up date on Foxie.

Do to the fact my dogs ate my phone, I do not have the pictures I wanted to go along with this post.

I was told many things about Foxie when she first came to me, one of them was that she was too spooky and high strung to make  a trail horse. Here again, I keep trying to believe people are not that blind when it comes to an animal that they have owned for years so by impulse, I wanted to believe that there was foundation to the things she was telling me about the horse she had since Foxie was  9 months old.

Again I was proven wrong about assuming the best of people when it comes to their animals. I can say with out a doubt that Foxie is far more of a study mount for trails then my tried and true trail horse I have now. On a whim I took Foxie out for a ride at dusk, spooked up a deer and rode through the trees and under brush (all after a couple days off by the way) without so much of a side step through it all.

the next morning I took her out again for an hour ride through anything I could find to go through to the same results! Turning for home I even asked for the canter to see what she would do. Not only did she pick up the right lead but she never tried to pick up speed or grab the bit.

I keep looking for something wrong with her but as hard as I've been looking the only conclusion I can come up with is;
 A) I just got a really nice free horse
 B) People are very stupid when it comes to their horses!

the one that I couldn't save

I found this guy too late, he was owned by a kill buyer and on Sunday was sent off. With only a couple of hours I posted his pic on rescue sits but I ran out of time.

If you rescue horses you'll understand the obsession with the ones you can't save. To date I've saved, retrained and re-homed five horses. but it's this guy that will haunt me. He was only 4 or 5 years old and trained to ride and drive.

puppies

Alright I admit it, there is no reason for me to write this post outside I think these puppies are the cutest things ever! Enjoy.

Let the horse pick it's own discipline.

Like almost every other horse owner I've ever known when Foxie came to me I had certain hopes for what I could do with her in the future. ( A good solid trail horse for one.) I like most people find a horse with an idea already set about what I what to do with that horse. But unlike most people I've ran across am more than happy to let that hope go right out the window when I get to know the horse.

recently a guy came to me, who was wanting to buy a horse and wanted to know if I would take a stud on to train. ( warning number 1)
Upon further question this guy told me that he really didn't know much about breeding quarter horses but really liked this one because of his size. (warning number 2)

Further into the conversation this guy told me that this horse had already been used as a stud and shown in halter classes (third and final warning )
Stopping him right there I asked him if he had seen this horses papers and I also told him if this horse was a halter horse there was a good chance there was Impressive in his bloodlines. I was right, there was, and on the top and bottom of his papers, pay dirt! Impressive was a beautiful horse who produced outstanding get, however, he is also known for the genetic disease known as HYPP. http://www.bringinglighttohypp.org/ More to the point this horse was tested for the disease and found to have the reseive gean. What that means is this horse that this guy is wanting to make into a trail horse will not show the symptoms but his foals will stand an almost 99% chance have having it.

If all you want to do is some trail riding why would you think it was a good idea to get a horse like this! This is a horse that is bred to stand there and look pretty and make other horses that will stand there and look pretty. There are a million horses out there that need a good home and would be willing to let you ride all day long anywhere you wanted to.
  This is not the kind of horse anyone needs if all you want to do is ride around a little bit.

As for this guy, I have no idea if he really bought this horse. I'm hoping that me telling him over and over again to keep looking got through but I doubt I will ever know. As for Foxie, and my idea to turn her into a trail horse shes turning into a really nice dressage prospect!

Impressive 1974

This one day I came home and there was this mini...

In this day and age when people throw away horses because their; too old, too young, too slow, too fast, too whatever you fill in the blank. Finding a mini stud running up and down a road really isn't as  uncommon as it should be.

With evening feeding getting ready to start we really didn't have time to try and catch our new little friend right off the bat, besides someone would be wondering were their little hay burner had wounder off to, god knows we would be out looking.

Unable to even get near him we ended up just penning him in against the fence line with panels believing that someone would be driving up and down the road looking. You would think as old as I am I would have, by now, quit hoping for the best in people when it comes to their animals.

Dusk came and went, cars came by and went still no one stopping looking for their missing little horse. By this point we had called the police department and animal control. In a small town on a Friday night, this is absolutely pointless, after all those deer wont shoot themselves.

9 pm came around with us trying to settle in for the night when lights showed up at the house where we suspected this little pony came from. sprinting up the hill thinking they must be frantic only to find a guy smelling a little of liquor truly surprised that one of the mini's had made off down the road. His first suggestion was to turn the mini back out on the road and herd him back up the road to his place. Putting an end to that idea, instead opting to have this man come and get the mini in the morning around 9 when we could see. Well the morning rolled in then it rolled out and still the mini is here. to make this better there is no one up at the house. instead of picking up the stud as promised he snuck off .

this little guy knows nothing about people, is not halter broke, so forget about leading him, thou I must say he leads better now then when he first made it down the hill.

So tune in next week....

 

Belle is without a doubt my favorite success story. She came to us in September of 2010 little more to her her than skin over bone and didn't know basics or even about feeding.

Belle is a Morgan and at the time little over a year old. If you know anything about the Morgan breed you will know one of their main characteristics is the fact they are easy keepers.

I'm please to be able to say she has come such a long way!

Last year 2011













First time with a saddle on her back yesterday!