We’ve been at New Barn for two and a half months now. The move was uneventful; grateful for good friends who heard I was doing my first haul with horses to New Barn and said “that’s silly, we’ll take the ponies over for you.” One less stress.

Confetti spent the first month absolutely attached to Polly and not convinced we were staying. She called constantly when out of sight. Polly, on the other hand, settled right on in. They are in small (California, 12×24) paddocks right next to each other. On one hand: great, I can get them both out easily and they’re not halfway across the barn! On the other hand: dang, Fetti felt like they had to be together 24/7! Work was a little crazy for that month, but I was still pretty consistent in my barn times, and Fetti slowly slowly slowly settled on in.

Our first trail ride consisted of walking the entire thing because she refused to stand still for me to get on and called for other horses the entire time while spinning in circles. Our second trail ride I convinced her I could get on halfway through. By trail ride number three, she’d figured out this was Home Trails and while she let me hop on near the start, promptly tried to throw some small rears in protest and spin to go home. Hahaha. Nope. Sorry pony, we’ve done that before, just go on forwards. Oh. OK. Right. Forwards. And that was that; two months in, we’re back to walk/trot bareback on the trails and remembered how to open/close gates at a very basic level. It’s been a lot of brain work and mental reassurances for Confetti. I think it’s baffled folks at New Barn when we just wander into the arena and walk slowly and stand still and contemplate life. This was 100% the right choice and I’d give up some physical fitness any day to keep her mentally secure.

Polly has been thriving on daily turnout. Her manners have gone downhill as I have done surprisingly little with her these two months.. work was crazy for month one, I took a week’s vacation (they’re on full care, just turn out both ponies together for the week please, done! easiest vacation planning ever) for a friend’s wedding across the country, and the week I returned work had spectacularly major changes with big impacts for my role. I’m still employed, these are good changes, but June was absolutely and completely a disaster. I worked a lot of 18 hour days. I sent a lot of 1am emails. This isn’t really what I planned on for the start summer, but I am intensely grateful the ponies are taken care of. I missed a lot of my usual barn days. It’s not in me to say all things happen for a reason, but I do believe that the universe provided for my absolute craziness with work by putting the ponies in the right place for where things are right now.

The lesson program at the barn is a lot like the one I grew up in. Turns out they’re looking for some more horses to use for lessons, and inquired about my two; Fetti’s on a trial run with their working students and advanced riders to get her back in shape and see how things go. The lesson times don’t conflict with when I ride, I can do Serious Trails on the weekends without impacting the lesson program, and Fetti needs more of a job. Worst case, the trainer knows what I have and can point appropriate students to us for partial leases, even if she’s not a fit for the average lesson student. We’ll see where things go.

Polly heads off to pony boarding school in a few weeks. A former barnmate is a working student for a dressage trainer a few hours away, at a barn owned by the mother of a college gal who borrowed Fetti for dressage lessons when she was here for school. Barnmate’s mother still boards at our previous barn and mentioned her daughter might be willing/interested in starting Polly. It is truly a small equestrian world sometimes. I have zero desire for Polly to become Fancy Dressage Pony, but dressage basics for starting her are great, and the barnmate made the short list of people who tactfully rode an endurance-fit Confetti.. so I’m anxious, excited, hopeful.

It’s been a really hard few months. Things aren’t perfect at new barn, but it’s finally starting to feel like home.