This message is from: Genie Dethloff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I took the early ride I had for Pjoska and she left Monday evening for Connecticut. Since there were only three horses on the rig, they each got a box stall so she could move around during her 24 hours of travel. The driver was smitten with Pjoska as every time they stopped and the driver walked around the side of the rig, out the window came Pjo's muzzle looking for some attention. I was told that she arrived at her new location in good spirits, went in her stall found the water bucket, found the hay pile, circled three times for good luck and settled in munching.
She will have two days of rest and then I will be interested to see how the new trainer does with her. I won't be there until the 17th so they have about 10 days to bond before I arrive. By the time I arrive, there should be no more monsters in the corners and hopefully she will already be familiar with the trails around the barn. I mention the monsters in the corner as at our boarding barn in Michigan, one horse had been moved to a paddock off the back door to the arena. He would wait until we were rounding the end and then gallop down from his hill and crash into the bar at the door. It was always right after we had rounded the corner and could not see him coming, just literally hear a "herd" of horse in flight!. Then the side door was opened for the summer and low and behold, there was his hill and now she would glimpse him taking off. By the time we left, the galloping horse was no longer a threat.
It was very sad to leave the barn after being there almost three years. It was my second home and I did more cleaning and fixing up there (new tack hooks, blanket racks, new white boards, mat for the tack area, etc!) than at home. I also watched a family of four girls that own two horses at the barn changing over time, two growing into young women, one into a more mature young women who was virtually managing the barn. It was great to see them together as a family, riding, mucking stalls, showing and all other horsey stuff. Since my daughter never got into horses, they felt like surrogate daughters in some ways. They gave me the most wonderful present yesterday, 10 coasters that they had decorated, each with a different candid photo of Pjoska on it. They painted the coasters first, applied the pictures and then did six coats of finish - a project that took some time to prepare. I was honored and thrilled. Since they spend most of their time mucking, I gave them a purple and a turquoise Barn Benz muck forks (nice angled ergonomic handle to lighten their load.
My new barn is only two miles from our new house so I hope it will become my home away from home again. I sure do miss my girl Pjo and can't wait to see her again in nine days!! Once again, i am not in a position to show this summer due to moving, but I hope to show in a north east fjord show next year!
-- Genie Dethloff Ann Arbor, Michigan The FjordHorse List archives can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw
