From May as Well Event: As we enter a new decade, I thought it would be fun to propose a challenge to you all! Let’s see ONE horsey picture for each of the last ten years. 

2010:

So much happened this year. Batty joined the family in November, but this was also the year of Sound Hayley. And riding Subi… before life and work got in the way. I was super happy at this self care barn too with Hayley and Subi. Batty didn’t join us there until later.

Best Chestnut Mare Ever

2011:

We moved to our next place as my 90 mile commute started…killing me. This was the year of the laminitis scare for Hayley and the abscesses for her and Batty that wouldn’t end and eventually me accepting a new job that I wouldn’t start until 2012.

Settling in at their new home, healthy for now 

2012:

The year we left crazy, moved to a friend’s temporarily, and then moved HOME.

Best kids home at last. Last time things ever looked nice. 

2013:

Uneventful year. Except that whole getting kicked in the head by Hayley thing…

Batt proving he’s a saint and me not needing a ladder. Trimming trees on his back.

2014:

Batty’s New Bolton stay for his first serious colic, Subj issues under saddle, and we lost Hayley. Year #1 where I decided I hated horses.

One of the last healthy pictures I have of Hayley before she took a sharp and sudden turn downhill and said loud and clear, my body is failing at 14.

2015:

Year started with me abandoning the horses for almost 2 months due to grief and letting my husband take care of them. Still feel guilty about it today. Most major happening? Jiminy joined the family in July bringing the number back to 3. 2 was not working!

Cutest pony ever. First #notachestnut but he can pass for one sometimes. Bay roans are cool

2016:

Year of lots. I’m cheating because 2016 brought me hauling out Batty, a second serious concussion, Ludwig’s Corner, and… RANGER. The horse who changed my relationship with jumping. I also retired Subi completely. And colic.

First show over fences since 2008/9?

In his element 

Let’s go show in pleasure horse at Ludwig’s Corner even though we’ve never been to a show before… large classes with expensive horses 😂

2017:

Trail rides galore and Devon with Ranger. Plus abscesses for Batty. Always abscesses.

Best Ranger Ever!

2018:

Ranger was my constant. Batty’s heaves started to get worse plus abscesses. But we managed some awesome trail rides. And barn purchase!

Best trail horse ever.

Couldn’t resist an excuse to include the greatest image ever. Fair Hill maps are confusing.

2019:

Worst year ever. Ranger taught me all he knew and I moved on to Bob (not bad, but sometimes you just need a constant).Culvert. Ulcers for Subi, Batty super awful heaves, then after 3 years without a colic, we lost him to a colic that didn’t present bad but just got worse and worse and worse. Worse than New Bolton colic of 2014. I basically bankrupted myself on Batty this year and lost him anyway. Plus deteriorating health. And I almost lost Subi. I still might in the next year if he doesn’t put on weight(though he is more content).And then Nayners came along to try and sort out the mess.

I’m including The last picture I have of Batty alive that is the most awful thing ever. I took it when my gut said he would not make it, before leaving the clinic. 60 minutes later they called us to come back to say goodbye. Im sharing it because it has too much power and maybe by putting it out there, it won’t? I’m including a second because I need a happier photo to end the year.

No words, just pain. The moment you know in your gut you’re not going to make it through this complete.

I have so many other pictures, better ones of Nayners. But this is the moment that things became OK again. The first OK again moment. It’s worth saving.

Merry Christmas from the crazy nuts at ThreeChestnuts. They may not be majority chestnut anymore, but they’re majority nutty.

Wishing you and yours a happy holiday.

Another year, another fabulous gift exchange thanks to Tracy over at the Printable Pony.

This year my gift came from Olivia at DIY Horse Ownership. There are absolutely no words to describe her extraordinary gift.

You see, I signed up before I lost Batt. I thought about emailing Tracy to either edit my description or pull out but… I didn’t. I was not in the holiday spirit at all for weeks. In fact, at Thanksgiving, my husband asked what I wanted for Christmas? I said I wanted my horse back… so yeah. I just had to home someone would read my blog and realize I lost Batt and at least not address the card to him and me (I’ve done stuff like that).

But Olivia? Her gift? I was crying after reading the card and bawling by the time I opened the gift.

Handmade quilted stuffed Batty is perfect. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Thank you Olivia!

**The first thing my husband asked when he saw it was, is that from the person who made mini Jiminy a few years ago? Strangely enough, I think they might be to scale to each other!**o poop

Let me start by saying, NO ONE DIED!

But Nay Nay managed to get caught in his hay net during the 4 minute drive to the barn and had to be cut out. Seriously horse, you are on a suicide mission.

We got there and thanks to the hay net incident, I had an anxious mess on my hands. I did some walk/trot/halt/backs in the indoor before starting to lunge but when my trainer came in, we decided just to run him around the indoor. He proceeded to not move faster than a trot, and keeping him trotting was HARD. We gave up when he decided he wanted to roll (no) and stuck his bridle on. He showed he had ZERO ground manners 🤦🏻‍♀️😳 and was a complete embarrassment. But, as I’m paying for assistance, he and trainer exchanged words and he was actually a gem for me to get onto once the bridle was on.

We worked for a while on walking and circles and keeping my leg against him without reaction or me pulling or doing anything (so hard just to sit and be loose!!!!). But we got there.

Then, how exciting, we trotted. And, nothing exactly happened. I had to not pull other than play with inside rein if he was focusing outside but we circled and changed paths and all that and changed directions. All was pretty good. He had moments of weird head fits that I can’t really explain–mini I want to act up but then doesn’t so he just tosses his head in the end.–I don’t know. But he was very good all things considered. He was anxious but, lesson 1 is in the books.

