Adventure Time!

 I know I say this all the time, but I can't get over what a good little mare Karma is. After jumping through all the DMV hoops I was determined to go some where. Originally, I planned on going to a park that is about 30 minutes from where I live. But I discovered that they were having a campout for the group that maintains all the horse trails in the park. I think they were still letting day riders in, but that just seemed like too much for a beginning adventure and I really want to set her up for success.

Out of food and staring at other horses

So I decided to head to another one (it's only about 20 minutes from the barn but 45-50 minutes from where I live). This turned out to be a fabulous decision. I didn't realize that the horse trails are only horses. Hikers have their own trails and I think bicyclists do too, but I don't think the horse trails even cross with the bicycle trails. So it was a great way to get her out without having to worry about many of the things you run into on the trails.

I gave her a snack as soon as I unloaded her and she dove right in and didn't even really worry about the new surroundings until she ran out of food. There was a bit of pawing and calling for other horses when I was over looking at the maps and trying to figure out the whole self registration for the pass thing. But overall she was quite good and really good for a 4 year old with about 6 months of consistent work and no buddy.

I decided to try the "technical" loop first, which was supposed to be about 4 miles and would run me into the 6 mile loop. The technical loop was not what I would call technical, but I might have a skewed view of what is technical. Either way it was a nice variety and did require her to pay attention to where her feet went in places. There were some ups and downs which is one of the reasons I wanted to do that loop.

Once we hit the intersection of the two loops I decided that she was feeling good and since we were just walking, the longer distance wouldn't over tax her. I saw more riders on that section of the trail, but there was plenty of places to pass and she was very well behaved. I even stopped and chatted with a couple of ladies at one point. They didn't know where they were and didn't have a map. I knew I was getting close to camp and the trails had been well marked so I wasn't worried about getting lost so I gave them my map.

Not super technical

She started to get a bit pokey on the next to last mile to camp, but she has an excellent sense of direction and got perky when she realized we were headed back towards the camp. I was very surprised that at every trail option, she would pull towards the one that headed back to camp. Good news is I shouldn't be able to lose the trailer if I am on her. The bad news is if I ever come off her I bet I am walking all the way back to the trailer 😂

She was a bit sweaty when we got back to the trailer and much to my dismay she wouldn't touch the water or alfalfa I offered her. She happily took treats and was trying to eat the weeds so I wasn't worried about her. Mostly annoyed that I hand pumped a bucket of water and she wouldn't even touch it. Once we got back to the barn she promptly drank and then wandered off to eat, so clearly not out of sorts.

Overall, I was really impressed with her. She was a bit nervous in the beginning but settled in well. She was quite skeptical of freshly cut logs and wasn't too sure about the tiny water crossing, but there were no big dramatics. I was very happy that she didn't ever try to pull towards other horses when we passed them going the opposite direction. I guess I have done enough with her by herself that she is ok walking away from horses.

Adulting Is Hard

 After jumping through I don't even know how many hoops, I finally have the truck and trailer licensed and registered. The lady I bought the trailer from, discovered she didn't have an actual title on the trailer because she never registered it. So I had to wait for her to get the title, sign it over to me, and then get an appointment with the DMV. The first available was late October, but I was busy with moving and didn't have the stuff to register the truck yet so I rolled my eyes and said whatever I will just wait.

Then I discovered that the state parks weren't letting residents pay for day use and you had to have the yearly pass, which meant I needed to get the truck registered in this state in order to get my pass so I could go ride. I finally got all my ducks in a row and managed to score a same day appointment. The trailer was fine. The truck was not.

The PROBLEM child (it was registered in three other states just fine)

When the VIN is put into the system it comes up as and incomplete vehicle because it came off the factory line with just the chassis and the dealer added the flatbed. After much discussion, I had to verify it was a complete vehicle. I thought I was going to get it done, but then the previous title didn't have an empty weight on it, so I had to go get it weighed. Which of course meant I had to get another appointment. Thankfully the guy took pity on me and snuck me in and I didn't have to set alarms to remember to check as soon as the appointments were released.

We just want to go places and do things

Off I went to get it weighed, apparently the sucker weighs 7,740 lbs. Which was much heavier than I thought it would be, but so be it. Back to the DMV I go for my appointment. I got another lady and she was looking so confused about things that the guy that had previously helped me took me off her hands. Then we ran into the problem that it weighs so much that it requires a special license plate. Thank god I know the weight limits on the trailer and my DL, because he was concerned I would be over the limit and need a CDL.

I finally got it registered only to learn that because it has the special license plate, they can't do the park pass (you know the whole reason I was trying to get the thing registered instead of just leaving it in my mom's name with me "leasing" it). At this point I was about ready to cry because all I wanted to do was get into the parks so I could ride my pony.

Luckily, between when I first looked into this (August) and now, they had changed the COVID restrictions and it now said you could purchase the yearly passes at the park. Which was a whole other comedy of errors, but hopefully I will get a park pass in the mail at some point and not get fined. Oh and I couldn't actually put the plate on the trailer because it has the star screws and all of my star screw drivers are across the country. But come hell or high water (or maybe just some fines) I am not going to miss the fabulous fall weather or the colors.

All The Changes

 At the end of the month I someone how managed to make it so I was moving myself and Karma all in the same week and because I am an idiot, I didn't take time off of work. I didn't even really try to get help because the only thing I couldn't move by myself was the base of my treadmill. Once that was the only thing left I begged someone to come help me load it on the flatbed. It was the easiest move ever (also the only one where I wasn't moving 8+ hours so that might factor into it).

While I adored my old barn Karma and I had out grown it a bit. The ring was perfectly fine for baby horse that was learning to steer and was only being ridden for 20 minutes or so, but it was really too small for cantering or doing much dressage work. And looking at another winter of no indoor was quite depressing. Not to mention it was a super quiet barn and I very rarely saw another person much less had the opportunity to get her used to being ridden with other horses.

More cows to torture her with

The new barn has a large outdoor and a small indoor. The horses stay out the majority of the time and Karma is in a small paddock with one other mare. Originally she was in with two other mares, but Karma decided she was the bossy bitch and got booted after about a week. She is settling in quite well. There are places to get shorter milage in outside the ring (that don't involve a pig farm). I actually see people and they are quite friendly and Karma is getting exposed to more things.

Before she got the boot

Overall, I think all the changes have suited us well, even if my place still looks like it has been ransacked. Apparently, actually putting things away has been very low on my list. I am unpacking the kitchen stuff as I need it, and I really like to use the same three things so most of it is still sitting on the floor. I am great at adulting.

I have wanted a screened in porch for so long and now I finally have one