of friends and is generally a very happy pony. We got her teeth floated and a vet to look at her; the vet was super impressed that she was so trusting and well-behaved and wanted to know all my secrets! She also told me I was on track with Rei and doing everything I was supposed to be doing and that it would take several months for her to make a full recovery still (6-8). But... I'm on the right track, Reina looks like she's bouncing back well and that I could call her if I had any questions.

She even made Rei the patient of the month because she was such a good girl!!! :D

Apart from that... I saw her today after a few weeks of various things keeping me away - out of the country, then the new semester started... all excuses, naturally, but true nevertheless. I gave her a bath today and loved on her and she rubbed on me and acted generally very pleased to see me after she pouted for a minute or two. She's such a prima donna... she loves baths, and getting her tail brushed. Silly.

So that's been our summer in a nutshell. No conditioning, not too much training... just fun and playing and moving barns and getting her better (and me being busy). Hopefully I'll be able to start making more time to see my baby and play with her more; she still remembers her food manners, how to back up and move sideways with a touch, and what a peppermint wrapper sounds like! Some things never change, hm? :D