After the lesson? His brain melted out his ears and he couldn’t handle getting his bridle off or saddle off or halter off. Trainer’s husband helped and helped load him in trailer. But, then we got home, and lightbulb went off and he realized that we go places and we come back home. No pulling or poor manners. He wasn’t even interested in going back in the field or seeing his friends (walked to water and started eating hay). I’m pretty sure that with repetition, he will get better.

I will be doing a short course of ulcer treatment for him just in case. His whole life has been turned upside down and I just want to make sure his gut is healthy. He has some loose poop, especially when he’s stressed…

Lesson 1 with Nay Nay is in the books!

When you get a new horse, what else do you do other than go shopping?

Nay Nay (or SNN or SSN because that’s how I read SNN every. single. time. Michele texts SNN) has been living out 24/7 at the rescue without a blanket. It’s been relatively warm-ish and he has a decent coat. BUT, he likes to roll. And he likes dirt. A lot. So, if I have plans to ride him, ever, he’s going to start being blanketed. And he’s a thoroughbred so it’s not like he has THAT great of a coat.

So Saturday morning it was cold. I got him cleaned up, pulled out some old blankets (a 72″ that fits more like a 74″ of Hayley’s that Subi can squeeze into in a pinch — fits his chest, but his butt hangs out), a 14 year old 76″ Stateline of Subi’s (he fits better in a 78″ these days) that possibly isn’t waterproof anymore, and an 80″ dover of Batt’s that was narrow, but never was washed so…

The 72″ fit-ish pretty well, but was a bit short in the butt. It would work. But, it was a heavy weight and Nay Nay really didn’t need a heavy weight. Hayley was never a 72″ and I’m not sure if she was a 74″ either. Honestly, the sizing of this blanket was just weird.  Nay can use it if he ever needs a heavy. Lol. The 76″ fit really well but I’d prefer not to use it as anything other than an emergency spare (see age plus I found a tear in the seam so I kept it on and headed over to Dover first for their blanket sale.

And mostly struck out. See, unless I wanted to order online, the store was out of a lot of their rider blankets. I could get a northwind for a decent price, but then I’d be stuck with the same blankets as Subi and with Subi in a 78 and Nay Nay in a 76, I’d have to be checking constantly the size and I’m lazy. I want to be able to tell by looks which blanket belongs to which horse. So, Nay Nay got a cheap sheet and…

Panda Bears.

He looks very good in Panda Bears.

Next stop? The new Fair Hill Saddlery. From what I understand, the ownership may be similar to Chick’s Saddlery (family’s last name is Chick), but some of the merchandise is more high end (fits, Tailored Sportsman, etc.). Saturday was the official grand opening though they’ve been open for about a week. They had a tent sale and lots of cheap blankets. I got 2 sheets (one for Subi and one for Nay Nay) for $35 each and a cooler for $23.

I also ended up with 3 lunge lines and a new cheap halter. Nay Nay has a cob head and his new horse size halter he came with is too big… Plus a free saddle pad from Dover. And a new tiger’s tongue.

So. Much. Stuff

(there may be a few versions of this post published and unpublished because wordpress hates me today)

Welp, I adopted a horse on Wednesday. For those of you who are friends/follow on Facebook/Instagram, this isn’t news. (Or for everyone I’ve emailed/texted, lol). For the rest of you, I’d like to introduce Say Nay Nay, aka Nay Nay because I am continuing my tradition of not naming my horses.

Nay Nay is a 8 year old thoroughbred. He was a New Holland kill pen rescue 2-3 years ago after his rather…slow…racing career and was adopted out to a lady in Maryland. Due to health reasons, she can no longer physically ride so she returned Nay Nay and after some refresher training, he was listed for adoption again. He’s still a bit green, but I rode him after a week off and he’s also part Shetland pony mentally. Lol. He has some ugly front legs, but clean X-rays and the vet says it shouldn’t hinder any career at all.

Nay Nay came home yesterday (screaming the entire trailer ride), but settled pretty fast. Subi perked up immediately. Jiminy wanted Nay Nay to know he’s Subi’s best friend and has stuck like glue to Subi. Nay Nay just wants to eat and finds Subi annoying outside. Constantly on the move, “can’t we just stop and eat hay scraps you idiot?”

He was nervous coming inside to his stall last night. My husband had to lead him the last part of the way because trying to do him and Subi was hard. Subi wasn’t helping (ooh, grass!) and I kept getting squished. But, he didn’t do anything, just took things in. He found his feed bucket immediately and checked out the stall between bites. He’d been living out so it’s an adjustment. Several times he and Subi touched noses through the stall bars. My heart. I checked on him an hour later and there was poop and he was mugging for peppermints (this horse is a food hound). I had to stop myself from going out all night.

I’ll check on them in a few minutes with breakfast. Hopefully everyone did ok. Nay Nay is used to living out and Subi and Jiminy have been staying out, but I’m trying to start bringing in again vs 4 hours and 1 hour for feeding.

I wasn’t looking for my horse yet, but in my search for a companion, someone sent me to MidAtlantic Horse Rescue and there he was. They also do an amazing job with their companions and I could have adopted/borrowed one from them for as long as I needed. But Nay Nay grabbed my heart. I decided if he didn’t work out, I wasn’t looking for a riding horse until spring. No pressure but he had to be everything. I had people (many) say it was too soon. I thought it was, but everyone heals differently and I haven’t been healing. Nay Nay hopefully will help Subi heal but he will definitely help me heal. I won’t forget Batty ever, but I need to love another horse in order to get through this. I’m more like Subi than I care to admit. I’ve been surviving as a shell too for a month. If feels good to smile again.

Anyway, welcome to the family!

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. —Khalil Gibran