April & Charlie

So, Julie was looking for a gelding (O N E gelding).  She saw an ad on craigslist that caught her eye (after she'd already looked at several other horses).  When she went out to meet Charlie horse she already had a really good feeling about it, so she had cash in hand and was prepared to buy him.  Upon meeting Charlie, the owner (a wonderful woman) told her that several people had already looked at Charlie and had been interested; however, the woman had refused to sell them Charlie because she didn't want his spirit broken and Charlie was easily misunderstood.  In truth, Charlie was (and is) on the assertive (nice way of saying pushy) side of things.  Fortunately for him (and Julie), this was something she was quite used to.  After about an hour of thwarting Charlie's attempts to pickpocket her and shove her around, the owner asked Julie to take Charlie.  The owner started crying though.  Her husband had terminal cancer and they had lost everything.  They had already sold six other horses and only Charlie and April were left.  No one had been interested in April, due to her age, and the woman was afraid she would have to have April put down because they only had until the end of the month to have the horses out of where they were being boarded.  And so, Julie, who went in search of O N E gelding, now had a gelding and a mare. 

April has become the "trainer" horse.  She is extremely well trained, though very opinionated.  As an ex-endurance horse, she is in a hurry to get from point A to point B, even though she has no clue where point B might be.  Without a saddle on she looks like an old bay mare, and usually sleeps through being groomed, but once she has a saddle on she turns into a rocket. 

April, showing the boys how it's done.

The Charlie Horse.

Charlie, despite having been sent to a "professional trainer" did in fact live up to his reputation, as disclosed prior to Julie agreeing to take him.  A cinchy buckaholic, it took some time to convince him that bucking was a huge waste of energy.  Charlie also specializes in stomping his feet when impatient, which is 90% of the time, and biting (while pretending he is yawning).  Currently, Charlie is doing well under saddle and is working on maintaining speed and direction.

Comanche

Sometimes things just fall into your lap.  One day, while out seeing Charlie and April, one of the other boarders brought in a gelding.  Joel was pretty intrigued with the bay horse, and he spent some time watching the woman working with him.  The horse was oppositional, defiant, hyperreactive, and verging on explosive.  His aggressive and stubborn nature were quite amusing.  If Charlie was pushy...this horse was PUSHIER.  After wearing the woman out, the gelding practically winked at Joel.  We asked about the horse and were told that the woman had rescued him a year earlier and simply put him out on pasture, but she had brought him to the facility to do some training with him (good luck with that) and to find him a home. She had too many horses.  She then informed us she had someone coming to look at him on Saturday, to which Joel responded, "I'll take him." And so, the pushy bay gelding was promptly renamed Comanche (the only surviving horse from the Battle of the Little Bighorn was a Morgan named Comanche), and taken out of his stall and let lose in the gelding field with the other riffraff.  Clearly Joel and Comanche's personalities synced, because the pushy (and often stubborn as a mule) Morgan does just fine with Joel.  He is no longer explosive, nor is he aggressive.  Comanche enjoys hugs (from Joel) and demands attention.  Currently, Comanche is well under saddle, and working on maintaining direction and changing gaits.

Comanche, trotting like a...well...Morgan

Freight Train

 Every so often, Julie gets emails from people who remember that she used to do horse rescue.  This is a frustration, because they cannot all be saved, regadless of how badly you want to.  That particular email did lead to a drive out to La Pine, where numerous horses were not in good conditions.  Freight Train had been purchased by a family that was "new to horses".  The problem was multi-faceted.  Train had not had the training they were told he had.  He was impossible to saddle, had bucked off a family member, and they truly feared even going in with this horse.  They could barely touch him.  It was easy to understand why they feared Train (who they had purchased for them 12  year old son to ride).  The decision was left up to Joel regarding taking Train, and Joel decided YES.  Because the people were fearful of Train (who was not aggressive, but so flightly and panicked that he appeared dangerous), he was in a separation pen of approximately 10 x 12 feet standing in 3 feet of mud and manure.  He had not been out of it, brushed, or been able to lay down in about six months.  His pen had not been cleaned out in a very long time.  Miserable, bedraggled, filthy and tired (horses cannot REM sleep unless they can lay down), Train was at the end of his rope.  We went out every day for 3 days and stood in some pretty horrific weather in order to slowly grain Train's trust.  Joel succeeded quite well in this area, and so it was left up to him.  By day four, Train haltered nicely, and walked right into the horse trailer.  Train's progress has been astounding.   While Train did have issues, we prefer to focus on what he can and will do, rather than on what he still has difficulties with.  As a consequence, his progress has been nothing short of miraculous.  Very soon, Train will be started under saddle.

Train, moving his feet with the rest of the boys.