Freedom has been very depressed since Kroni died. As an off-the-track TB, he wasn’t used to being alone. After all, race horses are rarely by themselves. For the last two weeks he’s spent a lot of time staring longingly over the fence at the horses in the next pasture and looking glum.

Well, it turned out that my friend Alison needs a temporary home for her gelding, Van. He was leased out to a teen, but the lease wasn’t working out. He arrived today for a stay that could be just a few weeks, or might be longer. She no longer wants to keep him and is looking for a new home.

Van looks like an overgrown pony to me, with a mischievous face. He’s a 6-year old OTTB that she’s had now for about 2 1/2 years. Van has been a challenge. He likes to push boundaries to see what he can get away with. When I came this afternoon to ride Freedom, he reared twice when I tried to catch him. He’s not a mean horse, but he wanted to see what I would do. After turning his paddock into a round pen and making him move on, he decided that good behavior would be a better solution and he walked along beside me like a good boy.

So far, I’ve kept the two horses in separate sections of the pasture, separated by an electric fence. The two are interested in each other but have stayed pretty quiet. Tomorrow I’ll probably let them out together for awhile.

When I checked on the two of them tonight, they looked content. Freedom seemed to appreciate the company and was more relaxed than I’ve seen him since Kroni left.