soft like velvet

Alternative title for this post could be Krimpet 2.0 haha. The resemblance is uncanny tho, don't you think? Minus obvi Krimpet's flashy blaze. And Velvet is actually quite a bit bigger than Krimpet, maybe about Izzy height if not slightly taller. Definitely broader lol. (she's QH / Paint for those curious)

she's cute tho for sure

Y'all don't really need me to tell you that I wanted to keep riding while Charlie recovers. You already knew that haha. You're all the same way yourselves too. What else can we say? We love horses. We love riding. As Churchill said, "No hour is wasted that is spent in the saddle."

definitely a mare tho

Charlie, by the way, is doing well. I brought him home yesterday after staying a couple days at New Bolton for surgery. He was.... emotional upon his return. Basically a real hot fucking mess. But physically he's doing ok and the surgery was successful and the prognosis is good. So now we focus on healing. More soon.

d'aww look at that face! also charlie's empty stall behind her since i had just dropped him off for surgery :'(

In the meantime, we persevere. Persist. Find a way. Since lancing Charlie's abscess I've been on daily bandage duty anyway. The surgical wound blessedly doesn't require daily changes since drainage isn't really an issue in the same way it was from the abscess, but I'll still be out quite often caring for him.

trees can't eat horses if the trees are also where we get all our breaks from work!

So naturally I also immediately started hunting for available rides while I'd be out anyway caring for my doofy hero. There are a surprising number of options. A few children's ponies who always benefit from the occasional school. A horse who needs to get up to w-t-c speed so it can be planted in the lesson program. The odd ride here and there, ya know?

she's hoping i'll slip her a peppermint. hint: i totally will

Velvet was the first horse that came to mind tho. She's a beautiful little mare - and 1000% a product of the modern day horse owner affliction fondly referred to as "The Black Stallion Syndrome."

She's wild and beautiful and full of spirit. So her owner chose her from a rescue lot. And..... well. Her owner is now pretty fucking terrified of her. Lost all confidence. Basically doesn't ride except on group trail rides where Velvet can be nestled right in among the pack.

exhausted but self satisfied little pony

Her owner is SUPER nice tho - and actually so is this pony. I expect that they'll become more of a team maybe sooner than the owner currently imagines. But the pony needs serious mileage. I've seen her go with her owner, and also with a few of the resident brave kiddos - and she honestly looks cool.

i might be the first person that ever really tightened a noseband on her. she apparently wasn't sure she could chew her lifesaver and dropped it! the horror!! luckily she found it again -- all was not lost!

Velvet's basic flaw is that she's got no accountability for herself, which has led to no confidence. She hasn't been made to do the thing.... and now maybe isn't so sure that she can even do the thing. Just getting her out of the barn in hand, or away from it under saddle, can be a real challenge. (lol until i put a spur on and she was like SWEET BABY JESUS WHERE DID THAT COME FROM.... nobody expects the spanish inquisition little girl!!!)

She's spooky and scooty and feels unreliable and unbalanced. Likes to get to where her neck is about 2" long with ears up your nose and just trantering off to the horizon.

don't let her diminutive looks fool you -- this lady is a TANK

But then she trips behind (so weak omg) and is like "oh fuck we gone die" all while I'm sitting there like, "uh but ok maybe try slowing down a little?"

In a way tho, she's kinda been an easy ride to get to know since she just expects to be pulled on, to have riders hang all over her face. Bc she feels so bolty spooky scooty all the time, and with all the trantering.... it's pretty easy to understand why a rider would want to pull. But.... instead I've taken the approach of putting my leg on so strong I might break her ribs (a gentle hug, if you will lol), while not actually letting her canter but also just pushing the reins at her, daring her to stretch out to them. And ..... go figure, she's coming around.

also a little piggy haha

I've only ridden her twice now but it was a pretty major difference already between rides 1 and 2. Which is cool bc she feels for allllll the world like Isabel from the EARLY days. Like, way pre-blogging. The first year or so of Isabel. Where if she went a week without riding I might not actually even be able to get on (true story).

This mare is different in her ways - she's quite good on the ground (ahem, Isabel) but she's also spooky where Isabel was just flighty. So there's some adjustments I have to make. But the brain and the way of going feels very similar. Very familiar.

#glamourshot

So stay tuned for more. I'm kinda excited about this little sabbatical with Velvet. Excited to see what changes can be effected in her, but also just excited to test myself a little bit. She's a very different ride from Charlie, but she's a ride I used to be pretty ok at handling. So it's a nice change of pace.

I'm hoping to basically do all the things with her -- mostly to get her more broke and exposed so she can be successful with her owner. But also let's be real - I'm gonna try to have a little fun here for my own sake too lol.

Wish us luck, and prepare yourselves for getting to know Velvet better along with me! Have you ever had a designated "stand in" horse while your own recovers? Or have you mostly just catch ridden where you could? Do you gravitate towards these extra rides on the nicer, made horses? Or the needier, green beans? And do you prefer to switch it up or are you like me in that you need to focus on a sort of "project"?