Dream Come True

We were finally able to take down the gate in Sonny's stall yesterday. That means for the first time, he could come in and out of his stall as much as he wanted! I caught the first few moments on tape :).

So it wasn't that exciting. He's an LBI, what did you expect?

It was very exciting for me, though. To finally be able to give him what I have dreamed about for so long. I never thought it would happen this soon and I am just thrilled about how great it turned out. I feel very lucky (he should, too!).

He stayed outside for quite a while, but once it got hot he came inside to stand in front of his fan. He also stayed inside once it got dark, but was out in his pasture, roaming around, when I got there this morning. I think he loves it :).

More updates coming soon!

Smile - Take 2

Sonny must have read my blog about everything to smile about, because he is smiling too!

Smile

There have been a lot of reasons for me to be smiling lately. One if them is because...

we had a photo shoot! 

No words needed.

I absolutely adore pictures of Sonny and cherish every single one of them. Because of that, I have been dying for Leslie and Dane, from The Perfect Pear, to come out. We were able to set something up over the last few days and I am just thrilled with what they have showed me so far! My cheeks may be a little sore, but there is still plenty to smile about.

Along with the fantastic photo shoot, things with the farm have really been coming along. We are finally 'full speed ahead'! For one, WE HAVE FENCE!

There has also been some serious progress on the main barn. Water buckets are up, blanket bars are on, and the bathroom, tack room, and wash rack all have walls!

Finally, we are on the web! You can check out the farm online here:

Website | Facebook 

So things have been really busy lately, but at the end of the day, I can't help but to smile!

Wordless Wednesday

I am home for about a half an hour before I need to be back at the barn. Since that time includes eating and whatever else I need to get done at home today, I don't have time to even think about writing a blog post. Instead, were are going to kick it old school and do it picture book style ;). So here is an update on the farm:

Our brand new, 60' round pen! Yahoooo!

Today we finished putting screenings in the stalls and
the aisle. More photos coming soon! 

Sonny's HUGE stall gate went from this...

To this! 

Sonny being such a good helper :).

Rafters in my tack room! 

Sonny helping Stephen while he puts the final screws
in my tack room wall. 

In the last picture, you can see how awesome the gate turned out! I will have to post a before picture, but he used to only be able to barely put his nose over it. Now he can comfortably hang his head over it! After we cut it down, my godfather cut open an old hose and glued it on the top so it is nice and soft if he leans on it. He is so increbily happy now that he can stick his head out all the time!

I have tons, and tons, and TONS of pictures to still show. But, that is all I have time for now! Hopefully more tomorrow.

Week One Updates

As of last night, Sonny had been at the farm for a whole week! We survived!

The weather was insane; just so miserably hot. Therefore, we didn't get a whole lot done. I had him out to eat grass during all the cool parts of the day and didn't want to take that time away from him to do any playing. Thankfully, Sunday was beautiful! It was cool, breezy, and so enjoyable. Therefore, Sunday morning we finally played! He was great online, a little unmotivated/not very interested. I have been watching the level 4 DVDs so I thought I would give zone 5 driving a shot. It didn't go very well at all. He did not want to move forward and when he did he I couldn't figure out how to get him straight. I got relaly frustrated with my lack of knowledge and because Pat uses an RBE in the DVDs and has no problem at all getting her going. So my emotions got involved and I knew that I had to quit so I got him to move a little bit then stopped. I guess I will have to prepare myself better, next time. I hate getting frustrated because I know Sonny feeds off that but I really felt like I was lacking resources. But, I plan on doing more research and being more positive next time to take the time it takes to figure it out. I am sure that Sonny will forgive me and that next time will be better!

We got to ride this morning and it was fabulous. I used my smart pad under my bareback pad and it was heaven! Oh, it was so nice! I played with the question box, trot poles, and even jumped a little! We had a really good time!

After my ride Stephen came over to work on my tack room a little bit. I will post about that tomorrow. But, he didn't come empty handed! He came with 8 more barrels for me. Now, I will have 12 barrels to play with! Holy cow! I am so excited and can't wait to 'break them in' ;). He is such a keeper!

I am going back down tonight to show my friend around, so more about that tomorrow, too!

A few photos from our first week!

All Moved In

Sonny and I went to a 3/4 clinic with Jesse Peter's over the weekend. When we came home on Sunday, we went straight to the new barn. We had an awful, scary trailer ride home, so between the three and a half hours in the trailer and the exhausting weekend at the clinic, Sonny was definitely wore out by the time we arrived. We got there pretty late, so we didn't have time to do much that night. Stephen and I spent some time hanging out with him in his stall, gave him some hay, then headed home for some much needed sleep.

I headed back down around 7AM and he seemed to have been fine over night. I can see him in his stall from the road, so I can check if he is moving, eating, or standing. He had eaten all his hay and was just hanging out. Once I walked him he really hyped up. For the rest of the day, he got upset whenever I left. He wouldn't eat his hay unless I was around, but did eat a ton of grass and all of his grain. He would whinny and poop until I came back into sight (Even if I was just around the corner!). I spent a whopping 15 hours at the barn Monday, staying with him as much as possible to keep him happy. He never had runny poop or worked himself up, but you could just tell that he wasn't comfortable without me around. Which is totally understandable! He is at a new farm with only one other horse.

Tuesday was better, but I saw a definite change on Wednesday. He stopped pooping every time I left, didn't walk circles when I was gone, and started to explore his stall and eat all of his hay. Today he is acting very close to his normal self; even someone who just met him Monday commented on how happy he looked today compared to Monday. But, why wouldn't he be?

Our daily schedule looks something like this:

• 7AM: arrive at the barn. Take out Sonny to eat all the clover he can scarf down, along with the lush, green grass that is taking over the farm. 
• 9AM: Breakfast! And stall cleaning
• 9:30AM: Back out for another go at the all-you-can-eat buffet. 
• 11AM: Back to the stall before it gets too hot. Fan on high and a nice little snack. 
• (During this time I am working to get things done around the farm, as well as showering and feeding myself)
• 7PM: Back out to eat grass and roam around
• 9PM: Dinner time! Maybe a cool shower, too. 
• 10PM: Time for Emily to go home. 

Rough life for the boy, right? It's been so stinkin' hot we haven't played much at the new farm. This weekend it should cool down, so I am looking forward to getting back at it.

Here are some photos of his updated stall:

What you see from the road.

His first day in his new stall! 

I love the shadow :).

While I was at the clinic, Stephen and his dad surprised me by putting a lot of work into my tack room! It was so nice to come home to that!

Still a lot to do, but we have walls and a door!

The current state of the tack room.

His favorite thing to do. 

 So far things have been great and will hopefully only get better!