Pasco Washington

Drove to Pasco Washington this weekend. It took 12 hours and 4 stops to haul Simon to his new home town. Pasco is high desert and not my cup of tea. It was about 35 degrees there at 5pm. I was freezing. The original stable that Simon was supposed to go to was not acceptable. We had looked at it on line and the pictures were very nice and everything looked clean and safe. The BO was very helpful and never mentioned that he pictures were probably 10 years old. There were no shavings in the stalls, they were matted but no bedding, the panels were tied together with baling twine, the stall doors were hanging off the hinges. Not a good place. No up keep and the horses looked miserable. And the BO wasn't going to be there for "awhile" so the horses weren't getting fed for "awhile". We had a plan B but when we got to the pasture and loafing shed that was supposed to be plan B - there was a wild ass steer in the pasture. We had been told it had gone to slaughter but obviously they were mistaken, it was very much alive. It probably wouldn't have been a problem for any other horse but Simon is an OTTB, 17 hands, jumps like a gazelle and is scared to death of cows. He will run like the wind to get away from them. So that wasn't going to work out. He would have bound over or through the 5 ft white vinyl fence in minutes. We had to find a new place for him at 5pm on a Saturday. My other friend that went along for the ride went around knocking on doors of homes that had horse property and stables until she found a lady that said we could overnight Simon there. She was a vet and could give Simon a week there until he can find a new home. Drama... The ride home took a little longer. We were doing great on time. My GPS said that we would be home by about 6pm and then we came into Redmond Oregon and found a huge Big R (ranch and home store). We needed to stop and stretch our legs anyway and what better way to do that than by some retail therapy. When we got back into the truck the GPS said that we would be home by 8:20 - we were in therapy for over 2 hours! We made it home safe and sound. Jenny found Simon a nice new home on Sunday that is right up his alley. It is a dressage and jumper barn. Hopefully she will make some new friends and enjoy her new life in Washington.