A New Man in my Life

Those that know me, know that I love my husband very much... He is a saint to put up with all my horse things, especially the newest addition to my horsey addiction: Zion. I have to admit, I am starting to fall for the new man in my life. Granted he has four legs, lives in a barn, and loves to be covered in mud, but he is so easy. Don't get me wrong, I love my Grammy Bear too, it is just a different ride on Zion. Gramarye has no problem buckling down and paying attention. She tried hard, but when she gets frustrated, watch out for that tail and those back legs! She lets you know exactly what she is thinking all the time. I don't yell at Gram, as she is a mare and would just get more mad at me for yelling at her. I don't get after Gram, because it turns a little thing, into a huge thing. She tries and can take a lot of pushing. The work is hard for her, but I truly believe that she likes it.

Zion on the other hand needs to be yelled at and gotten after. In the cross- ties I yelled, he stood. I brushed, he stood. I put the saddle on, he stood. Really very boring compared to Gram. In the arena he is a child at heart, always curious always looky looky- but that is it. He doesn't get tense, just looks around and screams. Once we get passed the screaming, he starts to pay attention. He is easy. Hot off the leg, light in the hand. Though he needs to work on connection and correctness, when he falls off to the right side, I put my leg on to re balance and he does it. His short back is a gift. He just sits down and goes. Never a tail swish or a kick out.

The farrier had some great things to say. I was worried about Zion's feet. They look like pancakes, and I really thought he had some serious hoof wall separation as well as long toes with no heels. I thought for sure when I got to the barn yesterday Travis the farrier would tell me I owed him $350 to put special shoes and pads on his feet. To my surprise, he actually had nothing but good things to say- which just confirms the more I think I know about feet, the less I find out that I actually know. Travis said that Zion's legs are so big, he needs a big foot. The wall separation is normal when a horse is that big. Once he trimmed Zion's feet they looked 100% better! We will now have Zion on a biotin supplement to help his feet along a bit more. Travis said that conformation-wise, Zion is one of the best looking horses he had seen. He even went as far as to say he wanted the mare and told us to re-breed to the same combination again! I was so happy and relieved! Next week he will become Ryan's project and then we see if Ryan likes him as much as everyone else! :)