Yesterday was “golden oldies day.” My daughter and I planned to take our dearly loved, big-hearted mares to the park and see what the old ladies could still do.
For Cowgirl (21), it has been 5 years since she was under saddle. For Leah (20), it has been about 3 years. Both of them had been told they were “retired.”
We were wrong. Turns out, there is still a need for older, solid riding companions.
Soon a warning light came on and said the trailer brakes weren’t working and to take it to the dealer.
Well, I turned around, drove home, and took it to my husband who is better than “my dealer” at fixing things.
He first hooked up to my old white Dodge pickup, just to make sure it was the trailer and not the connection to the truck.
Once he discovered it was, indeed, the trailer, he went into my tack room and removed the battery for the brakes. He then ran it up to a store to be tested (it was dead) and then to another store, North 40, that had the correct replacement battery in stock.
Once he got home and replaced the battery, everything worked and we were ready to load up again, but only had 2 hours before we had to pick up grandson from preschool. Not a big window, but better than nothing.
As we were loading the mares, Tweed looked very sad to be left behind.
The old girls were a little nervous to be back at the park after so many years off, but they quickly settled back into it.
After doing the obstacles, we lunged them at a walk up and down some steep hills to see how they handled balancing themselves. They both did shockingly well, and much better than I expected.
I think they’re ready to come out of retirement for light trail rides. Woot Woot!
This is going to be an excellent development for Tumbleweed. My daughter can ride her horse, Cowgirl, while Epona is off at training, and my husband can ride Leah. Tumbleweed, thankfully, isn’t attached to either of these mares, and they will make excellent teachers and companions for him on the trail, especially Cowgirl who is much tougher than Foxy and puts up with zero nonsense.
I do worry a little that Leah will teach him some bad habits trailering. She has always been a paw’er. Tumbleweed loads and hauls like a pro, with zero trailer issues. She better not teach him bad tricks!
As for my injured foot, it fit into a boot, but it was painful. Most likely, I broke the little toe on the right foot, which is ironic since five years ago when my old trailer divider broke, fell hard, spooked Cowgirl, and she stepped on this same right foot and smashed the toes so hard that they split open on the opposite side, it was the two adjacent toes to the little toe that appeared broken.
I got my new trailer thanks to that episode, which was at the very beginning of lockdowns, March 2020. The economy was in a nosedive and the government wasn’t issuing checks yet. The dealer took 8k off of my trailer. With the shortages and inflation that followed, trailers appreciated in price. So, I prefer to see that whole toe-smashing fiasco as a net positive.
Looking at it this way, I’d rather have my toe smashed riding horses than walking barefoot in my kitchen on my birthday and smacking it into a chair.
How boring is that?!?
Absolutely NO upside.
Happy trails, everyone, …
and take care of your digits!
Oh that pathetic Tweed face!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome that you unretired the old girls, so much better than buying another horse and figuring out its issues or quirks. Happy trails indeed!
Ever since I broke my ankle nearly 3 years ago, pull on boots are out of the question. I ride in lace ups, done up loosely so that if anything happens, my boot will come off easily. But with my wide stirrups, it shouldn't be an issue.
Unfortunately, your comment was sent to the junk file by blogger. Grrr. I retrieved it.
DeleteI agree about the unretirement. My farrier always said they have to use it or lose it, and so light work is a blessing that could extend the quality of their lives. These two mares always struggled with soundness, but keeping them off alfalfa and spring pasture seems to be solving that issue. Let’s hope so anyway.
I really look forward to Tweed riding with Cowgirl. She puts up with no nonsense and the more he is with her, the better. She is extremely brave, too. She will make an excellent trail boss and give my daughter something very important she needs. Watching them together the other day was so beautiful. Cowgirl clearly loves her and is so tender to her. They go way back with each other, both were babies when their paths crossed. Now, both are mothers. They were even pregnant at the same time. Their journies are so intertwined
Im it all worked out. I’m sure the ‘old’ girls enjoyed being out.
ReplyDeleteI think they did. It’s good for horses to get out and move and be challenged. As my farrier always said, they have to use it or lose it.
DeleteThey are Golden Oldies for a reason. No doubt these beautiful girls will welcome renewed family interaction/purpose. You are going to have a wonderful heart full riding season!!
ReplyDeleteI think they will enjoy having an easy job. I remember when we bought Foxy and she became a great ride for the grandkids. Just amazing with the littles. When her previous owner saw the photos she was shocked. She said she never saw that side of her. Haha. I’m glad I didn’t know to be worried about it. I only judged Foxy by how she was here with us, and I think she liked her new job.
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