WHEN LOVE ISN'T ENOUGH
Blood was dripping down both sides of his hind legs and when he turned around there was a flap of bloody skin on his right hip and he was covered in sweat. Just the day before this 18 years old beautiful white anglo arab was nuzzling everyone who pet him. Now the owner was seriously thinking about putting this horse to sleep. I have known this horse for one year and was even going to lease him to show dressage until he came up with an unknown lameness. So instead he was boarded next to my horses and we became friends. Every time I left to go out on trail with my horse he would be whinnying until we came back. All my volunteers grew to love this horse as well. My cantankerous, four year old son would lean against his stall and the horse would just put his nose on his shoulder and set there and let him kiss his nose. He has quite a reputation for chewing anything he could get a hold of. A leather glove was lost and found two days later in his stall. It looked like it went through a wringer (which sums it up). One sunny day a volunteer's mother was standing next to his stall and she was wearing a white cloth cap, similar to the ones Amish people wear. I heard an "Oh No" and the cap was in the horse's mouth. I tried to pry it out but I assumed he swallowed it. Then a couple minutes later it was spit out and it looked like a little cloth wad the size of a golf ball. To say the least she didn't want it back. This horse has an elegant beauty but not a pretty background. He had been abused and has scars that never healed correctly because he wouldn't let anyone come close enough to treat them. Even after years with his current owner who saved him, she still could not trust this horse when it came to touching his hind end. He would scream and kick out. She spent a lot of time being patient with him and was able to develop a very special bond. Although she is an experience hunter jumper rider and trainer she could not get this horse over his fear, so she worked around it. When it came time to move the horse to a new place he was led into the trailer and was very timid about it. He was given some calming herbs before the adventure to try to keep the edge off. He had been trailered many times before with no problems, so why should there be a problem now. He was in the trailer and the rear door closed and then the side window closed and he spooked. Claustrophobic maybe? He kicked and turned sideways until he bent the center divider. The back door opened and someone started hitting him with a whip, then he went really berserk and ended up hurting himself. Finally he was out and everyone blamed the horse. The owner wants to put the horse to sleep or give it away. The crowd gathered to find out who could take a horse like this and help it. Calls were made to find a new owner who knows how to deal with horses like this. This call should have been made years ago. Why wait for more damage to be done. The movie "Horse Whisperer" keeps replaying in my mind. Is there hope for this horse now or is it too late? Three days later the horse still stood in his stall with dried sweat and blood on him. My volunteers visit him every day to give him carrots and let him lick their arms. I rode off on trail with my horse for our usual ride and it was the first time he did not whinny. Many horse owners, riders, and trainers try to do it all. But the reality is not one individual can. Sometimes we need to humble ourselves and say I did the best I could, but I am going to need help. I think every horse owner wants the pride of saying, "I did it myself" Which is unrealistic. All your knowledge of horses didn't come in a dream or a previous life, it was learned (OK maybe one dream had a little knowledge). This horse may die because he did not get the help he should have. As equestrians we need to realize horse owning and training is a never ending experience. If you have a difficult horse learn from it by getting the proper expertise.
