So, moving ponies and riding them has been accomplished. It will be better to have them up on The Hill because the indoor ring and the field of jumps (for Trumpie, mostly) are both there. So, no more trailering ponies up and down.
Riding went well, although Minnie was doing the thoroughbred thing today and would NOT stand still for grooming, bridling, me getting on, etc. J helped a lot. We rode for about 40 minutes again. Monday, if the weather is good, J and I will take them out on a hack to walk up and down hills, which is good for their, and our, fitness.
So everything was wonderful... until it was time to put them in their new digs. Minnie was getting very antsy; she does not like changes, and probably the only thing that kept her from flipping out entirely was that Trumpie was plodding along right beside her (it's a bit of a walk from the barn to their field.) In retrospect, she should have had the chain on her leadrope over her nose; yes, it's painful if her handler yanks on it, but that *will* get her to listen.
The gate to their field is narrow, and has a small step down. Minnie rushed the gate, and she pulled ahead, and then she tripped, and then I tripped and rolled. J said it looked really bad; she was sure I'd been stepped on. But Minnie was a good girl and somehow avoided me, though I did see her hooves pass *right* above my face.
Nonetheless, I have a couple of cuts on my left arm, and a sore forearm, and will, I am sure, have bruises up and down my left side. But -- nothing is broken. I was back on my feet in about 30 seconds. The "crack!" that I heard as I went down was not one of my bones, or one of Minnie's; it was a downed tree branch that one of us landed on.
It does serve to remind me that horses are big and dangerous, though.
And now Minnie has two boyfriends, Trumpie and Jack. Jack is a very pretty TB gelding who lives up there as a pasture puff; he can't be ridden because of neurological issues. He and Minnie spent quite a while getting acquainted over the fence.
Riding went well, although Minnie was doing the thoroughbred thing today and would NOT stand still for grooming, bridling, me getting on, etc. J helped a lot. We rode for about 40 minutes again. Monday, if the weather is good, J and I will take them out on a hack to walk up and down hills, which is good for their, and our, fitness.
So everything was wonderful... until it was time to put them in their new digs. Minnie was getting very antsy; she does not like changes, and probably the only thing that kept her from flipping out entirely was that Trumpie was plodding along right beside her (it's a bit of a walk from the barn to their field.) In retrospect, she should have had the chain on her leadrope over her nose; yes, it's painful if her handler yanks on it, but that *will* get her to listen.
The gate to their field is narrow, and has a small step down. Minnie rushed the gate, and she pulled ahead, and then she tripped, and then I tripped and rolled. J said it looked really bad; she was sure I'd been stepped on. But Minnie was a good girl and somehow avoided me, though I did see her hooves pass *right* above my face.
Nonetheless, I have a couple of cuts on my left arm, and a sore forearm, and will, I am sure, have bruises up and down my left side. But -- nothing is broken. I was back on my feet in about 30 seconds. The "crack!" that I heard as I went down was not one of my bones, or one of Minnie's; it was a downed tree branch that one of us landed on.
It does serve to remind me that horses are big and dangerous, though.
And now Minnie has two boyfriends, Trumpie and Jack. Jack is a very pretty TB gelding who lives up there as a pasture puff; he can't be ridden because of neurological issues. He and Minnie spent quite a while getting acquainted over the fence.