Brian has a new girlfriend...and I approve...

I love riding by myself....probably because I have done it for years and when I ride alone I can see and hear things that groups sometimes miss.  On the other hand, when I see something neat I don't have another person to share it with.  I have been waiting for the day that Brian was ready to devote some time on horseback.  :-)

For a while now we have been keeping our eyes open for the right horse for Brian.  The one prereq he had was it had to be started under saddle.  My prereq for him was he had to love him/her.  If he fell in love with him/her he would be invested.  Don't get me wrong, he loves every one we have here but the special bond just isn't there that I would like to see between BOTH of them.   

Long story short:  This horse started as a TIP horse in Florida and was adopted by someone in Oklahoma.  Something happened at a rescue and there were horses that needed to be rehomed...this mustang mare had been on the place a while and was one of the ones needing a home; we were told she had been trail ridden by the adopter.  Brian had questions so we tried to get the rescue owner to call us back, but nothing.  We figured everything happens for a reason and maybe she was not the right one.  In the meantime some friends who volunteer for the BLM were picking her up and taking her to the adoption that was a good ways from us - and on a blizzard weekend.  A few days after the adoption we found out the friends ended up bringing the mare home with them and they hoped to find an adopter.  Yep, everything happens for a reason.....

We called the friends and went for a visit.  She is 8 years old and a Stone Cabin gray.  We came home to think about it because it had to be just right...we have too many to feed that don't have jobs to 'see what happens.'  Nobody really knows much about her riding, but Brian is going to take a chance on her!  He is in love!  I made a promise to him...if she isn't as far along as Brian would like, I would make time to work with her.   Some were calling her Rosie, and others called her Rose.  We already knew the name Rosie was not going to work for us, and we did not see a Rosie in her at all, but we could incorporate Rose into something.  Brian thought about it and this weekend he has decided on the name Zephyr Rose.  That way she gets to keep her Rose name...but she will be called Zephyr.  Zephyr means 'a soft gentle breeze.' 

Here is the journey of Brian's first visit with her...

Zephyr was in a field with other horses for about a year to year and a half, so she is cautious.  






It did not take Brian and Zephyr much time at all to meet and spend some time visiting...















Brian walked behind her and she just stoood there and waited...




The only bad thing they had to say about her was she is aggressive towards other horses.  We got to see her in action.  She makes a lot of faces, and she does move the other two she is sharing a home with around.  She does not corner them and charge, so to me this is not a big deal.  Heck, she has not had a horse family of her own...she was at a rescue where horses come and go.  She was making faces at a couple other horses that were a good 20 - 30 ft away, but Brian would cluck at her and she would bring her attention back. 




Brian started to rub on her, scratch off some of the shedding hair, and was seeing how she was about touching, flexing, etc...















She was not touchy about her head, ears or eyes...






She felt cornered at one point and moved into the round pen area.  When she moves away she circles and comes right back.  Up to this point I really liked what I saw.  She was remembering her training and responded to light cues.  I knew Brian liked her and thought she was pretty, but I was not sure what he was thinking inside...it was driving me crazy!  Ha ha!





I had to laugh!  It was like Zephyr was saying "What?  You are cheating on me already?"





Brian had to ask forgiveness and promise he and Della are just friends.





Brian spent time rubbing on her to find out how she would respond...





She did not seem too bothered by her front legs being rubbed.  We were told she lifts her front feet real well, but they had not tried the backs yet.  She had only been here a few days and it is muddy.




She has a real wide rump on her and I am wondering how she will fill out when she starts to get more fit. 





Brian got her attention after her making faces at the horse behind her...






I told Brian I was going to label this picture "Ewww, I got horse hair on me!"  HA HA!















I let Brian and Zephyr do their thing for quite a while before I introduced myself.  I came up on the other side of her quietly to see how she felt with us on each side.  She didn't care.





Zephyr is very good at self portrait time!  :-)








She even likes to make funny hair pictures!








Brian found an itchy spot behind her ear...oh my goodness!  I think this is when Zephyr decided she wanted to keep him.  :-)

Yep, I think this is going to work out.  I loved how she responded to him when he was asking her to move her front and hind end around.  When she got nervous and moved away, she circled around and came right back.  After I introduced myself, I started to approach her differently than Brian did.  I would just walk up and rub on her, throw my arm over her back, rub on her and talk.  My approach was more direct than Brian's and Zephyr did not react to it at all.

She will have her own family and her own boy, and I think she will be happy here.
We got the Care Agreement mailed today so within a day or two everything should be done and we can pick her up.

Brian is very excited!
Timing is everything....when Brian's kids were younger he focused on them and their activities.  He really did not have time to focus on a green horse.  The kids are older now and are choosing to do their own things, and Brian now has time to focus on himself more. 
Timing is everything...we thought we would not get to meet Zephyr.  We thought that someone would adopt her at the adoption, or she would go back to the BLM.  Then we found out she came back...

Until later...Karen and Tripp who has heard about a new hot chick that is coming to town!  Hubba hubba!