Preliminary Barn Stalking

I've been doing a little preliminary barn stalking - mostly a few good drive-bys to get an idea of the places before I decide who I should call for a visit and who remains a waste of my time. 

There has been a slight reshuffling of the list since that. First of all, I've clocked number 1 at exactly 33 minutes from my apartment and number 2 at 37 minutes. I'm nothing if not thorough! In a way that slightly changes my perspective since one is only 5 minutes farther away than the other when I pictured a longer distance.

Number 2 is nestled in an episode of Little House on the Prairie, but for all the reasons it's beautiful - at the top of a valley, secluded, fields for days - it would also be fairly treacherous to get to in the winter - windy roads, steep incline, etc.

Number 1 is brand new - as in, I checked out pictures online of them building it within the last 2-3 years. The barn is small but quaint, and they seem to have a decent-sized indoor arena. The owner of this barn is an equine massage therapist so I have asked her to see Walker and asked her about her availability - win win.

In all this hullabaloo, number 5 shot up to number 3. I drove by it and there is plenty of pasture, 3 outdoor arenas and an indoor, and it is closer than the other 2. The other factor that moved it up the list was lessons. Even though 30-40 minutes isn't that far away, it may be too far away for me to take lessons because I may not get to the barn at a reasonable hour. If I'm not taking lessons, I figured that I might as well throw this one back into the list because the facilities seem nice and I guess if I'm moving, I'm moving for Walker.

The truth of the matter is, I could handle my own unhappiness at the barn but Walker does not seem impressed with turnout. The horses beat him up, there's no pasture to graze, and he just stands out there depressed. It breaks my heart because turnout is his favourite thing in the world. I still may not find us another barn, but I will at least give it a try for his sake.

Now I'm just waiting on the owner of number 1 to tell me the situation before I message the other ones. I want to know my chances there before the others because I'm leaning in that direction. And, it seems to be a dressage barn so maybe Walker will learn some new tricks from the giant warmbloods who will hopefully be nice to him.