Pie - Chapter 3

So after 3 weeks of attitude adjustments, rule changes, plenty of food, cribbing collar, and all he can eat hay.....Pie was starting to look good! He was filling out faster than I had anticipated.....of course all this did was make me angry because if all it took was 3 weeks there was no excuse for letting him get this bad.

What drove me nuts about him was the bobbing and weaving! He was neurotic about it and I hate neurotic horses. He would only do it in his stall and it was normally only when other horses were being moved around. I set out to fix this! I put him slap dab in the middle of everything, I moved his stall, if we were going to be doing a lot with the other horses I would get him out and just tie him up. I have never met/seen a horse that ever had too much time being tied. At first he was very interested, curious, engaging......then it got old. I love it when a horse gets bored with something....it means we can move on.

I made sure to leave him tied when we were getting lesson horses out, other people were riding, during chores, he spent almost more time tied than he did in his stall. Eventually we would lead him out, tie him up...he would proceed to remove anything from the post he was tied to(never broke him of that....it was too funny) then rest his forehead on the post and sleep. When he was tied like this I didn't hang a hay bag or give him anything distracting....his job was to stand.

He got to the point where he wasn't worried about everyone else because when they started moving....he got ignored and slept tied up. I started leaving him in his stall for longer periods of time before bringing him out to tie. Eventually I only brought him out if HE was going to be used......he never bobbed or weaved again.

3 weeks after arriving at the barn!

Easy - Chapter 4

Easy is doing great. Her ulcers have cleared up, she is eager to meet new people with a friendly attitude and we have started riding her some. I kept it short and slow for a long time because her history wasn't clear and I knew she hadn't been ridden in at LEAST 2 years. She took to it like a duck to water. She LOVED the attention, exercise, and learning new things.

I started letting some of my barn rats ride her a little to make sure she behaved as well for them and she loved carting them around. She never did get over her discomfort at the canter but because of her age I never pushed the issue.

She was putting on weight FAST and starting to look like a real horse, I couldn't wait for her to shed out in the spring!

This picture was taken in February.....just 3 months after I got her!

Pie - Chapter 2

  


     During Pie's bath the barn rats and I found some odd places. Some were small hard bumps and some were small round bleeding wounds....I got the clippers for a closer look and found BULLET HOLES!!!! Granted they were only BB sized but some were embedded into the skin. I popped a few of them out and cleaned all the open wounds. He stood like a champ. Some were in his shoulder and others in his hip.

Pie - Chapter 1

  
     While Easy was putting on weight and doing well I decided that I was going to need another lesson horse for the upcoming Spring/Summer. It was Jan and I knew that I could get one cheap and have it trained the way I wanted for the surge in lessons/camps. I had made the decision to get a horse but hadn't started looking seriously. I was in a tack shop and there was a sign that said "OTTB gelding $500/obo" and a phone number. I decided to call. I have a thing for TBs.

     I ended up chatting with this nice man that meant really well. He bought this horse to rescue him but had bitten off more than he could chew. He had a stallion and mare at him home already and couldn't turn this gelding out in the pasture and wasn't familliar enough with TBs, cribbers, putting weight on, etc. He was in WAY over his head.

     A faithful barn rat and I went out to take a look at this gelding. When we got there and saw him there was no question he was coming home with me. I didn't care if I had to re-start him....he wasn't staying there. He was in a SMALL paddock with about 2' of mud, skin and bones, a cribbing collar so tight it was chocking him, he was running around b/c he couldn't breath, and scared to death.

     He was quickly caught, the cribbing collar was removed, he was loaded into the trailer, and the price was negotiated. Pie was named on the way home. I felt bad for him though....it was a cold day and I had a strict policy on new rescues being de-wormed, bathed, and thoroughly groomed before being allowed near other horses. The barn rats attacked him when I unloaded him and made sure he was presentable before being put in his stall. They had been working hard on getting extra bedding and piles of good hay ready before we got there.

     Pie explores his stall, grabs a mouthful to eat, and starts bobbing and weaving......GROAN.

Easy Comes Home

So after many nail biting months and struggles to keep my opinions to myself(those of you who know me....understand) it was time to bring my girl home. She was still a bag of bones with a grungy coat and horrible feet. I was in love. She was quick to pin her ears, quick to run away if she could, and for the first few days I worked with her I was in tears everytime.....people didn't deserve the millionth chance she gave them. She had a huge heart.

At this time in my horsey life I was running a boarding/lesson barn in south Raleigh. I had tons of students and plenty of barn rats. I know for a fact that I couldn't have gotten all I got done without the help of some really awesome barn rats. They picked stalls, helped feed, went to buy horses with me, went to try horses, went to shows, put some really fun horses through the paces to make sure they were "lesson worthy".....worth their weight in gold. I don't think I told them that enough.

I put Easy in a large stall with plenty of bedding, plenty of hay, and 4 meals a day. She coliced EVERY meal for the first few days. I suspected that she had ulcers....she would get halfway through her food and lay down, roll, and colic. I went through so much banamine I thought I was going to have to put her down. She was a solid citizen through it all though. We had to have a few refreshers on stall behavior and how she needed to approach people but once she got that the rules at my house were different and always the same.....she was a champ. I know that most people would feel sorry for her with her abuse and mistreatment but I had kids, lesson moms, etc running around all the time and I had to have good horses. I do feel bad that people did what they did to my beautiful girl but I didn't do it and neither did any of the people I would EVER allow around her again......therefore.....at my house she was expected to be a solid citizen ALL the time and the respect all people. She took it all in stride. The great thing about my barn rats is they knew the rules and could enforce them. They weren't scared of this poor mare and didn't let her intimidate them.

