We escaped for a couple of nights to my old town, Chicago (I was born/raised in Evanston, IL)
We had a blast; weather was sunny and high 60's, food was fantastic, hotel was in a great spot and we walked the lake front to our hearts content.
We love nothing more than waking up, grabbing coffee and walking 5-10 miles while chatting, taking in the scenery lake side, and curling back into the City for shopping, people watching and scenery viewing. A great City vacation is so good for the soul.
We love nothing more than waking up, grabbing coffee and walking 5-10 miles while chatting, taking in the scenery lake side, and curling back into the City for shopping, people watching and scenery viewing. A great City vacation is so good for the soul.
Chicago is a fantastic place to visit if you never have
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While we were away, my BO texted me this...
"Meet Tinkerbelle"
Tinkerbelle is a 20 yr old pony ex lesson mare and cute as cute could be!
She looks like a mini unicorn.
She may fart glitter!
I was anxious to meet her and I did on Sunday morning.
The boys (Pito and Laz) are separated for her so she can get acclimated
She is very leery of 'big' people but has already given several great kid rides I've heard to the BO's little ones and friends little ones
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Dispite me wanting to SQUEEEZE her, I gave her time/space ...oh and cookies
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She is DARLING.
Is this not the face you envisioned when you were 5 asking for a pony?
She and Laz squeal at each other over the fence...and when I was with Laz on his side, he actually charged at her with pinned ears. I'm hoping when they go together as a herd, that he will be sweet to her. For now, they are separated for a bit until the excitement settles down
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Cutie girl!
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Her hooves are SO long, it looks like her last trim was prior to winter
I'm aching to get to those hooves.... but she's not mine
Any advice when introducing a new horse to a herd?
We plan to put Pito in with her first being he is the calmer of the two boys and Laz in last.
Is it best to let them go free as horses and let it play out?
Do you introduce slowly, all on lines? Then release?
Do you introduce slowly, all on lines? Then release?
We plan to let them sniff at each other over the fence for a few days, then
let Pito in and give him and Tink a day to bond, then introduce Laz and let them sort it out as horses while praying no one gets hurt.
let Pito in and give him and Tink a day to bond, then introduce Laz and let them sort it out as horses while praying no one gets hurt.
Any secrets to success?
LOVE Chi-town! I don't miss it in the winter :-) but it is such a lovely city when it's not frozen over!
ReplyDeleteAnd, yeah, herd dynamics can be tough with a mixed group. Hopefully neither gelding will get stud-y and they can all live together peacefully. Keeping them separated for a while and introducing them one at a time is a great idea.
The pony is so cute!!! Since they can meet over the fence I would not have them on leads when introducing them. I can envision too many things going wrong involving people getting trampled, tangled in ropes or horses bolting away... When I've introduced horses I just keep them across the fence for a couple of weeks until they find each other totally boring and then just turn them loose together. The more room they have when introduced, the better. I like the idea of putting Pito with her first and then Laz, so she doesn't feel like she's being ganged up on. Good luck!!!
ReplyDeleteAlso I would leave halters on them when they are first put together, so that if one does try to attack you can get a hold of them easier to put them back in the other pasture. It might not hurt to have treats to help coax them to you if they decide to play keep away. I doubt it will come down to that if they stay on opposite sides of the fence for a while though. :)
ReplyDelete'She may fart glitter! I laughed out loud at that one! She is adorable! I am sure they will all get along. I wouldn't rush it though.
ReplyDelete