Goodbye Velvety Soft Nose

6 weeks of work left (21 working days)

Idle Pleasure #3 - Stroking a pony’s velvety soft nose.  I don’t think there is anything softer. Put your cheek right against her nose and breathe in the sweet pony smell – Bliss – the cares of the world just disappear.  I miss that.

Weather today was cold and rainy which is a change from the several days of sun that we’ve had. Better than snow! On this day in 2002 we had 15 cm of snow fall.



Britt



We said good-bye to our last horse today – figuratively speaking anyway – Britt left our property 5 years ago.  Today we signed the papers and transferred the ownership to TROtt, the therapeutic riding centre in Ottawa that she’s been residing at. She’s always been my fall-back in case I decide to get back into horses but I now know it’s just not realistic. There are too many reasons, both health and lifestyle for it ever to happen. It’s a big step to take, a door to close.

Having horses, especially Norwegian Fjord horses, was a life long dream that I thought I’d never be able to realize. I kept it in my sights and planned and hoped and I was lucky enough to live it. How blessed am I to both have a dream and live it as well? How many people don’t even have the joy of having a dream? Sometimes its what keeps you going.

We started with 1 crazy Norwegian Fjord horse who taught me a lot, and also sent me to the emergency room! From Frey we moved on to Dora, an older, “been there – done that” Fjord mare – perfect for getting my confidence back. 

Dora

In 1999 we decided to breed her to Felix, a local stallion. He’s a fantastic, evaluated stallion that we thought would be a perfect match with Dora. It was and the outcome was Uvaer, a stunning example of the breed born in April 2000. When that first foal was born into my lap I was hooked. What a magical experience to be there for the first breath of life! It was such fun watching him discover the world. There was no question – we were going to become breeders.



Dora and Uvaer



Uvaer

We purchased our next mare, Viktoria, that May, and Britt a bit later in the summer, 4 more mares were purchased over the next few years. Britt was almost 2 when we got her, still growing into her body – gawky and silly but totally laid back, nothing fazed her or got her upset. She was very much a people horse, we bonded right away. I learned to long-line using her, I was the first person on her back, she had a lovely foal (Birgitta), and then I got sick. We found a temporary place for her at TROtt – just until I got better. And here we are now – she’s the last to go. All the others found homes with the last one leaving the property 2 years ago – but I still had Britt in reserve.  Till now.  Goodbye sweet pony.

First ride on Britt

Britt with her foal Birgitta