Hello, Goodbye and everything in between

Well, it's been an eventful summer here at Sadie's Place.  Now, summers are always a little crazy here on PEI, but this summer was really nuts.  I, your faithful webmaster, was off junketing around Quebec for all of July, home for a wedding, then off to Nova Scotia for a week right after.  Jana, our executive director, was inundated with camps, lessons and training (as well as numerous baby horses!  Woohoo!  LOOOOVVVE babies!)  And our ever faithful, ever patient and (thankfully!) half a bubble off plumb foster families were busy playing musical horses.  Why?  Well, here's why!!!!

ADOPTIONS!!!!!!  And new horses! Yay, team!

First off, Bandit has gone to his forever home in Emerald.  Here's a picture of him with his new mom, Courtney.  (His new dad is too camera shy.  But, we'll get you one of these days, Scott!)  If she looks familiar, it's probably because she's a part of Fiddler's Sons and has just put out her own cookbook!  Go Courtney!

Doesn't he look happy? 

Here he is doing his new job....

Grazing in the field...

And, darn it, he still looks like the equine version of Antonio Banderas!

I love happy endings.  And he certainly looks happy.  Scott says they are riding him a couple of times a week and he is going to the trainer in November to learn a bit more about being a saddle horse.  He's apparently become even more cuddly since his adoption and can't wait to see his adoptive parents every day.  Congratulations, Courtney and Scott, he's a very lucky horse and you are very lucky horse parents.  We miss him here.

Our newest arrival is Admiral, a tall gray standardbred gelding whose owners decided to retired him after a mild bowed tendon, rather than risk his legs to another injury.  He's just striking, a lovely dark gray, with that amazing personality we have come to associate with the Standarbred breed.

Here he is in the field at his foster home with, is that Tigger, Jesse?  Regardless, you can see how well put together he is.  Here are some more pictures of him under saddle with the lady (Verna) who is currently working with him.

Pretty relaxed about the whole thing, isn't he? 

This is Verna. We are so happy to have her working with us!  I'd like to just quote her last email, rather than trying to explain things myself, because I really couldn't describe him any better than she has.

Hey Jana, just an update on Admiral! I'm so excited....I put a saddle on him for the very first time today and he was a superstar! I hadn't planned to do it till later in the week! I gave him yesterday off cause I have lunged him for five days straight the last two with side reins and with not having done too much in awhile thought he may need a day off hehe!

So today I lunged him to warm him up (a little both ways), then hooked up the side reins (even had them shorter by one hole) lunged him for about 20Mins on each side and he was brilliant as usual! So I decided to try a saddle on him, he sure gave it a good looking at as I let him sniff it, took off the surcingle and side reins and put it on! I first walked him around with it on then I tried lunging him, he scooted at first but never threatened to buck at all! You could tell he was very aware of the saddle but very sesnsible about it and trotted along nicely......I only lunged him about 10 mins on both sides with the saddle and he did awesome.......so very proud of my man!


So I will lunge him with the saddle for a couple days then try putting some weight in the stirrups as soon as I feel he is ready........he trusts so readily and I do not want to lose that trust, so I like taking it one step at a time with him till he knows exactly what I want of him! He looks awesome under saddle, had to take pics after he was lunged of his first day with a saddle on!


I rest my case.  Oh, and I only feel it fair to warn you, that it sounds just a little bit like Verna may be thinking of adopting him herself, so if you are interested in this gorgeous guy, you may need to move quick.  I don't think he's going to last long at all.

What else is going on?  Well, there has been interest in Devil and Yankee, but no definite offers yet, so if you would like to meet one of these boys, let us know and we'll set you up on a date. (The matchmaking mommas, that's us!)  Chance has developed a layer of something that can only be called flab over his ribs and his grain has been pretty much eliminated until the cold weather rolls in.  Wyatt had his feet done and the crooked one looks so much more promising than before.  Apple has changed foster homes and is keeping another older mare company. 

And that's it for today.  Time to go out and move the fence, hang out some laundry and head into town for some back to school stuff. Enjoy the last days of summer and don't forget to hug your horses!