Moving Day for Wilbur

Wilbur spent the week getting ready for his move to Susie's which we had tentatively scheduled for Saturday. He got a rabies vaccination (uncommon for vets to give in the Easy Bay), a trim and shoe reset, and wormer. It was a super busy week at work so when Susie called to finalize plans on Friday afternoon I was grateful that SHE was following up on things!

I had the chance to give him a quick ride on Saturday morning, then Susie hopped on for a few minutes, and they even went to work opening and closing the arena gate.

We tossed some shipping boots on him, I handed over his fly mask, and he stepped right into the trailer. Susie called once they got home to let me know he traveled like a champ and had already face planted into grass. And then emailed today to let me know that he had survived his first night and had already made friends with his pasture mates.

He's going to live the life being a pasture buddy and guest trail horse. Susie's property is beautiful and I'm not sure this situation could have worked out more perfectly!

That Tongue!

View from the Top

Today I took a field trip to visit Wilbur's potential new home. Susie lives in an unincorporated part of San Mateo County, has some insane amount of acreage, and we're friends through the barn.

I had a number of thoughts while following her up from Woodside (where her mare is showing this week) to her home on "Fog Mountain."
How much longer can we keep going up?
Does she get altitude sickness?
I wonder if my brakes are up for this?
Will I have enough gas to get home?
And....
How the hell does she pull a horse trailer on this one lane, hairpin turn road?

Not quite ready to move this guy

View of the pastures

Solid Citizen

So after the excitement of being in a new place had worn off...which really just consisted of that random spin....
He's been right as rain. A true solid citizen. Diane had our token junior on him purposefully flopping around like a beginner and trotting over poles. Wilbur don't care. I've had a couple of super chill rides on him too- nothing big- just a little walk, trot, canter. He tackled the eurosizer just fine.

I may have the two most relaxed horses at the barn. And a potential new job for Wilbur- pasture pet and guest trail horse to a friend and member of the old-guard equestrian community in the Bay. Yes please! Fingers crossed yet again! In the meantime I am enjoying having my two ponies to ride! Doesn't he look super relaxed?

Wilbur's Visit

So yeah. Surprise!

Wilbur moved into Ellie's barn last week! This wasn't entirely out of the blue- we'd actually planned it about a month ago.

Amanda, his trainer at Brown, had decided to move to a different part of California and she left mid-May. Which left Wilbur without training rides and fewer eyes on him during the week.

Case in point, I checked my phone when we got back from services in Ohio and found a text from Paul which read, "I'm sorry to do this. Missed a call from barn M a minute ago. Msg about horse colic and wanted a vet number. Don't have any addl info,"
Followed up by another text 25 minutes later, "Disregard. It was another horse that looks similar to Wilbur."

It was one of those awful circumstances where care had been arranged with a fellow boarder, who then also had a family emergency, and this was the one day where there was to be a lapse in check-in.

Anyway- if he stayed at Brown he would have continued to marinate in turnout, get even fatter (how?!?), and live on the dole indefinitely.

Both Ali and Diane seemed positive about his prospects! That is until I got on him Friday, he bumped into the mounting block, and spun a 360 like a cutting horse. Diane kindly suggested that maybe he needed a whirl in the round pen. Nope- he just spooked himself. Not the ideal first impression Wilbs!

He was much more settled on Saturday and got a nice long turnout on Sunday. Happy to have them both at the same spot for the time being!

One Barn

Two horses. One Barn. At least for a few weeks.

Wilbur: Appointments

Wilbur got a vet AND farrier visit just before Paul and I left for our Monterey weekend so he's right as rain in the vet department. I love Pioneer- they actually called ME to schedule the second round of vaccinations because they had another horse they were coming out to check. I am never going to turn down a friendly reminder!

Shoes have been a slightly different story. There are a couple of different folks that shoe at Brown Ranch and Wilbur has been on a schedule as part of Amanda's group of horses. We try to keep him on a bit of a tighter 6 weeks shoeing because he grows hoof so fast but it can stretch to a little longer and he's just fine.
We've run into a bit of an issue this last cycle getting the farrier out....let's just say when I went out to meet the vet on Thursday I was more than a little embarrassed. It's hard to not send multiple stalker like text messages daily (I kept it to once a day) when you know your trainer is trying her best to get the guys out. Still.

