She's here! She's Here! She's Here!
The day has finally come. I feel like I've been waiting forever for this day to come and it finally has. I initially planned to depart home around noon knowing it is about a 1.5hr drive to the shipper's house where Kai was awaiting my arrival, but to be honest I was just too excited and I couldn't wait any longer so I got up, got ready and was on the road around 10 AM. I found my way to the Shippers house, which was gorgeous in case you were curious, and arrived just before 11:30 AM. I was advised to park on the road due to mud, but upon arrival I discovered their driveway was literally an ice rink. I chose to back my trailer into their driveway as the road was quite narrow, and by the time I got situated and the trailer opened up, I glanced up the driveway and saw the shipper leading a gorgeous dark bay mare. As she navigated across the ice and downward slope, I called out and greeted the Shipper and watched as Kai was careful not to disobey her handler. She stopped when she was told to stop, she followed across ice and through snow in the ditch and was happy to say hello to me.
She passed me the lead rope and I stepped onto the ramp of my trailer, standing behind the closed driver side rear door as she stepped on with her front feet and lowered her head to smell the ramp. I honestly anticipated her to continue to be curious, so you can imagine my surprise when she walked right in without hesitation - and without me! I was taken by surprise so I tossed the lead rope over her back as she sauntered up to the front stall of my 3 Horse Trailer. At this point I had wished I had a hay net or something in there as a reward. To recap slightly, she's been on a trailer for 2 full days with 2 nights in strange barns so I wasn't expecting a 3 year old to walk onto another trailer without so much as a 'oo scary ramp' thought. I walked in behind her, attached her to the bungee, removed the lead rope, took a very brief moment to admire her leather halter with her bloodlines on a tarnished brass plate, closed the divider and exited my trailer. I stood on the ramp exchanging pleasantries and making conversation with the Shipper which lasted about 10 minutes and I was on my way. As I pulled out of her driveway and started back on the highway home, I had so many thoughts rushing through my head.
Starting my truck, letting the clutch out and steering back onto the road was so much more than just driving home today. I was driving home with a new horse, and driving into a new journey. My life was changing, regardless if I took her home and decided I hated her, or if she turned into the horse I think she can be. It's truly amazing how the simplicity of the word "yes" can change your life.
As I passed a small town on the side of the road, I decided to pull in because honestly I was going to pee my pants. I dropped the window, which seemed to really weird her out. I always make a point of saying hi to the horses before I drop it as to not freak them out, and she wasn't necessarily scared but rather initially startled but quickly intrigued. I had to park a little ways away from Subway so I began my walk. In the process as my mind was still racing I managed to drop my keys 3 times between the truck and the store. Nonetheless, I ventured in for a pee break and a sandwich since I realized I hadn't eaten anything yet and it was pushing 1:30 by this point. I did what I needed to do inside and headed back to my truck. I was expecting to walk back to a rocking trailer as she viciously pawned the floors off my trailer, and as I didn't so much as hear a peep I quickly thought "oh great, she somehow managed to kill herself in the 5 minutes I was gone - just my luck." but to my surprise, she was standing there quietly. I told her she was a good girl and closed the window (sorry, I don't drive with windows down unless its +30) and got back out on the road.
I got home and unloaded her into our mud pit of our yard in a windstorm (figures). Tarps were billowing, small tree branches were crackling, and she stopped, took a look around and slowly stepped down the ramp, which is a relief because I hate it when horses leap off of it. I lead her to her temporary paddock and while she kind of lead like an asshole, it could have been much worse. The shipper mentioned that she eats a ton but I didn't think much of it considering she's 3, a touch underweight and regardless is growing. That being said, holy shit - they weren't kidding. She eats a ton. From 2:30 PM to evening feeding, she ate roughly 3/4 of a bale as well as a small mash.. But besides the fact that she needs to put on a little weight, she is definitely not nearly as tall as I was lead to believe (which is fine considering I'm short) so she can eat all she wants!
I got home and unloaded her into our mud pit of our yard in a windstorm (figures). Tarps were billowing, small tree branches were crackling, and she stopped, took a look around and slowly stepped down the ramp, which is a relief because I hate it when horses leap off of it. I lead her to her temporary paddock and while she kind of lead like an asshole, it could have been much worse. The shipper mentioned that she eats a ton but I didn't think much of it considering she's 3, a touch underweight and regardless is growing. That being said, holy shit - they weren't kidding. She eats a ton. From 2:30 PM to evening feeding, she ate roughly 3/4 of a bale as well as a small mash.. But besides the fact that she needs to put on a little weight, she is definitely not nearly as tall as I was lead to believe (which is fine considering I'm short) so she can eat all she wants!
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Her head is SO small - but it fits her {small} body. Her muzzle is like foal-size and its super kissable.
Things I know about Kai so far:
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LOVE the last photo of you guys :)
ReplyDeleteSO excited for this!!!