Well, it's been a little over two years since Valie and I set foot on the grounds of Legacy Stable! And, it was with a heavy heart when I had to say goodbye to the owners and trainers, Mike and Liz Murphy. Why? Well, that is because, on Tuesday, the 28th of October, we set forth on our new adventure to Sunflower Meadows Farm in North Grafton, MA. However, as sad as I was to leave the place that helped me gain the confidence I needed to become a horse owner again, I was happy to be moving to my good friend, Lindsey Canesi's, new venture as she "took the reins" as head of this lovely facility!
As we attempted to load Valie on the trailer, he was very hesitant to do so and even though we had no trouble loading him the last time we trailered him, he gave all of us a hard time as he continually refused to put even one hoof on the trailer. After trying numerous methods coupled with several different people attempting to lead him on, myself included, we were getting "nowhere" fast! And when his favorite treat, baby carrots and then even grain didn't work as an enticement, we knew that it would take a different method to get him loaded and moved to Sunflower. Liz did some thinking and then realized that maybe a bit of manual assistance would help so she suggested that we try to put one hoof on by hand and then another. She began to gently place her hand on his right front leg and then carefully lifted his hoof and placed it on the loading platform and held it there for a second and when he realized that the trailer wasn't going to instantly "swallow him up", he calmly walked on the trailer. And, even though it was a short ride to our new home, he was covered in sweat when we arrived and in addition to that, I was stunned to find "steam" rising from him when we took off his sheet because he had been so calm! However, as soon as he was happily enclosed in his new big and brightly lit stall, was rubbed down and then had a cooler placed on him, he was immediately comfortable, settled in, hanging his head over the yoke front of his stall and curiously looking around while getting acquainted with the other horses that are stalled in front of and beside him! The miracle of that evening was that he had no interest in cribbing and that continued for several days so he was able to be without his cribbing strap for an extended period of time. But, as much as I would like to report that his cribbing was gone forever, he did begin again but he now does it far less than ever before. What with the ability to see horses all around him while in his stall and turnout with his old buddy, "Sweet William", Lindsey's Thoroughbred, his activity level has picked up and his galloping and frolicking and his constant "rolls in the mud" have helped him to forget his previous need to crib as much as he did before. So, needless to say, he and I are now happy members of "Team Sunflower Meadows" but will forever be members of the "Legacy Stable Alumni Club".
