Let change wash over you

Sometimes change is really hard, sometimes it is not. Change isn't typically hard for me, I have moved houses/states regularly enough that it is just another Sunday. Change has been needed for a while, Mia has been in various states of broken for almost a year. I have been increasingly unhappy with the barn staff since December. Life has been unfair for a while but with the current state of the world, it is unfair for a lot of people.

A big window in her stall? Yes please!

Mia hasn't been happy for a while. She came off stall rest and has not enjoyed being in the pasture that she was put in. The horses in that pasture kept her kicked off of the round bale for the majority of the day, and no matter when someone saw her, she was almost always off by herself just standing around. She had no friends in the new pasture and she was starting to lose weight. I do think horses can be unhappy despite good care, and I do think Mia was falling in this column. In my last post I had turned in my notice at my barn. I love 95% of the boarders. I do love the barn, I do love the facilities, but we definitely were ready for a change. 

Such an amazing stall

After waiting for Mia's 2nd chiro visit this month, we moved to a facility that is literally 5 miles from my house. With the current state of gas prices, this will be huge. Also huge will be my drive time, as the barn was a 32 mile one way drive. A 45 min drive versus the current barn which is a 5 minute drive. It is a no brainer really. I am SUPER excited to be able to see Mia more, and can even do so during the daytime. It will also be super easy to handle any appointments for her. On top of everything else? She now gets a stall again.

Mia making friends already (Mia on far right)

I strongly prefer pasture board because I like my horses to be out as much as possible. In Michigan they were out 24x7 except for feeding time. When I moved to PA, I needed App to move as much as possible for his arthritis and I think it helped him tremendously. That said, I am really looking forward to having a space I can put Mia if I need to. If I am waiting for an appointment, if I need to do something while I am handling her, I now have a place to stash her. Previously any of these needs required me to keep her in a cross ties, this is a much better option. I have told the barn that Mia can be left out as much as possible. 

Is all of this for ME?! Wait, is that a treat you have there?

And guys. Mia's stall is HUGE. I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being 16x16. The barn is a former breeding facility and the stalls are just huge! Mia spent her first night in it last night and it was reported she had nary a complaint with her new digs. She didn't call out, paw, become agitated, or even appear stressed. If anything, she seemed to relax. The situation she was in was perhaps more stressful than I thought? When she was turned out today, she marched out with other horses without a single concern. She is a solid mid-pack horse who likes almost everyone and almost everyone likes her. Apparently she walked out like she had always been in this new field and there were no squeals or scuffles. When I visited her about an hour after turnout, she was happily munching on a round bale. Of which there were 3 bales in the field.

Showing the huge pasture, Mia on the far right bale

The biggest downside of this facility is that there is not currently an indoor arena, just an outdoor arena. An indoor is going to be built as soon as a contractor builds it, but they are having massive problems getting a contractor to start. There is an indoor arena 2 miles down the road that I should be able to start using in a couple of weeks. Does that dampen my ride style? Yes. Did I move anyway? Yes. Seeing Mia today on a round bale in the huge pasture made me happy. Fingers crossed this works out as well as I think it will, maybe we will finally be able to make it to a show this year!