Since the Move

Both boys have settled into their new routines. Blue never seemed phased and Mort was overall pretty decent. He was a little scared and spookier the first week or two, but now he's as calm as he usually is. They both seem totally happy on 24/7 turnout. I did find them cold and wet a time or two at the beginning before they learned to go to the run-in, so now I lock them in the lot if it's going to be nasty. Feeding their hay in there has helped them want to hang out as well. I've been able to ride/lunge Mort 3-4 times each week while I work with Blue about twice. This is better than I was expecting. I was worried about winter weather and the shorter days, but I'm making it work. Of course, this means that some days are a quick 30 minute bareback ride before it gets dark, but I'm still happy with that. Mort seems to be holding his fitness well with all the turnout and I even managed to get Blue to lose a little weight. And, most importantly, both boys seem happy with the arrangement. Mort has been stellar since the move. As cheesy as it sounds, I feel like our relationship is even stronger than it was before. He comes out calm and happy (his version of calm) for our rides. He's standing well in the cross ties. He is easy enough to handle that even Steven had no issues taking care of the boys when I was out of town for work. And our rides have just been a blast. I'm having a ton of fun with him. Whether it's me hopping on bareback and walking him in the pasture, or going up to the field and putting in a dressage school, we're really clicking. He's forward but soft and listening. His lateral work has been coming easier and easier (though that haunches-in to the left at the trot is hard still). His transitions are getting stronger and smoother. We may be riding on a slight hill in a 3.5-acre field, but we're killing it. I've got a lesson scheduled this weekend at the indoor where my instructor teaches and I'm really interested to see how it translates. Blue and I are doing well too. He hasn't put a foot wrong (other than stepping on Steven's foot once by accident). He's been pretty steady and easy to deal with. That's about all we did for the first few weeks. I would lunge him or ride him 2-3 times/week. I'd groom him when he got dirty. I'd feed him and give him the occasional treat. We had a good working relationship, but there wasn't a whole lot more. Thankfully, he's started to open up for me more in the last couple weeks. I started playing with some more in-hand work to get creative on getting him worked when it was dark out. And he opened up a bit more for me. Whether it was his version of settling in or it helped him get to know me and my body language a bit more or whatever else, it seems like we know each other better now. I think he probably still has a little more personality to show me when he's ready, but I'm feeling good about where we're headed. Beyond our rides, it just feels great to be the only person for my guys. Even though I still check-in with my horse friends on random decisions, I love being in charge of their daily care and feeding. With me going out twice a day, they get groomed more often than when I was boarding and I monitor every change. I get to just spend more quality time with them and it's the best. Literally every time I feed I just stand there and watch them eat their hay for a few minutes soaking in the peacefulness of it.