I'll walk right out into a brand new day

I have some exciting news.

WE OFFICIALLY ADOPTED PIE AND SOVEREIGN!!!!

It is true and unbelievable to me all at the same time. Above is a snowy photo of the cute-sweetie-pie-boys the week before they came to our farm in February 2009. This photo was taken by Sandy Pikulski from the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. Sandy dropped off the horses, Sly Pioneer (Pie) and Suave Lord (Sovereign) on a cold and windy February day. I remember that they looked too big for their large stalls and when Sandy and her husband drove away, I thought, "hmmm...what the heck did I get myself into?" I quieted my addled brain with the thought that I was only a foster home and that it would all turn out ok. Secretly, though, I had never seen horses so big or beautiful in my entire life and even on that first day alone in the barn with them, I could not imagine watching them walk back out of our barn and up into another trailer to leave if they were adopted by someone else.

Our journey began quietly and cautiously. I started the blog so I could chronicle what I was doing with the horses in case someone wanted to adopt them. I comforted myself with the fact that if anyone contacted me to adopt, I would ask TRF if I could foster two more and retrain them too.

Retraining is a funny word, I think, because as any horse owner knows, the training process is happening every single second of every interaction a horse has with a human. I am just adding my two cents to their early memories. I knew that as a foster owner I could give the horses a good foundation for any future pursuits. I also knew that the only riding I personally was interested in doing would be to ride everyday bitless without lunging and without "working down" in anyway. I wanted them to understand that we might walk, trot, and eventually canter and jump small fences, but that mostly a daily ride around the farm of 1 hour or so in all weather was all I expected of them. I do not believe in rushing a horse and I was in no hurry to accomplish any "goals". That said, I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would be able to have my leisurely rides so soon and so consistently. We have minor steps backward every once in a while, but overall, I happily ride each day just like I envisioned. In addition, my mother, my husband, and occasionally my friends are able to join me on these perfect rides.

The horses seem happy to me. They are very interested in human contact and interaction. Sovey practically calls to my mother to come outside her house each day to visit him. I am so jealous that I don't live on the farm so that I can see them every second, but I suppose you can't have everything!

To say that these two horses have brought us joy is the understatement of the century. We sadly lost my father last July and without Pie and Sovey, I am not sure my mother and I would have survived. Every day their antics make us laugh and wonder and marvel and sigh.

I will still blog about our journey. I am glad to change the wording on my sidebar so that it doesn't encourage their adoption. They are our horses, now and forever.