Horses continuing to settle in

Week two at the new barn comes to an end. It's been fun to see Dude and Bestie settling in more and more each day. The first week there was no turnout for any of the horses due to the amount of ice in the pastures. Then, at the beginning of our second week, after the ice thawed the question became, "Which fields to put Dude and Bestie in?"

There are two adjacent fields with road frontage, which is where we tried them last weekend. They went out fine, walked out together, and everything seemed A-ok until a person came down the road with their dog off the leash. That was cause for much consternation: Bestie trotting around the field with her tail up in the air, and Dude cantering around in a state of great excitement until he slipped on the slope, which is still pretty slick from moisture and the frozen ground underneath the first few inches. Of course that was something I did NOT want to see; flashbacks to his hip injury from three years ago, aaargh. Luckily he got right back up with no ill effects.

Laura and I talked about putting up temporary fencing to cordon off the steepest part of the slope (plan A). Then we talked about swapping all the horses to different fields (plan B). I think we even had a plan C. We decided to think about it overnight. When I came back to the barn on Monday she had come up with plan D: bringing Jake and Ben in early, around 3, and then putting Dude and Bestie out, at least until the grass comes in, the footing in the fields improves, and everyone has settled in and gotten accustomed to all the scary stuff in the new environment.

So that's what we're doing. I'm fine with it. I certainly don't want to risk injury at this point, and at least they are getting out. Since the first day, there have been no high jinks at turnout time, and even the first day was pretty tame: just Dude doing a few lighthearted bucks after he got unclipped from the lead. (Those are the moves where it's clear from his expression that he thinks he is Wild Pony of the West, but really he just looks ridiculous to any onlookers.) Since then, we turn them loose, they wander and look for the hay flake, eat it, and then spend the rest of the time snuffling around for the tiny grass shoots beginning to be uncovered. Their new fields are better because they're set back from the road and closer to the barn, which I think makes them feel more secure. And two of Laura's horses are out in an adjoining field for company.

For the first few days we brought them out to the paddocks and back in to the barn in tandem. On Thursday, they seemed pretty content, so I tried to bring Dude in first and then return to get Bestie. As soon as Bestie figured out that she was being left in the field, she freaked and started running the fence line. So much for that plan; Laura grabbed Dude and I walked back out to get Bestie. On Friday, I tried again. I clipped the lead on Dude and started walking him in, and Bestie just stood there, sort of snoozing in the sun. She watched us go, but not a peep out of her. Progress! I keep reminding myself that it's only been two weeks, and they're adjusting to a new barn, new fields, new people, new horses. I need to be patient.