Today led to the start of Dash’s blog but until he arrives I’ll post here and there about what’s going on in the preparations for his arrival.
In the two days since I actually adopted him I’ve been working on getting things set for his arrival. My first call was to try and find someone to haul him from the drop point to my place. I was really hoping that since I am only 400 miles almost directly south of where he is in Alberta, Canada they would be able to bring him straight down to Kalispell. Unfortunately, the border restrictions only allow them to cross into the states at a few spots so the closest drop point is about 160 miles from me in Shelby, MT. Fortunately, my first call netted a very nice gentleman who seemed quite impressed by the fact that I had adopted a wild PMU colt from Canada and promised to do everything possible to get my “pony” to me. I nearly fell off my chair laughing when he used the term pony! I did make him aware of the fact that Dash is not even halter trained and could be fairly large but he said it was no problem at all, that he had hauled many horses like that, and gave me what I considered a very fair rate range. The final price will depend on if he can pick Dash up on one of his frequent trips over to the Shelby area or if he’ll have to make a special trip but even at the high end, it was quite a bit less than I expected.
I want to have at least one or two tons of hay here before Dash arrives so my second call was to the guy I used to buy my hay from. He’s always supplied great quality hay and delivers plus stacks it in my barn for about the same price most others want without delivery. Unfortunately he is currently out of town so the hay has been put on the back burner. He did leave a number to call but I prefer to deal directly with him so will wait and see if he gets home soon. I did find out that Murdoch’s is putting grain on sale for $5.99 a bag next week. It’s normally $7.99 or more around here so I’m going to run out and pick up half a dozen bags or so. Gotta save where I can!
When I last talked to Jennifer at Animali she suggested I see if I could find a place in Shelby where they might be able to unload the horses and sort out Dash. I mentioned this to my hauler and he suggested I call one of the local vets. I did that today and they pointed me to the local stockyard. When I talked to the owner there he said he could help us as long as the truck doesn’t coincide with his upcoming bull sale and that he has plenty of room for them to sort out Dash and load back up. He did say he would prefer not to have any horses spend the night so my only worry will be if my hauler can’t get there the same day Dash does. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that won’t happen!
I have to work tomorrow and Saturday but starting Sunday I will be heading over to mom’s house (where Dash will be living) to repair a couple of damaged fence rails and to check and see what tack/supplies I still have that might be useful. I know most of my tack will probably end up being too small for Dash once he’s grown but I’m hoping I still have a rope halter and some brushes/buckets. If not I’ll be picking that up at Murdoch’s when I get the grain! Sometime next week I also have to build a gate for the round pen. It’s an older split rail round pen that should work fine but over the years the gate just kind of gave up and fell apart. It shouldn’t be too hard to build a new one though. I’ve always been a tomboy and my hubby has learned that the perfect birthday or Christmas gift for me is a new power tool! Forget the flowers, I want a table saw!
It’s wonderful being able to keep Dash at my mom’s house. There is nearly always someone there and I know that he will get lots of love and treats even on the days I am only able to stop by just to feed him. I got my love of horses from my mom, she even took me trail riding when I was a baby and bought me my first pony when I was just two. She’s always supported me in my love of horses and loves them just about as much as I do. And it’s nice knowing that members of my family will be watching out for Dash, a boarding facility is great but family is even better.
The photo below shows part of the pasture as it looked a couple of years ago. That is my stepdad and my old horse Wrangler in the photo. Less than 1/2 of the pasture is pictured. The center fence is gone now, you can just barely see the roundpen in the back by the Birch trees. The lean-to is still there plus there is a large area with lots of trees that isn’t in this picture. My other horses always preferred the trees instead of the lean-to.
There isn’t really much else I can do until next week so I’m sort of just twiddling my thumbs waiting for Jennifer’s call to say Dash is shipping.
What a beautiful place! It looks like Dash is going to be living in style!