There are changes afoot here, amongst the quiet little world of our pony herd. The prospect of change has been worrying me for a while. Although I am always happy to take ponies on, I have great difficulty in letting them go again. I think the children must have been standing on the compost heap, as they have all grown hugely over this past year. My eldest is suddenly as tall as me, and this has precipitated the pony troubles. She has pretty much outgrown her beloved Matthew, and we came to the decision that this year we would need to look for a bigger pony. Unfortunately, my boy Red, is not suitable, as he is quite a handful and needs a very confident rider. After months of thinking about this, and discussing it, we decided that Red would return to his owner. He came to me on loan as a difficult horse, altogether too much for his novice owner, who never-the-less adored him, and has kept in close contact over the last four years. Now, she is more than capable of managing him herself, so he is returning home in a couple of weeks time.
The plan was then to sell Bethan in order to raise funds for a bigger pony which eldest daughter and I can share. I discussed it with middle daughter, who will move on to Matthew eventually, and she, like me, was very concerned about where Bethan would go next. So I stalled. Because, you know, I was having sleepless nights over this myself. When I bought Bethan, it was with the intention that we needed a good pony for a year to get my daughter's confidence back while Marlene was off having a foal. And you all know the roller coaster ride that turned into! So it's been a year now, and a very steep learning curve for all of us, and a complete turnaround for this wonderful little pony. I've been worrying that selling her into the unknown would be letting her down after everything we've done.
Then suddenly, as if fate had quite deliberately stepped in and given me a helping hand, a solution came up. Last summer I was contacted by a previous owner of Bethan's, who had traced her through this blog. We have kept in touch, as she adored Bethan just as we do. To cut a long story short, she would like Bethan back, and has a larger pony that we will take on. I am SO pleased for Bethan to be going to a home where she is understood and loved, and where she will be treated just like the princess she is! And I am excited and rather nervous about taking on a new pony, unseen - but I know it's meant to be :)
So, in preparation for the next step, Bethan had another acupuncture session today. She has only just been brought back into work after being turned away over the winter, and because of the rest her shoulder has stiffened up again. She really enjoys the acupuncture - becoming sleepier, with lots of yawning as the session progresses. A program of exercises should help to loosen it up now.
By the end of the session she is half asleep, and needs to be tucked up warmly to prevent her getting chilled.
And then ,what better way to get rid of those tingly spots than with a good roll?
And back to mud monster again - her favourite way to be!
