A Chapter Ended

The California Horse has returned home.  Well, to his owner's parents, at least.  Not to California, where he originally came to Michigan from in May 2017, but to the farm in Oregon they had purchased since then.

After a little more than two years of leasing him, the time came to say goodbye.  I most definitely miss him.  Not just the daily routine we had, no it's more than that. I think that possibly I have felt a deeper connection with this horse than any of the ones I owned.

In the early morning hours last Wednesday, as the sun was rising, I met the horse shipper at the barn.  The California Horse's owner had made all the travel arrangements with them, I just needed to provide his paperwork for interstate travel, and have him and his gear ready to load onto the big trailer that would carry him away to his retirement out West.

This horse has offered me the chance to take my riding to a whole new level, and even as he was leaving, I again got a new experience: loading a horse onto a big horse van.  I was the one to lead him up that ramp on the side of the trailer, and stand with him while the stall partitions were put into place around him.  Other than snorting a little, and standing at attention with his head up, reminding me just how huge an 18 hand horse is, he was very good.

He waited patiently for everything to be secured, the ramp to be stowed, and the door shut.

Then the chapter where he and I share life together closed, and he left for the new chapter of his.

Goodbye, California Horse.  Thanks for the experiences, the knowledge and the memories I will carry with me forever!

(Post Script: I got a text, about 48 hours later, that he had arrived to Oregon safely and was settling into his new home.)