Back in the Saddle & Barn Tour

This past weekend was our first ride back since Quest injured her stifle two weeks ago. It was a walk-only jaunt in the pasture-arena but mareface was totally motoring around and moved out happily. She’s obviously still sore and there is some swelling but the wound is healing well thanks to J’s care.


I really missed this view <3

Despite not being ridden for almost three weeks, hopping back on Quest was a total non-event. I did half wonder if being in pasture would make her sour to work or hard to catch but she seemed to enjoy the attention and had a good attitude towards working, though of course she was more than happy to go back to the pasture once her job was done. I also took a few pictures to give those curious a quick visual tour of our new home. I had been meaning to do this sooner but things got crazy after Quest got hurt and I honestly was too stressed to think about anything else after it happened.

Barn, pastures, and hay fields that J leases. The hay fields are on the left across the road. They grow their own hay (which is like candy to Quest, she seriously LOVES that stuff) and everyone has been busy baling and storing for winter. The space in front of the barn is a fenced off paddock area. That's where Quest was until she decided fences were just a nice suggestion. Behind the defunct silo is the two layup stalls attached to the barn and opens up to the run-in sheds. To the right are more pastures.

Acres and acres of pasture. The ground isn't all level either and its a decent workout walking from the upper pasture to lower pastures and back. Plenty of water troughs and there's even a natural creek that runs below the tree line on the right. B jumps a lot with one of her horses so there are always standards, ground poles, and jumps set up in the what I have been calling the "pasture-arena".

Doing an about face, following the road to the left will take you to the trailheads and access to 27 miles of trail through forest, fields, rivers, and bridges. I've probably only seen/done 8-10 miles so far but I have been loving it all.

It's been almost a month since the move and Quest just might have finally figured out how to coexist with other horses. Fingers crossed the stifle wound was the first and last of the lessons she needed to learn. She's finally polishing off all of her meals too which is a very good thing especially with winter coming. I definitely do miss being able to see her more during the week but I can't think of a better place for us right now. A few people at the CTR last weekend actually said the same thing to me which was nice to hear since I still feel like I'm bumbling my way through decisions about my horse most of the time. But as with most things, sometimes you just have to trust your instincts and hope you made the right choice.