Becoming Horse Owners

It was so exciting to have horses on our farm and now we had to get used to the routine of taking care of them.  Prior to heading off to work in the morning, we had to head down to the barn to feed, water and turn the horses out into the pastures.  Once the horses were out of their stalls, we had to “muck” the stalls, which basically means to use a pitch fork style tool to sift the horse droppings out of the pine shavings.  You also have to scoop up any urination spots and put all of this into a wheelbarrow and dump it outside.  You would be surprised how fast this pile builds up day after day!  The horses enjoyed grazing in the pasture during the day and at the end of the day, you bring them back in, feed and water them, brush them down and then leave them in the stalls for the evening.  On weekends, we would add riding to our routine.  It took us a while to figure out how to properly place a saddle on them but once we figured that out, it was fun to hop in the saddle and ride around the pastures.  Every now and then, I would surprise Robin and the kids by saddling up my horse and riding by the front windows while they were inside.  It was quite entertaining for them to see such a large animal walking past the window when they weren’t expecting it!

The horse farm that we had purchased our horses from had given us 7 days to have a Vet check performed on the horses to make sure they were in good health, so we contacted our Vet and had her check out our horses.  It was really interesting to see all of the tests that she ran our horses through.  It was far beyond checking their hooves, teeth, eyes and taking blood samples.  She took them out in the paddock and walked them in tight circles, had them trot, walked them up and down hills and more.  We watched anxiously as she wrote things down and assessed their fitness.   When she was done, she gave us the news.  Ranger had passed all of her tests but she very directly said we should send Forest back!!!  We were stunned and surprised as he seemed perfectly healthy to us and he was such a sweet horse!  What could possibly be wrong?  The Vet took the time to explain her findings…….during one of the tests, she had guided Forest to walk in several very tight circles while he was on a lead line.  She was looking to see that the horse would cross one leg over the other as it pivoted tightly.  Forest had planted one of his rear legs and literally spun around that leg without lifting it.  He was drilling a hole in the ground as he moved around the circle.  The Vet stated that this meant he had some type of a neurological disorder which was manifesting itself as pain he was experiencing with his back leg or hip.

We were very sad to hear this but it was what it was.  We contacted the horse farm to tell them the Vet’s findings.  They of course wanted to see the report and said their Vet had given the horse a clean bill of health.  We went back and forth on this a bit but they did live up to their guarantee.  We had to take another day trip to the farm to pick a new horse.  After looking at several other horses and taking them out for test rides, Robin finally selected Rusty and he was delivered to our farm a week later.  Rusty passed the Vet check so we now had our two horses and could focus on training and riding.

Ranger

Rusty

Our FIrst Animals

Well, we went through the normal routine of getting boxes unpacked, pictures hung on the wall and furniture moved around. Things were going nicely with the head start we got from our friends during the move. We were getting settled in to life on a farm. Just prior to us moving in, the owner had mentioned to me that he was getting a bit stressed out with trying to move 15 years worth of junk out of the house, barn and garage. He wasn’t sure how he could get it all done in time. Since they had helped make our dream come true, I told him to take what they wanted and I would either keep or get rid of whatever was left. It seemed like the least I could do and he enthusiastically accepted the offer! That turned out to be a good deal for me as well as he left all kinds of odds and ends that proved useful for repairs later on.

The farm had been used by the previous owners as a horse farm. Both Robin and I had limited exposure to horses, mostly in the form of an occasional trail ride, but we thought it would be neat to have our own. So, as our first official act as wanna-be farmers, we started looking around for a horse. We found a nice farm in Virginia that had several horses for sale. Their web site was well done and provided pictures, prices, and detailed descriptions of each horse. One weekend we made the day trip to the horse farm to take a closer look.

We told the owner about our limited experience and what we planned to use the horse for, which was trail riding around the farm. Robin was already taking riding lessons so she could be more confident in the saddle. Based on our inputs, the lady showed us a couple of horses to look at. This was primarily going to be Robin’s horse so I was going to let her choose a horse she was comfortable with. Robin chose a horse named Forest to take for a test ride. Forest was a beautiful black quarter horse who was very mild mannered. Robin rode him around the ring and really seemed to enjoy the way Forest responded. As she was a novice rider, Forest was a good fit as he was not easily excited.

Robin’s horse Forest

Robin rode Forest for about 20 minutes and seemed to enjoy herself, then she wanted me to try him out to see what I thought. We switched out and I gently nudged Forest to begin walking. Forest didn’t respond so I bumped him with my heels just a little bit harder, still nothing. I tried my best cowboy impersonation and made a clicking sound with my tongue and again nudged Forest. He didn’t seem interested in doing much at all. Becoming just a bit frustrated, I kicked him a little harder still with my heels and he finally started walking! For a whole three steps! Then he stopped again. I had heard that some horses respond to different signals so I asked the owner what this horse responded to. Her response was that he was just a very quiet horse and took a lot of encouragement. Well, I tried again and was able to get Forest moving but it took constant effort. If I stopped nudging him, he would stop. I found this to be too much work for riding a horse. But of course, Robin had fallen in love with him. I encouraged her to at least try another horse or two but I had a feeling I was fighting an up hill battle. I asked the owner if she had a horse with a little more “energy”. She seemed uncomfortable with my request due to our lack of experience but I was able to talk her into showing us another horse. I asked her about a Paint that I had seen that I really liked the looks of. She told me that he was probably more horse than Robin could handle. I persisted and said I would still like to see the difference. So, she brought Ranger over to us. Ranger was larger than Forest so maybe a bit more intimidating. I hopped up on Ranger and barely tapped him with my heels and he started walking! Ranger handled very well and I really enjoyed riding him. It didn’t take much more to get him into a trot but I wasn’t quite ready for that yet. Luckily he stopped on command. Now this was a fun horse! I talked Robin into giving Ranger a try. It took some effort for her to mount him as he was tall for her. She stuck with it and was able to settle into the saddle. She rode Ranger for about 10 minutes and then had had enough. Ranger was too much for her at this stage of her training plus she didn’t like his gait.

We tried a few more horses and Robin and I had both chosen our favorite. Unfortunately, they were two different horses! I told Robin that we were here to pick out her horse so we would go with Forest. She asked if I was OK with that and I told her it was fine with me, but that I probably wouldn’t ride him much myself. The horse farm owner overheard our discussions and stepped in to “help”. She said that if we were interested, she would offer us a two horse discount. Lucky me! But, it did solve our problem. Plus, this would allow us to ride together on the trails.

So, that was it! Ranger and Forest were coming to join us at Fairwinds Farm!

Ranger