Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Silence, Upset, and a Move

Those of you that follow this blog (all four of you) may or may not have noticed I haven't blogged in a while.  At first it was because I was busy, but then I got so busy and had so much to write about it was like I didn't even know where to start.  Then things got real weird.

I had been noticing that Mollie had been dropping weight since coming to the new barn in November.  At first it wasn't a huge deal, because she could stand to lose a few pounds....

November 2014, looking porky.

But then my horse's weight loss continued, and she turned into a beaver.  I have owned this horse for fourteen years and have NEVER witnessed her chewing wood, yet she damn near chewed straight through her stall:

This eventually became a hole....

She eventually ripped the window sill right off.

Her weight loss was starting to concern me, and I knew her chewing was from not having enough hay to munch on.  Mollie has never needed much grain to maintain her portly figure so with such little grain and not enough hay, the weight loss got worse.

January 2015(ish)

The barn owner (who did not believe my horse was hungry or dropping any weight) and I eventually came to an agreement where I payed an additional $60 a month for extra hay at each feeding.  While I did notice a slight difference in her weight, it wasn't what I should have seen, especially since we were steadily upping her grain the whole time.  Once spring hit and everyone's blankets came off, it became apparent that what I thought was my horse's problem was a barn-wide problem.

I was incredibly upset that my easy keeper was losing weight and obviously unhappy, so began looking for other places to board which is unfortunately no easy task.  Our lists of wants and needs has become a little longer than it used to be as I have learned what I will and will not accept from a boarding facility.  

Last week things took a turn for the worse, and without going into all the awful details it became apparent that I should get my horse out now.  My search for a new barn heightened and out of no where something worked itself out over the course of 24 hours.  I guess if it's meant to be, it really is.  I went to visit a barn at 5pm on Saturday and Mollie arrived there by 1pm the next day.  She has settled in fabulously and is as quiet and happy as can be.

Dad was pumped to have hand grazing duty.

Ma.  Where are we going?


My poor "easy keeper".

Loving her half door.

I was reluctant to even post the photos of her in her current state online because I am so disgusted and unhappy about how she looks.  I have faith that she will put the weight back on in no time, I think she's been eating since her arrival!  The situation at the other barn definitely lessened my motivation to ride and blog, but the new place already has me far more inspired to be riding, taking pictures, and blogging... starting with a field trip this weekend :)