Yeah!!!

We did it!  River actually went correctly last night!  Okay, it was only in one direction and it took about 15 minutes to get him there, but we did it!  AND at the end of the ride I did a couple halts and backs, then figured I should have him trot forward before we finished so he ends on a forward note..  As soon as he picked up the trot, he reached right for the bit on his own and went nice and round.  He's figuring it out!

I also rode my mare for the first time in almost a month.  I've waffled on posting this, but I've decided to put it out there.

This is the mare when we moved:

This is the mare one month later:

Yeah, it's pretty appalling.  I didn't realize at first how bad she looked, it was a pretty big shock when I realized how grossly underweight she'd gotten.

I was so disappointed when my old BO announced she was leaving.  I had been perfectly happy.  Yeah, River was ribby, but he was getting lots of grain and getting better.  Irish was a little thin, but she wasn't on any grain, so okay, no big deal.  We were there for two weeks after BO told me she was leaving.  In that time, the boarders' horses went from being a little ribby to very ribby.  

Looking back, it's obvious our horses weren't getting fed like they were supposed to.  I was paying almost $150/month for River's grain (6 bags of Ultium).  Another horse was supposed to be getting Ultium as well.  River was supposed to be on 10 pounds of Ultium a day.  Now he gets probably about 3 pounds a day--2 bags a month.  He's gained a significant amount of weight.  Irish gets probably about 2 or 3 pounds of senior feed a day.  As you can see, she's gained a LOT.

I'm so upset with myself.  How did I not notice how bad her condition had gotten?  I think it came down to trust.  I trusted my BO to take care of my horses.  It never occurred to me that she might be either pocketing the money I paid for my horse's grain, or giving my grain to her own horses, but that's likely what happened.

Moral of the story:  Don't be too quick to trust.  If what you're being told doesn't match up with what you're seeing, investigate further.  Don't be blinded by your faith in someone else.