Free Range

Annual 4th of July Trail Ride 2015
So far, Ryon has had almost three weeks of downtime and seems to be feeling much better.  He’s only in light work and no more jumping or formal training.  As of now, the near-term plan is to free range Ryon for a period of time - half a year or so - and give him some down time.  It’s not easy being a horse in a commercial show barn like ours, boxed in on all sides by more screaming horses and arenas.  He has no real barn buddies, and my barn friend caught him trying to escape from his stall on Friday evening.  After we finish with this round of medication, we are likely going to pull his shoes off and ship him out to a pasture 30 minutes from town.  Ryon will get a chance to graze and get all woolly, generally be a horse, before deciding what to do with him.  Hopefully his arthritis stops getting worse and he also gets a mental reprieve from five days of work a week.  If only the rest of us could be so lucky, right?

In the meantime, the medium-term plan is to look for a new project horse - most likely a baby off-the-track-thoroughbred between the age of three and five.  Much like we did with Ryon, I’m hoping that we find a green broke horse with a good mind that we can teach and show the ropes both in and out of the saddle, which is honestly one of my favourite parts about riding.  The older I get, the less jumping captures my attention and the more I’ve started to focus on overall horsemanship.  I love being able to teach new horses the confidence (and even cockiness) to go out into an arena or field and feel comfortable and at ease.  We have trails galore by my barn and going through the varied terrain eventually turns into a zen-like experience the more they trust me and themselves.

As of right now, although it feels like everyone is trying to unload their horses before the winter, it seems as though no one wants to sell ME their horse.  I’ve reached out to rescue organizations, online horse ads, and Facebook.  Sellers are extremely interested until I ask about veterinarians close by to perform a pre-purchase exam and give them my references.  Then, it’s dead silence, which I have a hard time understanding.  I know I’m not known for being the most patient person but geez louise folks, if you’re trying to sell something, maybe you should respond to potential buyers.  It’s almost like being ghosted by someone you’re interested in.  The ups and downs of this process are already getting to me and I’ve only just begun.


Comments

  1. Poor fella, wanting to escape... Yes, let him graze. No one wants to be boxed in. Did you say you were getting um... old? ;)

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  2. glad ryon is feeling better..and man, that all sounds complicated. but ghosted...haha!! that made me laugh.

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  3. If they get scared off because you want to make sure the horse you're getting is healthy, that's probably not a person you want to deal with. Does the humane society have a large animal shelter near you? There's one near me that had a rooster, named Punky B. Rooster, that I desperately wanted to adopt for his name.

    I hope Ryon gets better with his medicine and rest! Maybe you do need to buy a ranch for him and his new friend. :)

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  4. My fingers are crossed that Ryon does well with your planned new life for him. Good luck with the horse shopping too. I had a hard time getting ppl to communicate with me too.... Usually bc other ppl were already looking at the horse I wanted. Sigh.

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  5. Agree with the comment above, Rooth...fingers crossed that everything works out for both you and Ryon. Although I don't know much about horses and riding in general, I think what you guys have planned out sounds good:)

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  7. It's been so long since I've visited that you have a whole new look? Sigh. I'm going to have to remedy this situation in the new year.

    But I digress . . .

    I'm sorry to hear about Ryon -- but it does sound like he's in for some lovely days ahead.

    As for your next adventure, I'm sure your horse just isn't available yet. All the same, can't wait to see him . . .

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