Well, the hairy raisin has flown the coop. It’s always bittersweet when one of our horses leaves us for a new home. Bitter, of course, because I truly grow to love these horses, and when one hangs around for a couple of years they become a part of the family. But that doesn’t cancel out the excitement and promise of a “happily ever after,” and in this case life with a true horsewoman I have a tremendous amount of respect for.
Sadie was particularly sad about this one, because he has been a fabulous teacher to her with his unique combination of kindness and calmness but still a bit of “go!”
Going back a bit; When Cassie’s breeder sent her to me back in 2012, he and his young daughter painted her feet with lucky charms. I thought it was sweet and meaningful and demonstrated that she was very loved. So I thought this was a great opportunity to do the same for Rasen. So Sadie and I went to the drugstore and bought every fun color we could find, and then set to painting charms that were meaningful and imbued with good luck for his future life.
We painted waves to represent that he has been living on a peninsula (and had often taken a ferry to get to where we were going), hearts (for obvious reasons), a > sign and an infinity sign (which were clipped onto two of our horses this year) as a nod to our winter clipping jobs and also to represent the hope that every day is greater than the last for the rest of time. A few diamonds (because he was such a gem of a horse), a smiley face, and a couple of four-leaf clovers both for good luck and because he was arriving at his new home on St. Patrick’s Day (well, the night before, but close enough!).
We had a lot of laughs and a few tears, but when I tucked Sadie into bed that night she was much happier about his trip down to NorCal than she had been that morning.
I pulled out of my driveway with the trailer in tow at 5am the next morning to meet the shipper, and had the good fortune of working with the best professional hauler I’ve worked with to date. He timed everything around when Rasen’s new owner would be meeting them to make sure she didn’t have to be out on the road at an odd hour. I have so much appreciation for SSH Enterprises! (www.sshequinetransport.com), and they will be my first call from now on!
Rasen arrived in his new home that night, and Cyndy sent me lots of pictures and videos the next day. This one could be titled, “Wait, there’s NO MUD??!!! WAHOO!!”
Cyndy has already determined that he’s not a fan of bananas but that he loves frosted mini wheats, and it’s very clear that he immediately felt like he was home. After the neighbors called him “Raisin,” it was decided that he would henceforth be known as Ross.
The first ride sounds like it went beautifully with Ross checking out his surroundings, but mostly unperturbed by his new location. In a true Cinderella-esque style, all of the tack that Cyndy has fits him perfectly, and how often can you say that? Usually Murphy’s Law dictates that the minute you buy a new horse all sizes must change completely so that you can never share anything. But in this case he fit right in in every way!
So Sadie and I (and the rest of the Flying F Sport Horses family) send on lots of love to and for [the horse formerly known as Rasen] and the rest of the family!