The big move

Yesterday was the big move from my boarding barn to the "maternity ward". The stall was bedding in straw and waiting for Drifter's arrival. She got on the trailer nicely- front feet first and a little break- then she hefted her back end in. She stood very quietly eating her dinner while the door was closed. I let her eat a bit before jumping in the trunk and getting rolling. As soon as we started to leave the farm- she got pretty excited and upset. I could hear her calling and tossing her head. I could feel the trailer shaking as she was carrying on. As soon as we hit about 35mph she calmed down and relaxed a bit- she is a good loader- but maybe not the best hauler. The last time she was on a trailer it was a five day cross country ride- so maybe she had a reason to be anxious.

Luckily the ride to the new farm is only 15 minutes. When we got there she was dripping in sweat and clearly nervous. I again entered the trailer and offered her dinner. She started to eat and relax within a few minutes. I wanted the last thing she remembered on the trailer to be her standing calmly eating some yummy grain. She backed off very calmly with only a little stumble as her weight landed on her hind end. I was expecting her to be very pushy after unloading in a new place. As soon as she stepped off the trailer the FedEx trunk arrived and the chickens started clucking. She looked around, alert, but not upset and walked with me down to the barn. When she realized there were horses at this barn she started walking faster, but was never pushy or out of control. She only took a momentary glance at the chickens. She sniffed at the goats that are living beside her, but she took everything in stride. She settled into her stall and munched some hay and peed. All was well.

Today I went to check on her, see how she settled in and how she got along with her new turnout buddy. All was well and she was tucked in for the night. I checked her over and WHOA she is starting to bag up! She enjoyed a brief massage and I snapped some new pictures.