Baby wearing her shipping boots to protect her legs
Today I was up and out bright and early (for me), on my way to Ponygirl’s place to help with moving her horses. After a couple of years in her pleasant but rather cramped apartment, Ponygirl is moving to a larger place, a rental house on a horse farm. Naturally, this means the horses, Diva and Baby are moving too.
Baby is first in the trailer. Driver Dave checks the ties.
I hadn’t seen Baby in a while and couldn’t get over how much she has filled out. She turned 4 years old on May 25th and is no longer recognizable as the starved-out, malnourished little filly we purchased 3 years ago. (You can catch up on her story here.) It’s a thrill to see the transformation in her.
Diva with Ponygirl, dressed for travelling
Ponygirl was justifiably nervous about the move. Would the horses board the trailer without incident? Would they be upset in their new surroundings? Would they get along with their new fieldmates? But everything went smoothly.
Diva backs out of the trailer at her new home
While our other horses are Arabians, Baby is a Quarter Horse. Arabians are typically small and wiry, marathoners built for the long haul, tough individuals with their own opinions and lots of attitude. Quarter Horses have the build of sprinters, with big, well-muscled bodies and a laid-back, easy-going approach to the world. True to her breeding, Baby hopped into the trailer, no problem. “You want me to what? Sure, whatever. Is there hay?” And Diva followed her lead.
Baby looks around the new barn.
At the new barn, the horses were soon unloaded and were tied in the new barn for a few minutes to have their shipping wraps removed. Then it was out to the pasture to meet the new crew.
Baby sniffs noses with Kala
Kala and Raleigh came over to check out the new arrivals and arched necks and nose-touching ensued. It will take a little while for everyone to sort out the pecking order, but the transition was progressing smoothly.
Diva and Baby greet Raleigh
Ponygirl and I have often discussed updating Baby’s name, now that she is anything but a baby. Her registered name is Leo’s Tuff Jackie, a good, sound Quarter Horse sort of name, and I favour Tuffy for short. However, Ponygirl dislikes this, and at the moment we are trying out Ivory. The move brings Ponygirl 45 minutes closer to Willow House, so we hope that we will be able to get out riding on Diva and Baby/Ivory/Tuffy more often in the coming months.
Willow House Chronicles 