A Big Decision & Change

I've had to make a difficult decision, but I think it is for the best.

I decided Marley needs a stronger, more confident owner than me. He is now owned by a professional trainer with 30+ years experience training carriage horses, including 6-horse hitches. He's gone to the best home he could possibly have, but I cried buckets on the night his new owner picked him up.

I feel like I failed Marley, but he is in better hands now and will get the regular and consistent work he needs. He is a very strong and willful hunky chunky pony who needs to be worked often or he gets too full of himself, inviting past vices to rise to the surface. With my increasing work load at my job, I have less time this summer than I had last year to devote to two horses that need a lot of training and it was beginning to show in Marley's behavior, leading up to the bucking incident (even though it was triggered by fright and not obstinacy). That incident really shook my confidence in my ability to ride or drive Marley.

I miss Marley. I know Misty misses him too.

I worry about Misty being lonely during this transition phase, but she isn't acting nutty or afraid. She is turning to me for attention now and that could be beneficial for both of us. She nickers loudly as soon as she sees me and follows me around like a puppy dog.

I will be focusing more on Misty, working with a professional instructor to continue her training. She still needs a companion and I need a confidence builder. So I'm looking for another horse to become Misty's new barn buddy; the kind of horse I should have bought in the first place - a gentle, seasoned, consistent, bombproof trail horse with no vices.