Polly Arrives!

Unvanted Treasure: Day One Photo Shoot!

Polly has arrived! Erica and I went up to Days End Horse Farm Rescue today with my trailer to pick Polly up and bring her back to Virginia. I was pleasantly surprised that she hopped right onto my trailer, and with only minimal stomping, settled into munching on her hay net. She travelled well and it took us about three and a half hours to get back home. 

She was understandably a little bewildered when she came off the trailer, and a little sweaty from a touch of nerves on the long trip. Being all alone in a strange trailer on the highway for several hours doesn't sound like fun to me, so I can hardly blame her. However, she walked quietly off the trailer and into her new stall, where she promptly located the pile of hay and the fresh bucket of water and went straight to work! All of my other horses were highly interested to see who the new member of the group was, but she was completely unperturbed by them, and solely focused on her food. A good eater is always something to rejoice in!

Intelligent and soft eye.

Polly's calm demeanor really has me thrilled, as she seems to adapt well to strange situations, and has a good sensible head on her shoulders. Even my mother commented that she must be an incredibly level headed individual, and seems to have a good sense of self preservation. Even when my gigantic warmbloods are acting like fools and snorting like stallions, she just kept munching away in the corner. She was very happy to receive her dinner too! We are slowly going to switch her from her usual feed (senior sweet feed) to what I feed my horses (Cavalor), so she gets a little of both in her daily meals until she is accustomed and acquainted with the new flavors and nutritional effects. 

Settling right into her new stall

Tomorrow will be SPA DAY!! Also known as: my favorite day EVER. I adore the bathing, scrubbing, clipping, trimming, currying, detangling and shining part of this process. It actually is one of my favorite things, and I take great pride in my ability to make a big difference with just a little bit of expert elbow grease. Polly will be getting the full treatment: a huge bubble bath with extra shampoo and conditioner for her mane and tail, a detangling session when everything dries, banging of the tail and taming/pulling of the mane. I think a horse that gets over an hour of massages and grooming and primping starts to feel special about themselves, and that's all part of the process. 

Trotting around her temporary paddock while she gets acquainted with the grounds

For now, Polly will be turned out in one of my two smaller paddocks overnight, and in the barn during the day with the rest of the horses. She is used to 24/7 turnout, but usually once they realize that there is ample hay and an overhead fan in the barn, they settle right into the routine. All of my horses come in at 7am, eat breakfast, and promptly take a long nap! I'm sure she will get the hang of it. After a week or so, when all the horses are friendly and accustomed to one another, I'll introduce her into one of the larger fields with another mare who lives next to her in the barn, and they can be field buddies.

 Tomorrow Polly will also be getting a trim and two front shoes from the best farrier in the world (or so I think) Al Johnson. He's an expert in keeping my upper level Eventing horses sound and in the best hoof health they can be in, and I think Polly will feel very comfortable with a new pair of kicks on her front feet. Check in later this week for post spa-day updates and more action from the farm!