BUT
Yeah, there's a BUT. Actually probably several I can come up with ;)
About a year ago I went over to my friend Jean's to take pictures of her, she was selling off a large portion of her herd and didn't have a camera to take pictures for her ads. I fell in love with a 6-year-old black Tennessee Walker mare, 2 hind socks and a star with a bit of a strip... beautiful brown eyes with the kindest expression, sweet face, just gorgeous! I told myself NO, FORGET IT, and I tried really hard... helped Jean get her ads up and figured that gorgeous girl would soon be gone to a new home.
Well I found out quite by accident last week that Jasmine was one of only 2 equines that didn't sell. And a voice in my head said "She's waiting for you!" I'd been a little worried about over-working Katie with the endurance kick I got started on, and having a "spare" to share the load would be good right? And Jean has been a big help to us over the years so I'd be doing her a favor, right?? And the other option I was looking at was adding a couple of donkeys to my herd, which would be a LOT more money, AND travel to pick them up or MORE money to pay a hauler, so a close horse for a lot less money is good, right??? And, and... I don't have one this color! ;)
Well Jean made the deal irresistible when she told me to take Jasmine home and try her, and if she works, pay whenever, and if she doesn't, just bring her back. I was a bit concerned about adding another horse because when we tried it a few years ago, we had a mare called CC for a MONTH and the herd would NOT accept her... we ended up NOT buying her.
I went riding with Jean Saturday and on the way home, picked up Jasmine. (The spring flowers are GORGEOUS at Estrella and we found a fantastic trail! Got to try and get back down there before it gets hot!!) I watched Katie carefullly as we loaded Jasmine into the trailer with her... her ears went flat back and she gave Jasmine a glare and I said "Katie be nice, if this works Jasmine will be your relief pitcher and you won't have to work so hard!" Well it seemed like she understood me, she stopped the glaring and the ears came up...
When we got home I unloaded Jasmine and tied her to the trailer for a minute while I put Katie in the arena and shut the gate between that and the small paddock. Then I put Jasmine in the small paddock and settled back to enjoy the show - I figured on squealing at the very least... and quite possibly a lot more exciting posturing.
I got NOTHING! No fussing whatsoever!!! In fact the only thing that happened was that Luna immediately started flirting with Jasmine! I guess when you are in season and there are no boys around, a newcomer is good enough even if it's another girl! Mares!! Then Destiny started in doing the same thing! It was almost embarrassing to watch...
Usually I leave a fence betwen a newbie and the herd for at least a week, but with no fussing, and Jasmine obviously pining - walking the fence line and calling to the others when they walked away - I decided to open the gate when I got home from work tonight. I took an "encouragement stick" with me in case I needed to get someone's attention... but I only needed it for the dogs. There was some running as you can see...
But it was all friendly fun and when I fed, they ate out of the same feeder with only a token ear flicker once in a while.
So step 1 is successful!!!
Now for step 2 which is ride her and make sure she gets along with ME! But first I am going to put Hilary on her. My kids have velcro on their butts and they are made of rubber so they bounce instead of break... unlike their "old lady". The trick is going to be finding a time when we are both home at the same time, in the daylight, with enough time to check out what Jasmine will and won't, can and can't, do!
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