Monday, March 15, 2010

Six Week Countdown

In the comments of my last post, I tried to clarify something that some of you might not realize. Unless you've been reading since day one, you probably don't know that Salem is not my horse (you can read about it by clicking here). I know, I know -- I do write like he's mine, and I certainly treat him as if he's my own. That's just the way I've always been; every single animal that is under my care is going to get the best of everything that I can provide.

I've known Salem's owner Ruby since I was nine, and she's seen me "adopt" so many horses. Any horse that was given to me as a project always got spoiled within an inch of its life. I would buy supplements and treats and spend hours grooming and working. I suspect that this is a big part of the reason that Ruby felt comfortable having Salem stay with me. She knew that he would want for nothing and live the life of Riley. I pay for him to have the stall with the 1/2 acre paddock attached, I buy him tons of extra hay, supplements, flax seed, treats, products, massages, etc. He's definitely living the good life!

Saturday night, I got a text message from Ruby asking for the address to Salem's farm. She wants to set up the date for his shipping. Of course, I've always known that this day would come, but I tried to push it out of my head and focus on the moment. Ruby said that she's always planned on bringing him up May 1st, but it's news to me. I feel like time has flown by at mach speed.

So, I have six more weeks with The Boy. I'm sad because, of course, I will miss him like crazy. I've seen him every single day since he got here in October, and he's always my favorite part of the day. He's such a huge puppy dog and a total sweetheart. I know Ruby is going to absolutely fall head over heels in love with him. That makes me happy...but the fact that he will be leaving is also heartbreaking.

In addition, I feel like he hasn't progressed as much as I would have liked. And there are so many things that I wanted to do with him that might never happen. We've had so many setbacks along the way -- he had major tooth issues, sore/messed up hooves, muscle issues, and most recently saddle fit/back issues. That's a lot of issues to deal with! Of course, he also had a body-wide case of fungus and an abscess along the way, as well. All of that stuff took away from our progress.

That's not to say that he hasn't come a long way. He's certainly a much more mature horse than the one who arrived in early October. He's learned a lot and really developed physically. Of course, with horses you can never really have a timeline. You can have an idea of what you would like to accomplish, and goals to reach for. But you can't say, "OK, in X amount of time, such-and-such will be perfect." I actually felt a lot better when Heather (who's an awesome rider) told me that it took a solid year to really teach Sid to halt. In light of that, I think that Salem has really come a long way.

So, for the next six weeks, I am going to take advantage of the time that I have with Salem. Obviously, I don't need to buy a new saddle, so I am going to take the money that I have saved up so far and use it on Salem. We're going to take lessons, he's going to get massages and special horse cookies and maybe even a chiropractic adjustment. I am going to ride out as much of the "green" as I possibly can so that he will be ready for his new life in Chicago.

*sniff* I knew that I would fall in love with Salem and be heartbroken when he left. But it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I'm grateful for every single second that I've had with him, and I'm going to cherish the few that remain.

9 comments:

eventer79 said...

Soooo, sounds like time to buy your own horse next!

Alana said...

Aw! I am so so sorry for you Frizz! But, I agree, sounds like it is time for you to buy your own special guy(or girl)! I would love to use this as an excuse to get back onto horse sites to find the 'perfect' horse for you, as I have wanted the excuse since wading through the endless ads in search of want turned into Bailey. So, what classifications do you have so I can jump into it (I really need an outlet, as I have gone so low as to look at fake-future-bailey-baby-daddys, even though I will NEVER breed her...)
And of course, YAY Ruby for picking such a great place for Salem to live, and good luck for her bringing him home so soon. She will be keeping up his blog won't she?

Brooke (FBX Adventures - In Parenting) said...

Lol, Alana, I totally look up the "fake-future-denali-baby-daddy" too! Glad someone else does too!

Frizz, What is she doing in Chicago? Was she in FL? I know of someone with a Green TB that you can come ride anytime you want! :) Although I think we're as far apart as you can get in the Continental USA.

Time for pony hunting!!!

Frizzle said...

Hahaha, I WISH I could go pony-shopping immediately! Unfortunately, I'm not in the financial position to do so at the moment. But the minute I am, I will call to the four winds to help me find the Perfect Pony!
Alana, I have no idea if Ruby will want to continue the blog on her own. I certainly hope that she will send me updates and pics because I will be going through withdrawl!
Denali, Ruby has always been in Chicago (it's where I lived when I was younger). She couldn't find a horse in Chicago. So, she started looking at ads for horses in Florida, with the thought that if she found one she could have it stay with me for a while so I could "ride some of the green out of him." She hasn't even met Salem yet!

Alana said...

I really hope she does, I have grown attached to him from this blog!
Denali, it is sad, it isn't like I have looked up one stallion, Bailey (reg TB) has imaginary babies that are full TB half-App, Holstein,Hanoverian,Oldenburg, Halflinger, Trakhener and since her size doesn't matter,Shire,Clydesdale, irish draught, and a mule or two. I have a disease, which is why I need a healthier outlet, like finding Frizzle a horse of her very own lol! Geez, I even already have a few! (BTW, one of my cats is named Denali!)

SprinklerBandit said...

:-( I wish Salem was yours. You guys are good together. Any chance there's another horse at the barn you can ride?

In the meantime, enjoy what you've got with Salem.

Kristen Eleni Shellenbarger said...

Oh Frizzle!! :( That is bummer of news. One BIG benefit, is that somewhere there is a horse that is destined to be yours and they will be SUPER lucky to have you as their Momma. :)
So sad...I'll miss Salem too via pics. Perhaps I can visit him when I visit my Parents in Evanston (just 20 min from Chicago) for you! ;)
OH and trust me..you can't ever be really money ready for a pony.
Right girls!?

Frizzle said...

Kristen -- oh, don't I know it about the money! I used to affectionately call Mac my "money pit!"
Salem won't actually be in Chicago -- he'll be further out west. I'm not sure exactly where his new barn is, but I think it's about 15-20 minutes from my old barn, which is on the south-western end of Naperville. I'm sure Salem would love to meet you if you have the time!
Alana, I have already started looking at the CANTER listings (because I, too, have a sickness!). What can I say? I ♥ TBs! I would love a Salem-like horse -- a young, tall, big-bodied TB gelding. They are the BEST!
SB, I know that I can go on the occasional trail ride on Gigi's horse Bonnie, but it's just not the same as being out there every day with a horse that only you ride/take care of. :-( I'm so bummed!

Brooke (FBX Adventures - In Parenting) said...

It's crazy that Ruby hasn't even met him yet. I'm not sure I could buy a horse that I didn't bond with. Although I'm pretty sure Denali just used me to escape from the Auction, now that she's "free" she's just plotting her world domination, I'm just her "handler"

Alana, I've looked them all up too! It's a sad, sad sickness!