On the Road Again
Rowdy was going to get a second chance one way or another. Many of my volunteers at Horses for Love decided they would donate money for Rowdy's board until we could find a suitable owner. At this time Horses for Love is not equipped with the personnel to handle a horse with Rowdy's background, but we could try our hardest to find someone with the right experience. Every day volunteers would show up to see how Rowdy was doing. He still stood there with dried blood and sweat all over him. A couple of horse owners decided to go in and at least spray some antiseptic on Rowdy's wounds since the owner had not even come back to medicate her horse. Fortunately for Rowdy there were many others that did care about him and thanks to so many concerned volunteers and horse lovers a new home was found at the Equine Affaire in Pomona, California. The timing could not have been better since this expo took place the following weekend. A concerned horse lover who had witnessed Rowdy's attempt at trailering spoke to California Horse Protection at the Equine Affaire and they said they would save Rowdy. Sunday I attended the horse expo and went to talk to California Horse Protection to reiterate the importance of this rescue. They had a wonderful display of success stories and a huge horse named Petey that said it all about their organization. After speaking to Loren and James Hardie, the founders of California Horse Protection, I knew they were the right ones for Rowdy. Their organization had a large staff of qualified equestrians (at this point I don't want to use the word trainer since many trainers are not qualified and many horse owners are) including Ed Thornton, a John Lyons three times certified trainer. I told them the tragic story about Rowdy and they immediately agreed to take him. As soon as I got home I called Rowdy's owner and gave her the phone number. I convinced her that it would be cheaper to let Rowdy go to this organization than have to pay to have him put to sleep. They agreed to meet on Friday morning to pick Rowdy up in a large, slant, horse trailer. Friday morning the papers were signed to give Rowdy a new home. As Rowdy was turned out to run in the arena; the first time in 12 days, he charged his previous owner with bared teeth and turned to kick her. He may have felt betrayed for several reasons. After running he was put into a stall and was sedated with ACE. This was quite a show; Rowdy rearing up every time they touched his neck causing the lose of two needles. Then they decided to put the needle in first, than connect the syringe. This worked with fewer complications. After leaving Rowdy to calm down with the help of sedation the trailer was backed up to the stall door. Rowdy was led to the back of the trailer and then he stopped and wouldn't budge. The previous owner said she just throws small rocks at him and he jumps right in. As she knelt down to pick them up Rowdy kicked out at her. Loren told her she wanted Rowdy to go into the trailer on his own with gentle persuasion. I tried coaxing him in with carrots, praising him when he took some steps forward, then we used a crop, gently tapping him on his girth area. He stepped into the trailer and turned towards us with wide-eyed fear. The slant door closed keeping him confined so he would not slip and loose his balance. He started kicking when the trailer took off down the road. We opened the back door and made some adjustments so he wouldn't loose his balance, then he was fine. This whole event took one hour and there were no injuries. Saturday morning Rowdy would be used in a John Lyons clinic held by Ed Thornton. I have a lot of faith that Rowdy is in good hands now. I asked Rowdy's previous owner if she was going to the clinic to see Rowdy and she said she didn't know if she could make it. I told her that it would be a great educational experience. I couldn't wait.
ROWDY'S NEW HOME
Rowdy was visited the next day by Marie MacInnes and volunteer Belinda at his new home in San Jacinto, California. We saw him in a round pen and I knew instantly that we had made the right decision. California Horse Protection had cleaned up his injuries and he was looking proud once again. After many long years of abuse he was in a place that would be kind and understanding towards him. Belinda immediately went over to pet him and Rowdy approached her longingly. I was greated by Loren and James Hardie the founders of California Horse Protection and they informed me that they had changed Rowdy's name to Sage. They knew he was going to change and they wanted a new name for him to live up to. They introduced me to Ed Thornton, a three time certified John Lyons trainer. I gave him the run down on Rowdy's background letting him know about the physical and mental abuse that I knew about for the last 19 years of his life. He said he usually uses a lounge whip in the round pen but opted to use a lariet instead. Ed entered the round pen with Sage and explained to his audience that a horse has two sides the right and the left and responds to those sides using the left side of his brain or the right side of his brain. Sage had been abused on his left side and has a no touch zone near his stifle. As Ed worked him in the round pen he said that he wants Sage to turn to the outside of the pen because that shows submission. When a horse turns to the inside; towards you, he is showing aggression or fear. Sure enough Sage would turn to the outside going to the right but not to the left. After 1 ½ hours of working in the round pen Sage was showing submission on both sides. Sage started to walk up to Ed and let him pet his neck and shoulder, but as soon as Sage kicked out Ed sent him around the pen again. Ed admitted that Sage was a smart, domineering horse, but that was all right, he still had spirit. Ed then used a dressage crop to try to desensitize Sage and bucked for 15 minutes then Sage stood there and let him run the crop across his back without bucking. Now it was time to stop at a positive note. Ed said that he didn't know how long it would take for Sage to truly trust people but he had already come along way. The following weeks I kept in touch with Loren and she kept me updated on Sage. It turns out that Sage has ulcers, slight moon blindness and possible melonoma. She has changed his diet and he is in a ½ acre pasture and now has a mustang girl friend. California Horse Protection volunteers keep him groomed and exercised and they are hoping that some day they will find the right owner for him. Loren is using magnetic therapy on his no touch zone and poll area. At first she thought Sage was going to go bizerk but after several days of reapplying the magnetics he turned into a different horse. He is calm and doesn't kick out at all, no matter where you touch him. This is truley amazing and quite a learning experience for all who read this.
