Cob Jockey

After all this, the woman who flew in to try Aeres (Alice) in February still wants her.

She and I have texted off and on over the months, and she calls Aeres her heart horse. The big question, though, was how would she be as a riding horse after all this? 

In April, I had finally gotten a chance to see her amputated tongue, and it was nowhere near as bad as I had envisioned from the vets telling me they had to take 2-3" off. It's clearly short, but unless you're looking for it, you almost can't tell.

So based on that, I had a feeling that she would be pretty good under saddle, and I volunteered to put a ride on her before she went anywhere so Alice would know what she was getting into. And with her wound finally healed enough for it, we did it last weekend.

She was very out of shape, but no different from before.

Reminder that my GIFs are in slow motion. Driving me crazy that I can't figure this out!

Lisa asked if I wanted to lunge her first, and I said no. This horse may be an absolute weirdo on the ground sometimes (mostly when she has ulcers) but I trust her more than I even trust Connor in the saddle. Even knowing I would be riding her in an open field next to a loud road far from the rest of her herd when she hadn't been ridden in months, I wasn't worried.

I only rode for about 10 minutes, but we did w/t/c both directions, leg yields, and circles of various sizes, and it all felt the same as before. She was rushy and flat, but only due to her lack of strength, which will of course come back with time. Alice is sending her straight to her trainer when she gets out there, which is a good thing.

I had Lisa take some portraits of us, because it's almost certainly the last time I'll ever ride her, and might be the last time I ever see her too. After this ride, it sounds like Alice is making quick plans to get her to the east coast. (And she's taking my CWD Dressage saddle with her - it fits Aeres and Alice well, and I was having trouble selling it here anyway, so everybody wins)

I'm going to miss this girl, but it's been so fun to be a small part of first bringing her into the world and then helping her find her place in the world. She helped me too - helped me figure out what I wanted in my next horse and gave me the confidence that I could afford two. Without her, I'm not sure I would have been able to pull the trigger on Disco.

Be a good girl, Aeres!

One last failed ears up picture for posterity, lol