The Next Chapter

Tonight is the final night for B and I in our current home.  The majority of our things have been packed into boxes and moved by my wonderful parents (and B), who came to stay with us for the first part of the week. I haven't been to the barn since Sunday, and I haven't left the house since I was discharged from the hospital on Monday, and I'm starting to go a little stir crazy.  Also, laying on a couch while the people I love are busily Doing Things is incredibly frustrating, but then I try to Do Things like walk around...and remember that doctors really do have good reasons for telling you to rest after surgical procedures.

New barn

B's parents are coming to town tomorrow morning to help us finish the move (aka relocate all the big things), and I am looking forward to finishing my period of convalescence in our lovely new house. I am incredibly glad that we decided to wait a month before moving Leo in - the barn isn't ready, things still need to be purchased, and I would definitely not be much help (and likely would get super stressed out; I have a feeling that I'll be a huge control freak during that entire process).

The little barn has two fully enclosed stalls

The stalls in the barn need to be completely stripped - the previous tenants appear to have stopped cleaning them in the weeks leading up to their move. I would like to put mats down but that may have to wait - I haven't run a budget for that just yet.

Third stall 

The third stall is larger and open; it can function as a stall or as a run-in for the upper pasture. It also needs to be stripped, and it has a massive manger.

Small front lot

The footing is a lot hillier than I remembered, unfortunately. The small lot pictured above was flat in my mind but in reality has a pretty decent slope to it. The back pasture - my second choice for a decent riding spot - has some decent flat spaces but none large enough to turn into a makeshift arena. However, the footing is excellent and I could see a few tiny xc jumps going back there. 

Large front pasture

The front pasture has the largest flat area, and may become the primary riding spot. B has scoped out some other potential areas, and the neighbors (who are related to our landlords) have a flat, gorgeous field that I eyeball every time we drive past; I'm hoping that they'll agree to let me use it on occasion. 

Tiny tack room, inherited halters

The tack room is small and basic, but we have plans for shelves and hooks and stands. As long as I can keep it organized I'll be happy. The previous tenants left behind an assortment of random things - I haven't looked at any of it too closely yet, but I have a feeling that it's mostly junk. I may ask if I can paint it a fun color. 

Massive trees

A good bit of the property beyond the pastures is wooded, and the landlords have made some small trails that we are welcome to ride. The property is near the Mark Twain National Forest, which has a ton of horse trails, and allegedly it's a quick ride down the road to get there - something that I can't wait to find out more about. 

The property also includes two ponies

The landlords keep their kids' two ponies on the property, and they are completely adorable. They don't get handled a lot at the moment, and we've discussed the possibility of me working with them to get them back into shape. I forget their names, but if they get along with Leo (and my future horse), they'll probably end up living with them most of the time, which I am definitely okay with; B and I have already talked about how having only two horses could potentially create herd sourness issues when one or the other was taken away. 

There is a potential lead (possibly two!) on the new horse front, but my poorly timed inability to ride means that nothing will be able to move forward until late next week. Keep your fingers crossed for me though!