The treatment for ulcers was going to be VERY expensive. I opted to try to heal them without meds first. I knew that the pain came from the stomach being empty so she was given PILES and PILES of hay 24/7. I had a small paddock for the rescues until they were strong enough to go out with the herd. I had her up at night and made sure she had enough hay that in the morning she would have some left. I did this for the first few days then slowly added beet pulp for her breakfast. Within 2 weeks she could eat all of her meals without colic or discomfort. She was putting on weight!!!!

I started working her in the round pen for fitness. I have learned that exercising a malnurished horse helps them put  on weight. I'm not talking about marathons but a little bit of directed exercise really helps. Easy was worked about 15-20 min a few days a week. 

These pictures were taken while we were playing in the round pen. Easy had been with me about 6 weeks.

Easy - Chapter 2

(taken after she had come home with me)

  As Easy and I headed out of her stall the owner and BO gave us a wide berth...you could see and Easy and I could feel their nervousness and distrust. It was in the air and trying its best to infect the peaceful quiet confidence I was showing Easy. Thankfully they decided to stay in the barn to comfort the foal while we headed to the arena.

     Just going from what I had observed and what I had been told I knew my rules needed to be established. I do this with every horse I meet no matter what. I have very simple and fair rules. You move when and where I ask when I ask  and I will leave you alone. I'm only going to give enough pressure to get the desired result.

     The easiest way to get through to this mare was to turn her loose. It was a very large arena but I didn't need her to feel threatened or feel like she couldn't get away. I sent her forward. She was stiff and twisted up with a swishy tail but still didn't want to look at me. Every time I pushed to change direction, speed up, or slow down I stopped the pressure immediately after she made an effort. Within 20 minutes she was hooked on me and jogging a 30m circle around me without a care in the world.

     With a deep breath she stopped with me and turned to look at me. Her ears were forward, eyes relaxed, and she looked like the weight of the world had been lifted off of her shoulders. She quietly walked over to me and stopped at a respectful 3' and waited. I took a happy deep breath, walked over and gave her a "that'll do pig" rub. She dropped her head with the touch at her poll and sighed. I dropped my arm over her neck and we headed towards the barn.

     Seeing the owner's reaction was priceless. This was my mare and everyone knew it. I wish I could tell you that I went home, got my trailer and loaded her up there but life isn't perfect. The owner wouldn't give her to me until the foal had been weaned and they had been through pony inspections (November).

    It broke my heart to leave my mare in this situation.....with people who don't understand her, can't communicate with her, confuse her, and cut her feed back because her foal was getting too fat. I tried to educate them about the food and about handling her but cried on the drive home. I didn't want to have to wait 5 more months to get my mare.

Easy - Chapter 1

     I'm not a huge believer of fate or luck but I would like to believe in some kind of karma but don't put tons of stock in it either...however I truly believe that Easy was brought to me. She needed me and I'm better for knowing her. My first lesson was biting my tongue.

     Our journey started in the late spring, I knew from summer camps the past few years that I would need help for the coming summer. I was looking to hire someone part time to help me get crafts arranged and help the smaller kids with the horses so I placed a few ads here and there. Not too long after the ad was placed I got a call from a girl that was looking for a job and we got talking and she started telling me about a mare she owned that was highly aggressive and she was planning on putting her down as soon as she weaned the foal off of her. This mare had put 2 people in the hospital and was considered dangerous. Funny thing about horse people....once you get them talking....it takes hours to shut them up.

     Once I heard the description of this mare I was hooked and had to meet her. I arranged to come out a few days later and meet this violent horse. I get out to this nice little property with about 10 horses on it. The barn is set up so there is an isle and each stall is set up so you walk in through the barn and there is a 12x12 stall, then there is a half door leading to a 6' overhang and an individual paddock. I loved the setup. I was directed to a stall and walked right in. The owner and barn owner FREAKED and said that I couldn't go in there without a dressage whip. As I turn back towards the mare I see an ANGRY face and teeth heading my way. As quickly as I could I got BIG and popped her on the nose and chased her out of the stall. She left but wasn't happy about it.

      I quieted my breathing and peaked around the corner at a thin sunken mare with a healthy robust colt that was a few months old by her side. The mare was stressed you could almost see her grinding her teeth and hyperventilating. She wouldn't make eye contact and her whole body was tight with caution of my presence, looking down her feet were in desperate need of attention.

    This was what I hoped a confused and misunderstood mare. She appeared more scared than angry and was doing whatever she could to protect herself and her foal. I introduced myself by pushing a little here and there. Would she move forward? Would she turn away? Would she stop? Each time she moved I stood still and let her leave me without following after her.

     Finally I felt it was safe to slip a lead rope on her. She stood still but turned her head away slightly and avoided looking at me.  I gave her a "that'll do pig" rub and we headed towards the arena alone to get better acquainted.