High Maintenance

Enjoy some pictures from my ride on TC this last Friday (I don't have much to say about it, he was great, so great that I purchased him after it) while I tell you guys why my horse is still living at his breeder's. This is long, so feel free to just scroll through the pictures, there are lots! And more pictures are coming when I actually talk about how awesome my horse is in tomorrow's post.

Omg this horse, right?

This canter is insane

I've always been a high maintenance horse owner. I don't think I'm that high maintenance as a human. I'm definitely not the most low maintenance person ever (type A all the way) but I know when to shut up and let shit slide.

I've never been good at that with my horses.

I love that I can sit like this on him now

NECK MUSCLES, also it's finally time to lower my stirrups! Yay!

It's not even that my horses are high maintenance. Okay Rico was, but it's hard to argue that my barefoot, pasture-living baby horse is (although he will get shoes soonish). I just know from experience that the more careful I am with their care, the more likely I am to a) stay safe b) stay sane and c) feel good about how I treat my animals.

And let me just say that I'm not one to judge other people against my own standards. Like I only feel safe riding with a helmet but I'm not about to go yell at someone at my barn who always rides without one. I don't like having my horse in a box stall (unless he was literally ONLY in to eat food), but I know that a lot of people think it's fine and I wouldn't think that they were bad horse owners because of it.

He's getting a lot more scope to his gait, all the better to murder
my back when I can finally sit his trot

His canter is a touch lateral on this side and he gets a
little retracted, working on it

So in making my boarding decision for TC, I need to feel like my decision is going to keep both of us sane, both of us safe, and make me feel like I'm giving him the best care that I am physically, emotionally, and financially able to. Let me break it down.

I need a boarding situation that is safe for both of us. One part of this means that I feel safe from being injured. This could mean that I won't say, board my 4 year old at a barn where I have to cross a busy road in the dark, or I won't board at a place that doesn't have a decent amount of rules about safety (like if your dog is going to chase my horse, keep it on a leash).

I also need to feel like TC is safe from injury. So no barbed wire fencing (there are SO many places here with barbed wire) or bad footing either in the arena or in the paddock/pasture that could lead to a pulled tendon. I also need to make sure that it's not a situation where I feel like TC would become unsafe for me to handle, for example a barn that didn't have a safe place to longe, or a stable situation where I feel like he might lose his shit on me.

He's a little btv here, but it's such an improvement in how he is
lifting through his withers, when he develops more through his
back, he'll be able to open up that throatlach better

Canter needs massive work (and the left more so than the right)

I need a boarding situation that keeps both of us sane. I want to feel like I trust the barn manager/owner to notice if something is going wrong. I want to be able to go on vacation without ruining it by worrying about my horse. I also want TC to feel comfortable and happy. In a place where he is all by himself or cooped up- he might go nuts. I want him to feel comfortable with where he lives, since he'll be there a lot more than I am.

I want to feel like I'm doing my best in terms of choosing a boarding situation. There are limited options and all have pros and cons. Part of keeping me sane is knowing every day, while I'm at home, work, or out, that I chose the best situation for him out of all of my options.

Ahhh that hind leg, he is figuring it out

So much suspension at the canter

That doesn't mean eating ramen every day and selling my car in order to pay for my horse to be at some fancy place. I certainly am not putting him on all the best supplements and getting the best farrier in the area and doing chiro/massage every other week for him. I could always be taking care of him at a much higher level. But for me, there is a minimum requirement that I need to hit for me to not be rushing out of the office to rescue him from his living situation.

I have to make sure I'm doing the best for him physically- the location is a good place for HIM to be, he is safe and feels comfortable. I have to make sure I'm doing my best for him emotionally- that I don't put him in a place that, say, is so far away from my job that I frequently get to the barn so frustrated by the traffic that I'm more likely to have shitty rides.

I also need to do my best for him financially- I can't just throw him at some shitty barn to save money (the board varies drastically in this area from 250/mo to over 800/mo), that isn't okay in my mind. I don't want to cripple myself financially though, I mean obviously there is a limit, but I'm not going to sacrifice any of the above to save money.

One of my favorite pictures :)

He's so sproingy at the canter

So where does this leave me? I'm not moving into my new barn on Sunday.

Unfortunately there was a mistake in communication that I take full responsibility for, where I thought we were getting a stall and paddock and what we were actually getting was a box stall with very limited (<1 hour per day) turnout. For me, this is not enough for him. He is four years old and has been living in group pasture for all of his life. To take him from that into a box stall does not feel right to me. They've been very nice to offer me additional situations that would not be permanent. And while that would be fine if he were Rico, I don't think shuffling him around for the next few months would be good for him. So I am backing out.

He is the best

I feel terrible saying no this late in the game. But I do not feel good about moving him into a situation that a) is going to make me feel like I'm not doing my best for him, b) is possibly going to make him very upset and angry, which c) may put my well-being in danger if TC is feeling cooped up and takes it out on me.

But it's an amazing barn and I was looking forward to being there in the future. I will be on the wait list for a permanent stall and paddock.

So tricky at the canter, but I love that he's trying

Sometimes he's low like this and I'm totally fine with it, given
what his tendencies are. His throatlach isn't too closed and he is
letting me access his back.

So as of this weekend, I'm living a little more than an hour (no traffic) from my horse. That's fine. I trust his breeder and that facility to keep him safe and to let me know if something is going on. I have a schedule in place where I can ride him on weekends and once a week on the weekdays since I have the ability to work from home once a week.

He is in his pasture and so doesn't need a ton of riding to keep him fit enough for my short rides. I am forgetting about showing or making progress for the next few months. I would rather give up what would have been my awesome 15 minute barn commute and have to drive nearly 3 hours round trip to see him than give up his and my sanity and potentially put myself or him in danger.

Luckily, being up here means I can see barns each day after work. I've already got a few places to check out that are maybe a little further away than I had initially wanted to be (but still closer than my current barn!). But again I'm willing to sacrifice my commute to keep this horse, and therefore myself, happy. I just want to do my best as a horse owner, whatever that means to me in particular.

So much fun that I can't stop looking at his neck, ugh

See his left front hit before his right hind? Lateral. But I think he
will get better with more strength and confidence

What do you guys think? Do you have specific requirements like this, or are you a little more laid back?

With all this drama happening, I started feeling... not regret from purchasing him, but just remembering that owning is so much more stressful than leasing. Like I could go lease a horse at a barn that only offers box stalls and I wouldn't think twice about it because it wasn't my decision to put the horse there.

I'm not one to lease though, especially at my level, it's hard to find someone who won't take advantage of me even a little bit. Been there, done that.

He's so light