Okay, so at the ranch where I work, one of the trainers, who is a friend of mine, made me an offer I can't refuse: A free horse. He's a project horse, named Loco, a cute little Arabian gelding. He was rescued from the slaughter house, and though I've spent a lot of time with him, I don't know a lot about him. She told me.
Loco, short for his show name Locomotion, was trained from an extremely young age. Arabians mature slowly, and when they worked him too hard, a part of his ankle broke. He would recover, but it would take a few years. They sent him to slaughter. He had already been measured and ready to leave, when Ashley, my friend, couldn't take it any more and rescued him. He is almost done with recovery and will be ready in spring or summer. He has had such a bad past with humans that, at a meager four years old, he is antsy about them. I'm going to rehabilitate him.
Those are both relatives of his, his sire and half-brother, I think. To think someone could throw away an animal like that breaks my heart... I needed to write about it.
I know the feeling, hun. I
I myself ride an 18 year old pure black Arabian mare whom has birthed some of the finest Arabians in Canada- many are famous champions. She herself is as well.
Unfortunately, she's gotten old and her hindquarters half gone partially lame, because of her previous owner. She had been bred and trained at a professional equestrian, and then the owners moved to Florida, leaving her alone in the farm with none to care for her. She was found and purchased by an honest old lady who hadn't any idea how to ride properly other than for leisure, and but on accident ended up ruining Jasmine's ligaments.
She's with us now, but it is a pity to see horses of such potential diminished as such.
My condolances <3
BEST of luck to you, my dear!
And when you're around him, be quiet. Not nessisarily in sound- but in your heart and hands. Stand beside him, relaxed and calm, without fidgeting or asking anything of him. Have a good, grounded sense of self, and breathe deeply. Listen to the outside world with him, and let him come to you- he will, in time.
Horses, being highly intelligent herd animals, gravitate towards humans as a strong leader. If you show him a quiet soul beside his hot blooded flighty one, he'll come to you out of curiosity and the need to be guided. To follow a leader.
Good luck deary! I'm an avid
I'm so glad you're doing this!