The baby needs clothes - and has to deal with a bit of separation anxiety

What a beautiful fall weekend! We had a great time introducing Remy to neighbors and friends yesterday. The boys really enjoyed the sunny pastures, but even more they were enamored with the treats everybody brought them. Another telling observation: there was no fighting over the treats!

So today I planned to get Remy introduced to our outdoor arena, longe him, and then hop on. The good news is that Saumur's snaffle bridle and KK bit fit Remy. My saddle looks to fit reasonably well with a Thinline pad, but I have to see how it feels when I ride in it. Unfortunately, the rather skinny youngster is wearing a different girth size than the big boys -- guess I need to buy another girth (I only have about six already...).

Our outdoor footing is still pretty 'mushy' from all the rain we had, and there was lots of commotion going on next to our outdoor arena: the neighbor on a noisy lawnmower, cars, trucks, people riding bikes, four-wheelers, hayrides... you name it. I thought it more prudent just to longe. Remy was pretty jumpy and clearly not ready to relax. I longe my horses in a cavasson, not off the bit, as it has been proven that longing off the bit is harsh on their mouths. Remy settled down after a while and I walked him down the road to show him a bit of the neighborhood.

Then came the next test for him, staying home alone! JP and I took Chambord and Saumur on a trailride. While getting them ready in the outdoor Remy started to run and scream and I was VERY tempted to say "let's just stay home" -- But then, nothing would have been gained, other than Remy learning that screaming gets him results. The boys didn't care about the Remy's antics, they were happy to go out. And sure enough, we hadn't even gone down towards the park entrance yet when we saw Remy quietly grazing.

Chambord was quite the star today, a piece of Kudzu got wrapped around his hind leg and trapped him. JP got off and pried the stubborn growth away from Chambord's leg, who patiently waited to be freed. Then JP had to climb back on from the ground (we always use a mounting block) and again, Chambord stood like a rock. All the while Saumur, who doesn't have much use for the word 'patience'  stood next to his friend, without fidgeting. Good boys!

When we came home Remy was still quietly grazing, and the 'big boys' were eager to go into the barn, one to use the bathroom, the other one to search for food. Easy to figure out their priorities!?

The difference a childhood makes --

Today I turned out all three boys together, with some major anxiety on my part. Not to worry, it was like they've been all out together forever. Even "Macho-Man" (Chambord) was fine. And Saumur and Remy acted like long lost brothers, immediately sharing a pile of hay.

Having Remy here really makes me realize the difference a childhood makes - on one side Saumur, treated harshly and 'trained' with methods I don't want to dwell on... on the other side Remy, who learned respect and manners in a positve environment.

As we all know, plenty of people and animals survive horrible childhoods to become happy grownups, but it takes years and patient help... With Saumur it took years to get him to overcome his extreme fright - and we are still not there. He will always be worried, ready to take off from the demons of his past. And here now the contrast, Remy, who exudes self-confidence and curiosity. How I wish that everyone could grow up without any demons!

Finally - the big day!

After four days on the road Remy finally made it. I was rather anxious about the logistics, i.e. unloading, having him settled etc. Well, I needed have worried: Remy stepped off the trailer onto the road, followed me down the driveway into the barn, and settled into his stall. He went right for the food and water. The excitement was when both Saumur and Chambord came to the stall (it has a door to the outside) to check out the new kid. Some squealing and kicking, and then I took the older boys to the pasture away from the barn to give Remy time to relax.

Susanne came at noon and we turned Remy out. Well, this is one cool horse! There was some more squealing and a bit of striking and kicking through the fence, but nothing major. No tearing around, or bucking and kicking fits. I am working from home today so I can keep an eye on everybody. It is wonderful, I can see them all while working. Everybody is happily munching.

It sure is a good start for our extended family!

To much time to second guess --

And the wait continues – I spoke with Bob (the driver) yesterday and he said he should be in Michigan sometime this afternoon. I got a bit worried because he asked me which horse was mine, and where exactly in Michigan I was… After it was established that Remy is the right one, Bob said he would like to have him at his own barn “he is so sweet, follows me like a puppy dog, and he eats and drinks well”.

That was good to hear, because I am getting panic attacks about all the things that can go wrong. In addition, this time lag gave me plenty of time to second guess my decision. It is interesting the reaction I get when I tell people about it. It’s almost like some are waiting for a sort of justification. JP always points out how similar Saumur and I are, that we both are constantly construing scenarios in our heads with things to be worried about. Right he is! I currently have a nervous twitch to prove it.

George gave a clinic at Sandy’s this weekend. It was strange not to ride, I get restless ‘just watching’, I am much better doing. But really, I didn’t have much choice due to the meetings all week. I asked George about coming with both boys to Ohio in the Spring, and he said we could arrange it. Sandy is planning to take two of her horses, so we could have a fun training week together.  I actually applied for a Scholarship from the Morgan Dressage Association, it sure would be a big help. It’s a bit daunting to think about the expense of training and showing two horses.

Next month we’ll do a freestyle clinic with Karen Robinson, hopefully this will kick us off to get the 3^rd level freestyle together. 3^rd time is a charm, right? The other times we attempted a freestyle clinic Saumur was almost uncontrollable in the strange arenas. He got nicknamed “Bumble Bee” because he was wearing yellow leg wraps and just buzzed around.

The best of both worlds - "Relaxing the Soul"

We couldn’t have asked for better weather this weekend –absolute gorgeous Michigan fall days, where the trees are ablaze with color and the sun makes the yellow leaves shine like gold.  

