Glen Hill Farm: I have ponies in my yard

Probably one of the most amazing things to ever happen to me. Seriously. Life-long dream to have horses. At my house. And I never thought it would actually happen. But here we are. With ponies in my yard. I just said to Jonathan that I'm getting a little worried because living on a farm and having horses and chickens and dogs was pretty much the biggest item on my bucket-list. So, now that I can check it off the list, I am driving very carefully. I'm looking both ways before I cross the street. Eating healthy, knocking on wood, etc. :) Actually, being a grandmother is on that bucket-list, too, so hopefully that will buy me at least a good 20 more years.

And even though Meghan and Aisling are just visiting for 2 months, it has been a dream come true and I am so grateful. Long story short, Meghan and Aisling, 2 Connemara Ponies, belong to a wonderful family who have a horse farm in Vermont, but their daughter works in Boston and was hoping to bring Aisling, the 3 year old, closer so she could ride her more often. And because horses can't live alone (herd animals need other animals with them to feel safe) they also sent along another pony, Meghan, who is Aisling's 12 year old mother. So for 2 months (while the weather is still nice) we get the pleasure of boarding them on our farm. Kind of a win/win for all of us right now. It was a way for us to see what it's like to have the responsibility of keeping horses before actually purchasing any of our own. (It's awesome, and it's SO time consuming!) I love having them so much.... and... I also think it's pretty cool that they will be back in Vermont before the snow comes, which makes having horses just that much more work. (Freezing water, frigid temperatures, blankets, etc.) So for now, this arrangement is perrr-fect.

Oh, and a side note: Ponies are not baby horses. Some people are confused about that. Ponies are actually horses who are smaller at their withers (their withers is where their neck and back meet) than about 14 hands (that is how horses are measured, in hands.) 14 hands equals about 58 inches. With that being said, Meghan and Aisling are taller than 14 hands! So I guess they are large ponies. Or small horses. But I guess my point is that 'pony' is a size thing, not an age thing.

Well, let's start with Meghan because she's the mom. Meghan just might be the perfect pony. She's got a beautiful grey dappled coloring (the pictures don't do her justice) with a sweet, calm soul. I trust her. She's laid back on the ground and willing in the saddle. Meghan is a confidence booster. Can't say enough great things about her. She wears a muzzle when she's out in the pasture to keep her from eating too much grass. Luckily, she can get the grass through the muzzle, it just slows her down some.

Next up is Aisling. Aisling is adorable and hilarious. She is 3 years old, which is a very young horse. She's basically a kindergartner if comparing them to human development. She just got back from training under saddle. She is a sweet girl who keeps us on our toes because she thinks that's fun. "Well, I wonder what Maureen will do if I decide I'm not going to leave my stall this morning. Let's find out." Or "I know my blankets are supposed to hang in front of my stall, but I really enjoy tossing them on the floor." I also gave her the nickname "the beaver" because when she first arrived, she pretty much tried to chew up her stall, the fences, and the trees in the pasture. She also may have tried to take a tiny taste of my hand and my butt. Luckily, it was more of an investigation, and I still have both intact. Happy to say that 98% of the nibbling has stopped. I think it was just her being anxious about her new surroundings when she first arrived.