How I Keep My Horse--Part Two

Every time I went to get Odie from the pasture, there was his girlfriend. It was very sweet. Then she was sent off to a trainer for a month. I could swear that my horse was depressed. He just seemed kind of lost.

Then she came back and things were never the same. I don't really know what happened. Other horses were coming and going as well--one in particular was a real bully. But I do know for certain that my horse started getting his butt kicked on a daily basis.

It seemed like every time I went out there he had a new bite mark. His rear end was starting to look like distressed furniture, only not as stylish. This was not interfering with my riding however, so I just hoped he'd eventually fit in again.

Then one day I went out to get him and he had a bloody gash on his back that ran the gamut along its length from hair removal, to scraped skin, to NO skin, and back again. It was more than a foot long and the deepest part was right where the seat of my saddle normally sits.

That was the end of pasture board for us. Kathleen referred to Odie's injury as a "naughty mare" item, and that stupid light bulb went on again for me. Looking back, I can't help but question the wisdom putting all the mares and geldings together. It seems so obvious. They never did that at the barn where I grew up.

That incident marked a turning point from being a tentative new horse owner to being a more experienced horse person. Also it opened a new chapter in the history of my relationship with Odie. Call it "Groundwork: The Intensive Study."

I couldn't ride him for three months. Now I am able to ride him, but I'm still working on getting the hair to grow back in that one deepest spot. It's generally covered but if I push the hairs aside I can see a little bald spot. It does seem to be slowly improving. Thank goodness for sheepskin saddle pads and Horseman's Dream.

So the groundwork is so, so, so solid now. I really can kind of roll my eyeball and the horse snaps to attention. However, the real silver lining is that following the "naughty mare" incident, I called Kathleen and mentioned that I wanted to move my horse (again) and to keep me in mind if she heard of anything.

The result is I now have my horse five minutes (FIVE minutes!) from my house. Odie lives with a wonderful older Quarter Horse, Chipper, who keeps him in line without biting his butt every day. There is a small barn, paddocks, two pastures and an arena down the street.

Chipper's mom and I split the work. I do all the mucking, which fits my need for some flexibility around school schedules, sports, lessons, etc. She does all the feeding and turnout. It's the perfect situation for me right now. And it costs me $75/mo., plus the cost of hay.