Saba Moved (a wordy post)

Last Saturday was a big day for all of us, especially Saba. We moved him from the farm where we had stabled him for 3 1/2 years to the Hobby Farm on camp. We had been working on this since the farm owner sold Teema on Jan. 1 and wasn't planning on getting another horse. With her gone, Saba was the only horse there. To move a horse to the Hobby Farm can be a laborious process and take up to a year and a half, but we were blessed and it only took a month or so.

The farm owner found a guy to haul Saba and the driver actually had a horse trailer. That was not a given. Actually several things were not a given:
1. the driver would show up
2. he would have a horse trailer
3. he would be able to pass through security to the farm
All those came to pass, yay!

The truck has arrived.

Interesting fact: In Saudi only Saudi's (legally) can drive a vehicle transporting a horse. Any nationality can drive a vehicle transporting other livestock.

My husband walked Saba into the trailer like they had both been doing this every day for years. Unless Saba or my husband has a secret life, this was the first time for my husband and the first time in 3 1/2 years for Saba. He's probably been in a trailer two other times in his life: as a newborn and at 2.

Loading Saba

turned out to be easy.

After he was loaded and secured, we said goodbyes all around. It was a good 3+ years. Alex rode with the trailer driver and I rode with our usual driver. They were to follow us... but the driver guy drove faster and weaved through traffic like Saudi's usually do and our driver doesn't (he's a good safe driver). He overtook us a few miles out on the highway and it took us another 15 minutes or so to overtake them. The traffic became heavier and the trailer driver couldn't slip between other vehicles as easily. Plus he got stuck behind a slow moving pickup... otherwise we may not have caught up until the checkpoint.

On the road

Saba in the trailer after arrival.

Our next worry were the two security gates on our end. But there was no trouble. My husband checked the driver and Saba in at the Welcome Center (another name for 'give us all your life's information') and we were off. Security just had to check and make sure it really was a horse in the trailer and there were no subversive items as well. Easy-peasy when the horse is the only thing in the trailer. That was at the first gate. The second gate waved them through. M has a sticker on his car so we had no trouble carting all of Saba's things in.

Saba took the experience in stride and rode calmly all the way, he wasn't particularly stressed when we opened the trailer, just excited to see us. He and my husband walked sedately down to the quarantine pen and once Saba was in there, then he got excited. Really excited. There were horses and people all over the place and new smells!

In quarantine pen on arrival