He got his new shoes on this morning and then Becky loaded him up (first try!) and we took him out to Oak Meadow Farm. It was a bittersweet goodbye with Becky but shes been amazing and I am so fortunate to be able to leave a place on such good terms.
We were greeted by lots of happy faces. They all oooed and ahhhed over Granite and I felt like I owned the most amazing equine on the planet. He suddenly grew to about 18 hands and his eyes doubled in size during the ride over. He looked and snorted, but he gets an A+ for how well he handled the whole experience. We led him into the big barn and the "annex". We took him in washstalls and down driveways. Then we put him out with 3 other horses and they played and sniffed and then happily went to grazing. So... Tyler and I were invited out to lunch with 7 others from the barn. It was so nice! I've never really had a "barn family".
Then, I got back and the Barn Manager's daughter (also named Rachel) convinced me that Granite would be just fine to go for a ride. So, I tacked up and took him for his first ride in an arena that wasn't Becky's! He was spooky and looky and all of his energy was up-and-down, but he was sane. There were 4 other horses riding with us and he really handled himself well. Then we walked around the open unfenced land behind the barn with 3 other horses! He was a pro. He also dwarfs the other horses and walks much faster (who knew he was so big!).
I unpacked my stuff into 2 huge, lovely tack lockers and tucked Granite in and then left barn. It took me ELEVEN minutes to get home! AHHH-MAZING. Tomorrow, I'm meeting Jen, D and "Little Rachel" (I'm "Big" Rachel, which is SO not cool) to go on Granite's first trail ride (on the property). My horse is so figgen amazing.
So is my boyfriend who helped me through most of the process then drove an hour round trip to go get a blanket I left at Becky's barn. He also took tons of photos of the whole process.... so, enjoy!
Sounds wonderful! I love the pictures and the barn looks lovely.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! Sounds like a great place. I hope you both really enjoy it. (And yay TK for being super awesome.)
ReplyDeleteYay for a successful move!! The new place looks great, hope you guys both love it!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the move! What a stunning boy that handled himself so well at a new place!!
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What an exciting day! I'm sure you and Granite will really enjoy the new digs :)
ReplyDeletewhat a beautiful barn!
ReplyDeleteHow big is Granite? He looks huge!
ReplyDeleteWow! That barn is Beautiful! Those stall looks HUGE and I know it was a concern for you, but wow they look BIG. So goes Granite, he's grown for sure dont you think?
ReplyDeleteThanks everybody! Granite is about 16.2 now. He looks much bigger than he actually is because he is so solidly built.
ReplyDeleteLove these pictures! He is turning into such a beautiful boy!
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