Friday, June 17, 2011

"New Girlfriend"

P, hovering on the outskirts of the herd..


Whenever I do something "different" with my hair or appearance, The Boy always jokes that it's like he has a "brand new girlfriend."  I've always taken that to be a good thing (I mean, who wants to date my naturally boring medium brown locks forever..).  Plus, it's just about the easiest, lowest maintenance way to keep him (and me) entertained, so I just roll with it.

Last night I got an email update (complete with photos!) from Dr. Finn, showing P the day she got there, and a current "conformation" shot.  The Boy immediately chimed in that it was going to be like having a "brand new horsey-girlfriend"... Which got my brain to thinking.

Not only is it going to be like having a brand new horsey girlfriend, but I've essentially entered into a Long-Distance-Relationship with the mare, with all the highest highs and lowest lows that come with nearly every LDR out there.  From the near certainty that I'll "never ever take her for granted again" that comes with a few weeks of her absence to the "why do I even have a horse if she's far away" that comes with the irritation of listening to everyone else talk about how cute their horse was today...  (I had flashbacks to college, when a 3 hour bus ride separated me from my bf of the time in nyc, when I almost slapped girls for chatting on and on and on about their "study dates" or "tuesday pizza nights" or "whatever" with their more conveniently located beaus). 

If my previous LDR experience is any indication, extended separation should serve to make sure that I'm borderline obsessed with P during our visits, as well as being ultimately forgiving of any "bad habits" (which, by the magic of distance, have miraculously transformed into "charming quirks").

From the sounds of Dr. Finn's letter, all is good on the Pia front.  She's spending all her days with the herd, separated only at night in her own stall... she appears to be forming a truce with Obama the Llama... and she appears to be relaxing and unwinding (as well she should be).

They aren't the best photos, but Dr. Finn also included a body shot form the day P landed in Cowboy Town, as well as a shot from yesterday.  Her topline looks distinctively different(smaller) and her shoulder is starting to morph... so that's sort of interesting.  I wonder how much of that is due to her feet and how much is due to behaving more like a normal horse.  Do you guys have any other observations?  I'll get some better pics this weekend while I'm out there (YAY!)
May 22nd, 2011

June 16th, 2011

5 comments:

  1. I wish we could see her feet!

    In the before photo, her front legs are not perpendicular to the ground and she is standing on her toes. In the after picture, her front legs are perpendicular to the ground and she is weighting the entire hoof more evenly, especially at the back of the foot.

    I am not sure if she had done this one her own or if the cowboy is rocking her back in the second photo.

    P looks great!

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  2. Wow, she's looking great! The photo B&A's interesting... I love visuals.

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  3. Wow.. your mare certainly has some interesting things going on!

    In the first photo she appears toe-in and over at the knee... rather than a true conformation issue, I would say it looks as if she is purposely avoiding straightening her front legs. Perhaps her heals were sore, so she was loading her toes...?
    In the second picture, she appears to be standing much more squarely on her feet.... I don't see such a pronounced toe-in stance, and she no longer appears over at the knee.

    I also noticed something interesting about her hind end. In the first photo, she looks like she has her butt tucked up underneath her.... and not necessarily in a good way... but rather like she's hunching her spine. In the second photo.. the hunch is still there, which makes me think it's partially a factor of her conformation (does she have a bit of a roach back, or a low-set tail?). But it's definitely less pronounced! Overall, she just looks more comfortable and relaxed.

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  4. I agree...I'm not so good with confirmation specifics, but I do like the second photo better...she just looks more "balanced" and comfortable. I know, stance and angles have SO much to do with how a horse looks in a photo though:) Anyway, I think she looks great-can't wait to read all about your visit there!

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  5. Nice sneak peek, but I can't wait to see the pictures you take. I think she's looking great too and it was interesting reading everyone's comments. I can definitely see what they were talking about on the front legs. The difference is amazing and awesome!

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