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.
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.