Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Introducing.....

Riding Buddy found a new horse.  Actually, this horse shopping experience ended up being the easiest  I've ever seen.  I'm still kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop, but little Bailey has been here over a week now with only minimal drama the first few days and all of that because her old mare got herself worked into a hormone induced hysteria.  The new girl has been quite good.

She is a four year old QH/mustang cross.  A bit of an accident whose owner didn't know quite what to do with.  When they finally realized they were out of their depth, they sold her this spring to a trainer who has worked with her all summer.  The trainer also owns a horse-campground up at Brookfield and hosts numerous clinics.  In addition to lots of trail miles, Bailey has gotten to be in all of the clinics including police-horse obstacle training and cowboy-mounted-shooting.  That last is a rather new bit of crazy equestrian gaming where people race around on horseback shooting balloons with a pistol at a gallop.  I don't think they are actually trying to shoot the mounted cowboys, despite the unfortunate nomenclature.  I'm told they use blanks.  Not quite my cup of tea, but sure is great experience for a young horse.




One of the things that RB fell in love with right off are her tough, rock-crunching bare feet.  They are self trimming and tough as nails right now.  We are both going to be VERY interested to see if they maintain in our environment.


We had a lovely trail ride yesterday afternoon.  We were out for about two hours, we crossed a stony creek, bulldozed through brush, ducked under branches and climbed over logs.  Bailey didn't put a foot wrong.  She still needs work and a lot of maturity, but this little mare is sweet as can be and has a good brain.  I think she'll do just fine.  Welcome Bailey Girl.


19 comments:

  1. Ooh she's lovely! Best of luck to RB! And I too will be interested to see what happens with her feet...

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  2. NICE! I'll bet she and Ramsey would take a nice pic together! Is Tessa a lot bigger than Bailey? She seems more compact and not as tall. RB must be so happy to ride again. That's a nice brim on her helmet.

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    1. Bailey is quite small and compact. She's built very different than Tessa. She has a bit of growing to do yet too, she'll fill out some over the next year or two until she is about six.

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  3. She's a beauty and what luck that she's had amazing training!!

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  4. I always enjoy seeing someone else in a Dabrim helmet brim. Nice pony.

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  5. And she's a doll, too, isn't she!

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  6. Oh, she's beautiful. Nicely put together and a kind expression. How does Tessa like her new trail buddy?

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  7. Isn't she a beauty and what a great find!

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  8. YAY and she is cute as can be. Looks like a perfect fit and if that is the case already it is all good from there!

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  9. When I was 13 years old, my dad bought a 1.5 year old QH/mustang cross filly. She was the best friend a 13 year old girl could possibly want! She was my constant companion for years! And her feet were like iron. In all the years we had her, she never got an abscess, never had thrush, never foundered, never had white line disease, was never lame. She was mostly barefoot, although she wore shoes for short periods of time several summers when I was riding many hours per week. Interestingly, she was never fed grain, however significant that might be. I hope Bailey is as good for RB as my horse was for me! Marty in NC.

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  10. Thank you everyone for such lovely responses to Kris' post. She is such a sweetheart and the more I work with her, the better she gets! We went out for a walk around the farm yesterday, decided to mount up away from the barn and she never looked back.

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  11. Well according to Anonymous's comment above this was an excellent choice! Good sound feet. Congratulations to the new addition.

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  12. She's a pretty girl! Love her rich deep colour and those very good-natured ears! ,

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