Ginger should be headed my way early next week so I went shopping for some essentials yesterday. Ya know, hay, beet pulp, whatever sweet feed she's currently eating, etc. I've been asking around for months, getting folks' opinions on the best place to get hay and overwhelmingly I have heard about a little place about an hour from here. Early Thursday morning, Heather (barn owner) and I headed over. I was very impressed by their selection - they even have a 'hay menu' by the door to the warehouse - but wow, is hay expensive here!! Seriously, $18.95 for a two-string bale?? I didn't even know they came in two-string bales...they weigh around 50 lbs. So hay in Florida is TWICE as expensive as the good stuff in CA. Literally. Three-string bales of Timothy/Alfalfa or Orchard/Alfalfa were $39.95. I thought California was supposed to be expensive?
While I was there, I started pricing out supplements. I've found good prices online but thought I'd give the local business a chance - they are three times as much as online. So, I did my good deed and tried, but I'll be ordering from online vendors instead. As for the hay, it's time to suck it up buttercup. I've come to understand that most people don't buy a years-worth at a time, due to the humidity. What I'm going to try to do is make two large purchases a year - once in early spring, once early fall - when hay is abundant and (hopefully) a smidge cheaper.
Anyway, I'm almost official. I cleaned out my new cabinet at the barn, brought in the hay and beet pulp, hung up my halter, and bedded Ginger's stall. We've decided to do a 90-day free lease to make sure that we are a good match for each other. Assuming all goes well, Ginger will be mine in a few short months. In the meantime, I'm considering renaming her. I like Ruby, but would that be presumptuous? Probably, but I'll probably do it anyway :)
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