My New Horse Arrives

I had been keeping an eye out for a second horse to alternate with Lady as a riding/pack horse, as she is really too small to cope with both me and my baggage.  Among other potential mounts, I had seen a pretty little paint mare on Facebook and Kijiji, but she was a little smaller than I ideally wanted and her price was outside my budget. However, when I came out to Canada in September she was still available and her price had been reduced to something I could consider.  After trying her out I decided to have her, and on Sunday 14th September owner Barb Thompson delivered her up to Spruce Hollow Corral.  Apache Delusion, or Del for short (appropriately Del means pretty in Welsh!) is a 14 year old 14.1hh registered tobiano paint mare who has bred a couple of foals and was being used as a lesson horse. Here she is making friends with Lady over the stable door.

Shandi's husband Jeremy came to the rescue earlier in the day when I realised I had left some of the cash to for her in the truck in Amherst. Jeremy kindly ran me down to the ATM in Moncton. This was particularly public spirited of him as he was off to a pulling competition with his pair of majestic Belgian draft horses Peanut and Butter.  Pulling competitions in New Brunswick are not some sort of speed dating, but knock out contests in which pairs of draft horses are asked to pull increasing weights for twelve feet.  Here is Jeremy tarting up Peanut, or is it Butter, for the fray...

Shandi arrived back from a successful trip to a Western show later that afternoon, and I was able to cadge a lift from a fellow competitor to Amherst to fetch the truck which contained all my packing equipment.