My handsome new man has landed, and I couldn't be happier! Degen stepped off the trailer shaggy, hairy, and FAT, but I couldn't care less. I do wish my barn had some sort of pasture board situation since that is what he's used to and I think that's what he prefers. He doesn't seemed to mind being stalled in the evening though, and they get plenty of turnout during the day. He settled in just fine, so I took him for a spin the very next day. He went straight to work without any sillyness whatsoever. We did lots of walking, stretching, and some trotting, and I even canterd a tiny bit in each direction. We even went on a solo trail ride to cool down, and he walked along and took everything in stride like a pro. March will be a month of conditioning. We both need to get back in shape before we can really start lessoning and really working hard so the plan is to do short flatwork sessions and lots of trail riding with some hill work incorporated into those rides.
We've also been playing beauty parlor! I pulled his mane after one of our rides and had him clipped on Sunday, and the transformation is incredible! He is now super shiny and looks like his fancy show horse self. Post-clip pics to come!
Straight off the trailer:
Mane pulled and cleaned up!
Selfie!