So when I was chatting with a few folks while waiting for the vet, and a guy comes up and introduces himself as a farrier new to the area getting his name out, I asked if he had time to do one real quick. Sure enough- shiny new shoes for Wilbur and a new farrier for Emily. AND a reminder that I'm Wilbur's person and perfectly capable of running his schedule and managing his appointments. In fact, I find that I prefer it.
For those who manage their horse's vet and farrier schedule- any scheduling tips? Are you on-site for all appointments?

The Pasture Life

This Wilbur thing. I pulled into Brown Ranch on Saturday morning only to run into Amanda- she told me she is moving to a new part of the state in the next two months. Major congrats obviously, but she was a big part of why I have felt so comfortable leaving Wilbur to his own devices for most of the past year- she had eyes on him 3x a week and I had weekends.

He may come to Ellie's barn for a week for Ali and Diane to assess. I just don't know what to do with this guy.

Wilbur: On to the Next Plan

My lessor had called last Sunday, asked if Wilbur was always so spooky, and shared that she'd fallen off earlier that week.
Uh-oh...I steeled myself for the bad news and was surprised to hear that she was still on track for the purchase. I let her know that she was welcome to extend the trial and assured her that Wilbur has a forever home should it not be the right match. Of course the first two weeks of March kicked off with downpour after downpour- not ideal conditions for a pasture board trial period. Maybe if the rain just got a little better!!!

So after a week filled with beautiful weather, I stopped out after my ride on Ellie to try and catch a little bit of Lessor's lesson and pick up the lease paperwork. We passed each other in the drive and she said, "I just have a gut feeling and am going to have to pass on him. Have a nice life." She also shared that some students had been roping in the arena and Wilbur was panicked. She, like all the other's who have tried him, need something a little quieter.
We wished each other well and, while disappointed, I was also glad. Wilbur needs to find the best match for him and if it's not right let's move along.

I popped a Corona and settled down to chat about next steps with his trainer. I shared what Lessor had told me about the panic roping situation. What in the world did he do? According to trainer Amanda? Nothing,  He didn't lift a hoof or even turn his head when they were flinging ropes behind him...his eyes just got a bit bigger.

I'm not writing this to suggest there was anything wrong with Lessor's assessment of what constitutes panic. I'm speaking more to each rider's different interpretation of what spooky, panicked, and wild means.

For me the definition of spooky is very different from that of Lessor. Ellie was feeling pretty fresh on Friday and decided to run off with me a few times right as we passed the very same corner that housed the mounting block I climbed up in a short while earlier. Not my favorite behavior but not a deal breaker by any stretch.

Wilbur seems to be attracting a certain demographic of rider. Generally older, somewhat self taught, looking for a pleasure horse. And while there is a lure with a flashy horse with a good "handle," they are quick to find that they are actually looking for a horse that won't flick an ear as a tarp blows past them. After reading and re-reading his ad- I can't find anything that suggests he's a packer on the trail.

So what now? Amanda and I agree that we don't feel confident we'll find him a home in the Western market. I think a sensitive horse is more generally accepted in the English discipline and for crying out loud- he's not bad! He just stands there in a nervous state- he doesn't bolt, buck, or rear. He IS fancy, he DOES have a good handle, and he'll try his heart out to do what's asked.

Personally I think he would make a great lesson horse. He's comfortable in the ring and can handle flat work, poles, and low crossrails. Not a rank beginner horse- but a kid who's got a few rides under their belt. When I was growing up all the lesson horses had something- this one was spooky, this one would buck, that one would run off with you. It teaches you how to ride!

So his ad is down. The Westhaven team is on their way back from Thermal and we'll borrow him for a week or weekend to visit the barn and Ali can assess where he is and a best fit for him. I think he's fabulous so I'm super excited have the chance to ride him. Ellie no longer likes sparkle bit- Wilbur will freakin LOVE it! And my husband is sighing because he knows it's a real possibility that I'll just carry on with both the horses at the same place and spend more money.

#SelfieFail

Wilbur Update: Out on Trial

Wilbur is on a 30 day trial that started earlier this week on the 1st! All fairly sudden- I had gotten a text from Amanda that someone was interested in a 1 month lease and I was like- how does this help anyone?
I went out and met the gal- a re-rider who was looking for a pleasure horse and actually knew Amanda from years back. So a lease actually meant a trial- with potential to extend the lease or buy at the end. I got a message that she had a good lesson on Friday and was planning to stop out this weekend as well. Assuming all goes well she'd like to buy him and keep him at Brown Ranch which means I can wave on my way to go see Ellie!
So fingers crossed! I'm not sure how anyone could not fall in love with this face!

