Friday July 26, 2013. Mystic moves from Valley Center to Garner Valley. I had a lot of apprehension about how the day might go...mainly, would Mystic load in the trailer and if so, how long would it take to load him up? Having only seen and spent time with him for two days, I wondered if he would trust me enough to follow me into the great unknown. I contacted a woman named Sheila about picking him up and trailering him to his new home as I do not own a horse trailer myself. We met at 9 am and rode together to the rescue facility in Valley Center. All the way there my heart and mind were racing and I was telepathically attempting to send messages to Mystic "please be a good boy and jump in the trailer". You see, Mystic had only been in a horse trailer once or twice in his young life and it was never under anything but stressful circumstances. Nicki greeted us when we pulled in. She was beaming and very happy knowing one of her rescues was going to a new forever home with me. I was happy to see her smiling face. It reassured me and made me feel more at ease. Sheila and Nicki talked while I went to collect Mystic. I know he sensed my anxiety and knew something different was up as he immediately turned his butt to me and did not act like his usual curious friendly self. I finally got his halter on and led him to the trailer. He was making his usual snorting sounds when he approached. I stepped up the ramp and into the trailer pulling on the lead and gently encouraging him in front while Nicki and Sheila stood behind and to the side encouraging him from behind. There was a lot of praise when he put one foot on the ramp. Eventually one foot became two and two became all four. He was in! Sheila had a bag filled with alfalfa waiting for him to munch on and he was happy to do so. The whole process took about 5 minutes and I let out a big sigh of relief. He loaded quicker and better than some horses I know with more handling and experience. I was a very proud Mustang momma! The ride from Valley Center to Garner Valley took almost two hours as Sheila is a very careful driver. Inside, Mystic behaved himself very well and was pretty quiet for the whole ride. We arrived at his new home right at Noon. He unloaded without incident and I took him to his new, clean stall. It took him a little bit to get used to his new home as I put shavings down in the box stall. He has never been in anything but a pipe corral. A box stall to him probably looked like just another big version of a horse trailer. And with the shavings on the ground-which he had never seen before either-it took a bit of convincing with handfuls of hay to get him in the stall and over to the rack filled with horse food. Thirty minutes later he was walking in and out of the stall like he had been doing it all of his life! I am so impressed with Mystic. In the short time I have been with him, he has continually shown me what an eager, courageous, intelligent horse he is. We are building a bridge and a bond of trust together day by day and step by step.
Friday July 26, 2013. Mystic moves from Valley Center to Garner Valley. I had a lot of apprehension about how the day might go...mainly, would Mystic load in the trailer and if so, how long would it take to load him up? Having only seen and spent time with him for two days, I wondered if he would trust me enough to follow me into the great unknown. I contacted a woman named Sheila about picking him up and trailering him to his new home as I do not own a horse trailer myself. We met at 9 am and rode together to the rescue facility in Valley Center. All the way there my heart and mind were racing and I was telepathically attempting to send messages to Mystic "please be a good boy and jump in the trailer". You see, Mystic had only been in a horse trailer once or twice in his young life and it was never under anything but stressful circumstances. Nicki greeted us when we pulled in. She was beaming and very happy knowing one of her rescues was going to a new forever home with me. I was happy to see her smiling face. It reassured me and made me feel more at ease. Sheila and Nicki talked while I went to collect Mystic. I know he sensed my anxiety and knew something different was up as he immediately turned his butt to me and did not act like his usual curious friendly self. I finally got his halter on and led him to the trailer. He was making his usual snorting sounds when he approached. I stepped up the ramp and into the trailer pulling on the lead and gently encouraging him in front while Nicki and Sheila stood behind and to the side encouraging him from behind. There was a lot of praise when he put one foot on the ramp. Eventually one foot became two and two became all four. He was in! Sheila had a bag filled with alfalfa waiting for him to munch on and he was happy to do so. The whole process took about 5 minutes and I let out a big sigh of relief. He loaded quicker and better than some horses I know with more handling and experience. I was a very proud Mustang momma! The ride from Valley Center to Garner Valley took almost two hours as Sheila is a very careful driver. Inside, Mystic behaved himself very well and was pretty quiet for the whole ride. We arrived at his new home right at Noon. He unloaded without incident and I took him to his new, clean stall. It took him a little bit to get used to his new home as I put shavings down in the box stall. He has never been in anything but a pipe corral. A box stall to him probably looked like just another big version of a horse trailer. And with the shavings on the ground-which he had never seen before either-it took a bit of convincing with handfuls of hay to get him in the stall and over to the rack filled with horse food. Thirty minutes later he was walking in and out of the stall like he had been doing it all of his life! I am so impressed with Mystic. In the short time I have been with him, he has continually shown me what an eager, courageous, intelligent horse he is. We are building a bridge and a bond of trust together day by day and step by step.
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