Introducing Flint

 As mentioned in my last post, I was on the look out for a new horse after deciding to retire Shorty who had served me well. I settled on one site called, "Silver Shadows Rehoming & Education" which is an Aussie family business that takes on ex-harness racing horses and retrains them before finding them a new home. There were 2 horses I was very interested in and I decided to take the plunge and contact SSR&E and let them know of my interest. I let Chantelle know about my experience, what I was looking for in my next horse and what 'conditions' the horse would be faced with. She suggested Jim and I filled out all the forms required, renaming him Jem. (sounds similar to Jim) When a friend commented that the name Jem sounded feminine, I looked up male names that were derived from gemstones and I came up with the name Flint:

This rugged-sounding name is of English origin, stemming from Old English, where it denoted a person who was "born near an outcrop of flint." It suggests strength, courage, and durability, but it also points to Flint being your rock throughout life.

Flint was the perfect name for my new horse and when he arrived on March 9th, I raced up to see him as soon as I could after work. My first impression was "Wow!" I couldn't believe that such a beautiful horse that I had only seen in photos, was now standing in the paddock, waiting for me. I took this photo before I had even taken off the transport tag. He was so tall! I stood against him and then went and stood next to Shorty who is supposed to be slightly taller than Flint.

I gave Flint some time to settle in and meet his new paddock buddies and he made friends with Blue who is also an ex harness racing horse.

A couple of the horses (including Shorty) saw him as a threat and/or an intruder so we set him aside with Jasper in a separate paddock to make sure Flint was able to graze and settle in a safe paddock. 

When he is settled, I will need to work on him giving space as he tends to crowd me when he is being fed or if I am leading him to his food. I am so excited about the adventures that await Flint and I!

Shorty Retired

Towards the end of February, I was approached by Lynne and her sister and they spoke words to me that were honest and true, yet mixed with sadness. They talked about Shorty's condition and suggested I needed to start looking for a new horse. Observations were made:

• One ride Lynne and I went on, Shorty was plodding and when I said something to Lynne who was riding up ahead, she was surprised. (2nd point - she was up ahead because Shorty was finding it hard to keep up.)
• On a short trot (no longer than a minute) Shorty stopped and started walking and I had to urge him to speed up back into the trot.
• He began tripping on simple walks which was unusual for him.

When they brought it up, I was not surprised as I had started thinking the same thing towards the end of last year and had been looking (window-shopping) across Aussie websites. Although Shorty was only 20 years old, he had been doing harness racing from when he was 2.5 years old in July 2005 until he was Dec. 2011. Harness racing for such a long period of time had taken its toll on him and I agreed he needed to retire. I also knew that he had taken me as far as he could and I needed to find another horse who could give me more years of riding.

Before I retired him to greener pastures (no work) I took him for a ride on Labour Day. (March 13th) Lynne and Heather were busy so I went out to the bush with Robyn riding Duke, We ambled through the bush as though we had all the time in the world. Shorty tripped about 3 times and the 3rd time was a relatively major trip for him which confirmed my need to retire him.

Robyn tried to line Shorty and I up for a photo and I used the app to record where we went. It was a pretty ride and I was thankful for the opportunity and blessing it was to ride with Robyn. 

Shorty was very instrumental in helping me regain my confidence in riding again. He has always been a 'gentleman' and kept me safe. One time when thunder rolled unexpectedly, he regained his composure at my reassuring touch and when he saw a black snake, he responded to my lead. In the past I had trusted him but I learned that trust is a 2-way thing and Shorty also trusted me.

After the ride, I stood beside Shorty and Robyn took a photo of Shorty and I. We have plenty of photos together but on this one time, he rested his head on my shoulder and I felt he was saying, "I'm so tired." and I knew I had made the right decision to retire him.