It's done!

It has been a process, but we have finalized our relocation and Mia is finally back in the same county as I am. It only took 5 trips that were 11-12 hours each way when gas is over $5 a gallon with a truck that gets about 9-11 per gallon, but it is finally done. We closed on our house in June and moved our happy selves to MI on Jun 20th. Our stuff arrived on Jun 25 and we got Mia on Jul 2/3. Our PA house should close by the end of the month and then we will be able to relax, it will be officially done and over.

Happy Appy taking a rest

Our new place needs a ton of little updates, lots and lots and lots and lots of wall repair/sanding/painting in every room along with new flooring needed, maintenance, etc, but we are already quite happy here. Until Mia arrived last weekend, I was spending 4+ hours a day unpacking and putting things away, now that is now down to about 2 hours a day which is much more reasonable for riding. We have now unpacked more than 2/3 of the house and are focusing on the garage/workshop area next. So much to unpack!

They didn't specify which pets could go on a walk

As for Mia, she trailered very nicely. We arrived at the barn at 6a to feed her and was hauling out before 7a. We stopped every 2-ish hours for gas/food/bathroom breaks so Mia had a 15-20 minute rest and then at the half way point, we stopped at a rest area and unloaded so she could stretch and relax for an hour. 

I wondered what people would think if I put her waste in the basket.
I did not, I took it with us.

For a horse that hasn't trailered more than 30 minutes in the past 3 years, she was extremely well behaved. Would I trust most horses to unload at a public rest area? No. Do I trust mine? Yes, yes I do. I did keep a chain on her just in case for safety, but she wasn't phased about anything and seemed to greatly enjoy the rest stop.

Hauling with a horse trailer is better than the car trailer,
but still only 11mpg for just under 1200 roundtrip miles.

So much so, that after we loaded back up and stopped after about 2 hours, she was quite grumpy and refused all treats. I'm sorry girl, we weren't done yet. There were several hours to go! At the next, and final stop before the barn, Mia was back to her perky self and had resigned herself to the fact we were still hauling with no end in sight. I gave her carrots at every stop and the single apple (she still refuses to eat them after I stuffed bute in them one time. Years ago.) to help keep her hydrated since she refuses to drink when off property. I even tried one of the hydration packs that you drop in the water. At the 10 hour hauling mark, she took 2 tiny sips of water before being highly offended I would offer such a thing and refused to drink more water or the flavored water. 

My own tack closet!

We made it to our new place without any drama or problems and while it was a long 11+ hour drive, everything went perfectly. Mia unloaded without any issues, she has had no heat, swelling, or lameness. Her body soreness went away after 2 days of stretching and we have ridden all but 2 days since our arrival. There is a lot of fitness that is needed on both of our parts to get back into show shape, but we are on our way and I think we both have the drive and desire. When I rode in the indoor for the first time, jumps were set up and she was a bit excited and tried sneak in a jump despite that fact it was 3' high. We need to work up to that Mia, no blow ligaments allowed!

A relaxing trail ride to welcome us back to MI

Let's keep our fingers crossed that Mia stays sound, happy, and I can keep carving time out to keep training. I would love to show before the end of the year, and I really want to go XC schooling before then too! My last real schooling and show was the fall of 2019, that was so long ago and I am looking for new adventures.