The new horse

The new horse, Vicky, arrived yesterday, completely exhausted.  The morning she was scheduled to leave her old barn, she was found in her paddock, laying in the mud, unable to get up.  She has been in this paddock for weeks now without shelter, and with no place to lay down.  The vet was called and the diagnosis was exhaustion.  When the trailer came to pick her up, however, she absolutely refused to go in.  Desperate to get her horse out of this bad situation, Vicky's owner made the decision to walk with her horse to our barn.  This was a 13 km (8 miles) walk, but by some miracle they made it.   

Vicky was tired, but since she was at a new place, she couldn't exactly just relax so during the first night she didn't lay down. The other horses were curious, but very polite, watching her from afar.  Apparently Little Love had put on a show at night, throwing her boots and blankets that were hanging on her door on to the floor, something she has NEVER done before, not even in Switzerland.  Interesting.

Since there was no warm water at Vicky's previous home, she was also completely caked in mud when she arrived.  Her owner made an attempt to wash most of it off today, but it is in her coat fairly deep.  Today, around noon, after getting washed and just hanging out outside with her owner nibbling on some grass, Vicky was finally starting to relax at her new home.  When her owner put her in the stall, she stood with her head down, as if she was drugged.  The plan is to let her rest as much as she wants and needs until she goes out with Little Love.  A tired horse can be either a complete push over or very aggressive when faced with a social situation she isn't ready for. 

When Melissa and I visited with Little Love today, I had a very strong sense of understanding coming from her.  I am sure she knows and completely understands Vicky's situation and is merely waiting patiently to meet her new friend.  Tomorrow we will be going out for a short walk together with Vicky and her owner, just to let the horses spend some time in each others company without over facing Vicky; I'm looking forward to it!