I’m a few days late in posting this, as it’s been an extraordinarily rough week at the tail end of a dumpster fire year. Cyrus passed away unexpectedly last week and not a day goes by I’m not crying, feeling like I’ve lost a limb. Cyrus was a Very Good Dog, and missing him so damn much unfortunately takes some of the shine off spending time with my new mare. On top of that, there’s a really weird situation surrounding my mare’s first new name, so I’m changing it from Talia to Tarma to avoid confusion and further weirdness (it was the name I first wanted but a friend said it could be confused with ‘Karma’).

In the small but not to be overlooked good news column, Tarma met her new farrier Jerry on Thursday. I had some PPE x-rays done, no sign of navicular but she had some warning signs of laminitis and too long toes to fret over. I showed the x-rays to Jerry and they didn’t worry him at all, a few good trims and he’ll have her toe back where it should be. He was patient and understanding with her, seeing as how she’s still a bit uncertain about people handling her feet. She’s not mean about it, just a little tense and worried, but nothing plenty of treats and time can’t overcome. He did like her feet in general aside from their shape, even had to use the nippers on her frog when this time of year most horse’s frogs are super soft from living in the mud and wet all winter. It’s always a bonus when your horse care professionals like your horse and your horse doesn’t eat them!

I’m gearing up for her saddle fitting this afternoon, hoping the Wintec my friend gave me will work for her because the one thing I absolutely dreaded with getting a new horse was saddle searching. I’ve had plenty of friends go through a months long, epic journey to find a new saddle that both fit their horses and themselves and I just don’t wanna. I can ride in the Wintec comfortably for hours, it doesn’t really need any special care, and it’s super light. The one drawback-it’s lack of D-rings or attachment points for saddle bags-can be rectified. Please let it fit!!!!