Yesterday the son of the owner showed up to transport Katai to the new barn. I really wondered how she would be because I haven't had a chance to load her even once since I moved her last time. Amazingly enough, especially for a horse that was almost impossible to load initially, she was really good! She flew out backwards once but then loaded in quietly and stood while he hooked her up and closed the slant.
She also rode well and was just a sweetheart when she unloaded. I the past she's been quite a handful but all this work and consistency is obviously paying off because she walked on a loose lead through the new barn, back out and down a Lane between new horses to her new home.
Tonight I went out to work with her for the first time in the new arena. I almost skipped it because of how cold it was and the fact that it's supposed to be much nicer tomorrow but I knew I'd feel guilty all night and I missed my pony. My car said it was -1 when I got to the barn but it is considerably warmer in the barn. Of course in this cold that means it was close to 10-15 degrees so still far too cold to be comfortable.
Katai was a little uppity in her stall and was certainly happy to see me. I got a few huge nickers and could tell that she's stressing out. Tonight was her second time with her new stall schedule so it's still pretty new. I was happy to see that her stall was clean except for two small normal poops, she had a nice clean bucket of water and had been chewing on her mineral block. All good signs that it's already starting to feel at home.
I was also pleased with how calmly and politely she stepped out of her stall as I led her out and I know it speaks to the handling she's been receiving. Right now she's still in a paddock by herself so handled morning and evening. Soon she'll be on pasture turnout so will have to figure out how to find her stall when the let the horses into the barn in the evening.
One of the best things about the stall I have her in is the attached tack locker. You can see the door open up above. It means that I can tie her right to the front of her stall to groom and tack up and didn't have to schlep equipment which is nice. Especially since I forget things.
The stalls are old and quite used but maintained well and they bed them quite deep. I was pleased to see that so far her feet look better which doesn't surprise me since there's less time standing around in poop between her nice clean, dry stall and the paddock. I'm interested to see what will happen in the pasture turnout.
She was nice and quiet for grooming and just moved a bit when I went to put the saddle on. She also was a complete sweetheart about the new arena and after a nice 15 minute walk with me around the arena in both directions I lunged her both ways mainly at trot. She was stiff and slightly off. I kind of suspected that she'd pulled something yesterday after trailering either by slipping in the pen while introducing herself to her neighbors or on the trailer. She didn't head bob at all but was a little short behind. I'll see how she's doing tomorrow and hopefully ride!
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