10th - 13th of May 2021 - Saying goodbye

The weather was consistently cool and rainy during the last few days. On May 10th, we repeated exercises to improve composure and loading training with 5 horses. I also brushed the mane of the brown stallion. The day before his departure, it felt like brushing away the last bit of his remaining freedom. Perla, the little Palomino mare, is only 2 years old and allowed herself to be loaded without a lead rope and followed me. Leonie posted the video on Facebook and it had almost 1000 views that evening, now almost 1500:

https://fb.watch/5tgCCUDu57

On May 11th, the day had finally come. We brushed the 5 horses, washed them, fitted red-yellow (Spanish-colored) halters, and prepared them for transport. After lunch, the time had come for us to say goodbye. Within an hour, we loaded 2 stallions and 1 gelding onto the truck, and 2 mares into the horse trailer, while taking videos and photos of all of them. The transporters had 2 restless stallions in the truck. They pawed the ground, neighed, and so on. Despite the difficult circumstances with the stallions, the large truck, dogs, spectators, and everything else, the horses did great. We now know that the horses arrived safely at their new owners' place (they all went to different locations) after their three-day journey, and the transporters were able to load and unload the horses well along the way. They stopped and stabled the horses overnight twice.

On May 12th, we had a day off after 7 days of work. Since the transporters arrived one day later, we postponed our Friday by one day. We slept in. Nick and I realized yesterday that starting work at 9:00 AM already feels very early after such a short time. In this regard, we quickly adapted. At 2:00 PM, we went out to eat with the others who work here at the stud. What else did we do?... Nick practiced playing the guitar, I learned, then he took our horses to graze,... In the evening, we went shopping for the week. We took two interns who live and work here with us since they don't have their own transportation. In the evening, I had a migraine. Nick gave me a massage, which helped.

On May 13th, we discussed what's next. The priority is starting the training of a mare. Another mare will be transported to Germany later this month. Then there are the remaining mares to be started under saddle that are with our mares. We will do as much as we can with them. Two stallions, 1 gelding, and 1 gelding who still doesn't know he's no longer a stallion were added for exercises to improve composure. In the morning, we had lessons on our horses. Nick and Sarina are making great progress. Nick has set a goal to improve the canter (more uphill, more engagement). In the preparation work, he can really collect Sarina nicely. Now it's about strength and coordination. Unfortunately, Fly is a bit sensitive and unsteady in the front. That's why we ended the lesson today. She was presented to the vet in the evening since he was already at the stud. He injected Lidocaine to block the "nerves" in the hoof area for diagnosis. Fly felt a bit better afterwards. But still very sensitive and delicate. The X-ray of her front hooves is inconspicuous. The probable cause of the lameness in the front hooves is a combination of correcting the hoof position, removal of hoof material, and more movement on the rocky ground in the herd. Fly is always the lowest-ranking in the group and often has to yield, which may have caused more wear and tear than growth on her hooves lately... The vet recommends giving her anti-inflammatory drugs for 5 days (I'm still considering whether to give them), a hoof hardener, hoof boots, and reducing the workload for a few days. That's why I put shoes on Fly today. Nick has a great homeopathy book for horses and a pharmacy to go with it. I will read later tonight to see if I could give her something supportive. Tomorrow, I will ride one of the horses from the stud for riding lessons. Grosi celebrated her 77th birthday today, Happy Birthday!