Dentals

Nothing better than a close up of drugged and dirty Wilbur getting dental work done. 

Swamp thing in the flesh. 

All told the dental, sheath cleaning (yes, I'm a wuss, lazy, and will happily pay someone else to deal with it), and vaccinations were smooth and easy. I got a call from the vet office about an hour before the appointment and I groaned thinking they were going to say the vet was running late. She actually wanted to come early- yes please! 

This is actually great! Wilbur's vet, Natasha, had left the Pioneer practice and moved down to San Diego and I had yet to reestablish a relationship with the hospital and a new vet. When I called to make his appointment it turns out that Pioneer now has a vet who specifically handles the East Bay- whoohoo! Additionally the tech that came out had already worked with Wilbur and assisted in Ellie's vet check. 

I was glad to have made the appointment even though we have a few interested buyers at the moment so he can go to his new home ready to rock and roll!

Wilbur's Stitches Come Out + Update

Oh Wilbur. Where to start? 

Just prior to slicing his face open we had a young rodeo queen who was looking to use him in parades. We scheduled a vet check and I showed up bright and early to make sure he was looking sharp. I really wasn't sure to expect as we hadn't done any diagnostic work on him since the MRI- just vets trotting him on hard ground and saying he looked sound. Who knew what would show up?

A Western vet check is a little more low key- listened to vitals, flexed, lunged on soft ground. OMG he was great. I was actually really concerned that he would hobble off after flexions. Nope- he was totally sound. The vet said if his hocks were any better she'd think he was drugged (BTW we postponed the vet until after his round of stitches Bute). 

The potential buyers ended up passing on him which I was glad for. Listening to the gal describe the parade she took her other horse in, with bells and tinsel and glow sticks, left me wondering if Wilbur was the best fit. While they were looking for a project I just don't think he can stretch that far. 

There has been some additional interest and we have a promising lead. 

Of course the successful vet check has me daydreaming about bringing him over to Ellie's barn and just keeping both of them....for just a little bit! 

Stitches Out!

Around the Barn

We've had some pretty spectacular weather at home this winter. Gorgeous sunsets and sunrises. Even a full fledged rainbow as I was leaving Brown Ranch....the end of which was on my way to ride Ellie. I may or may not have tried to find a pot of gold!

Stitches

Somebody came out to look at Wilbur on Friday with their trainer and liked him enough to set up a prepurchase exam.

Fast forward to Saturday morning, feeling sad on my way out to the barns. Should I even stop and visit Wilbur? Will it make me more sad? But I packed this tiny bag of carrots just for him!

I stopped of course.

As he was walking towards me I noticed something glinting on his face. Huh.
Gah! Jesus! What do I do?!?

Freak out and call the vet is what I do. After sending a series of photos and awaiting a response I said, "Man up Emily and freaking go to Westhaven, get some triple antibiotic stuff, and a working student to help." After texting this plan to the vet- she promptly responded with a "stitches needed, don't touch."

 Two hours later, Wilbur was sewn up and looked good as new!  Well....kinda. In addition to slicing open his face, he managed to bang a major nerve and his nose is lilting to one side. Awesome. Way to look neurological right before a vet check!

And Sunday began the outpatient care- Dex, Bute, Swat. Luckily I've passed the baton to his trainer this week to keep up with and will be back out tomorrow with the vet for a recheck and vaccinations! Oh Wilbur.

Foggy Morning

A Face Only a Mother Could Love

What a goober

If You Give an Appaloosa a Carrot

He's going to demand more and ruin your selfie.

Pina Coladas Fix Everything

Wilbur's ad on Bay Area Equestrian popped into my newsfeed on our very first day of vacation and I couldn't decide whether to be happy to have the ball rolling towards getting him sold or having a small cry in the bathroom.

I turned my phone off and opted for three Pina Coladas.
And a Mai Tai.

Selfie Smooch

What better way to show off my new Hawaii hair? Four inches gone and T-minus two days until I'm relaxing beach side with  Mai Tai. Paul and I are off to celebrate five years of wedded bliss!

Of course this snap was pre-wax appointment today where the Esthetician literally removed half of my eyebrow. I dried my tears- I'm sure they'll grow back during my ten day vacation!