Friday we had a lovely trailride to the ‘other side’ of the park. That entails negotiating steep hills, climbing over fallen trees, and of course, encountering lots of wildlife. Chambord sure has an in-built GPS, he knows exactly which way to dinner and his steps are definitely livelier towards his ‘gamelle’ (in this case: food dish).

Saturday we set out for lessons at Sandy’s – only to find after arrival that the tack room of our trailer was locked and the key was at home! After some heated discussion “Who left the keys at home???” Sandy came to the rescue and offered to borrow a saddle and bridle from her. We were no worse for the wear – Saumur worked beautifully. He went straight into the work mode, even after spending most of the previous week on the trails in a rubber Pelham. We worked on the collection in the canter, where I really have to remind myself to move my left hand more towards my right hip (not crossing the neck, of course) and taking my right hand about an inch from his neck to the right in order to keep him straight. “When he is straight, it’s effortless”.

Our trot half-passes are increasing in difficulty, the steeper angles (for example H to B) require more precision and I have to remember to aim his chest at the letter. I was really happy with how good it felt, Saumur was right with me the whole time. To finish we worked on the pirouettes. Sandy reminded me to think of them as really small circles. Our turns on the haunches received “9”s from different judges this summer, so that’s a good start. Unfortunately, I get Saumur ‘stuck’ sometimes, so I have to focus on keeping him moving.

Barb came with her trailer to pick up a horse, when she heard about our plight with the locked door she suggested we try her key: Low and behold – it opened our door! Just in time, so JP and Chambord had their own gear for the lesson. But how scary, there you lock thousands of dollars worth of equipment in your trailer – and somebody else’s key opens it! Lesson learned: No more leaving our saddles in the trailer at shows, that’s for sure.

JP and Chambord had an excellent lesson, too. I am amazed how far they both have come. Chambord is rather opinionated (as is his rider J), they are a great team and really fun to watch.

Ah, and our trailride yesterday… in German we say “die Seele baumeln lassen”, which means “to relax the soul” – and that’s exactly what all four of us did. It can’t get any better than that!

The best laid plans... and more delays

Latest news is that Remy will be leaving Montana next Tuesday (instead of today), arriving on Thursday or Friday. Unfortunately, that timing is not the greatest as Remy will arrive right when my new boss from France is here for the week. Not a good introduction to say “uh, I need to leave now, my new horse is arriving!”

The best laid plans… so if all goes well Bob (the driver) will call about an hour before coming to our area, JP leaves his job and drives to meet Bob at the Interstate Exit. It will be quite a feat to unload: the truck and trailer are too large to fit into our drive way, and we live on a fairly narrow dirt road. Luckily there is a dead end road with a big circular turnaround right next to our property. So Bob can turn around and unload there, and JP can walk Remy home. Susanne, my fellow German horse ‘nut’ (sorry! But true) lives nearby and she also offered to help. (Thank you!). All the while I will be sitting in the office fighting for my job –

 It doesn’t take a village to get a horse but it sometimes sure seems like it.

For those of you interested in Remy’s breeding: Yes, I freely admit I am in no way an expert in bloodlines. So here it goes: FRM Flower of Remington is by Caduceus Denver out of Bar Y’s Lori Lynn. Caduceus Denver’s description: “Denver, with his strong Brunk and Western Working Family pedigree, is a source of height, excellent movement, good looks and good minds. Behind him are the three branches of Brunk greatness—Jubilee King, Flyhawk and Senator Graham. Jubilee King comes through such good ones as Agazziz, Mickey Finn, Ken Carmen, and more. Plus there are crosses to Jubilee King’s sister, Sentola. Flyhawk comes down through various good breeding stock too. There is also the Western Working Family from Romanesque and various Linsley descendants. The bottom mare line goes to early Montana breeding. Throughout this pedigree there was careful breeding for good working horses with good minds. Many of his ancestors were strong breeding horses, some founding their own families. This is a strong horse with a strong pedigree bringing the wonderful old Morgans to today.”

Ivy League or Community College?

The perfect weather we are currently enjoying does push the nagging thoughts “what about winter” in the background, but just temporarily.

We’ve been contemplating on how to go about winter work with now three horses. Boarding all three boys for four or five months seems pretty cost prohibitive. There really is no ideal solution. I feel like a parent with limited funds having to decide on college for several kids: Ivy League or Community College?? Saumur really should continue with consistent work, he is the ‘senior’, so giving him extended time off and then bringing him back would be hard on his body. Also, with the goals of a 3^rd level freestyle and successfully hitting 4^th next year neither he nor I can afford a prolonged break. Ergo Saumur will be slated for Ivy League = Sandy’s. That leaves Chambord and Remy. Chambord and JP have so much fun with their lessons, and they should continue, but they do not need a full training program. Remy is just a baby, and can also have a ‘reduced program’ in the winter.

 So… options…the riding club down the road from us offers ‘social memberships’, which means for an affordable annual membership fee we could use the large indoor arena. That would allow us to keep Chambord and Remy at home longer, and trailer five minutes (instead of one hour) to the indoor. Good plan, but with drawbacks (of course!). The place has a very active lesson program for western and jumping. I was told that “things sometimes get really crowded” in the evenings. It’s fine if the lesson is Western Pleasure, it’s another thing if the arena is full of jumpers. Guess we need to go there several nights on a ‘fact finding mission’ – also to see how we would be received by the people there. When I talked to the manager I could hear the gears grinding in her head “German accent, dressage… oh no, not a dressage queen!” - and I hadn’t even fessed up to the Quarter Horse with the dressage saddle yet!