December - First Half

Since we have winter break starting on the 20th (my birthday!), blog posts are due in the middle of the month, instead of the end like they normally are. Anyway, lots has been going on at the rescue. I got the opportunity to go and deliver Cherry and Heaven to their new home. The person who adopted them is a first time horse owner, but I think they will be able to handle them.

I have also been taking advantage of the frozen ground (as well as the single nice day) by riding as much as I can. I have mainly been working with Ginger (mom horse), and Josie. I got the exciting oppurtunity to give my first riding evaluations to both horses. A riding evaluation is basically a test to see if a horse has been ridden before, and if they have, how much they know. Josie and Ginger both did amazing with theirs, which is good for me because riding horses that may or may not have been ridden before is a little daunting for me. I also rode Bentley a few times this month.

Each horse is different, so you have to be prepared for anything when you do a riding evaluation. I was surprised when Ginger did so well because she‘s usually pretty mean in her stall, but she has been (so far) very eager to learn, and I feel that with some work, she will be a great horse for someone. Josie is also very willing to work, although it takes a while for her to calm down when we first start. When riding her, she definitely needs some work with the trot.

The last major event that happened this half month was that we got two new additions, a mini horse named Patsy and a Paint named Kushala. These horses were a very spur of the moment arrival, as they came from another rescue that suddenly lost their property and could no longer keep the horses. Kushala was adopted last weekend, and will be going to her new home on Sunday.

One way I showed initiative this month at my internship was making sure to come every day one of the weeks, since my supervisor was pretty sick. I wanted to make sure all of the horses were taken care of, so she could just focus on getting better.

For me, the first highlight of this month was to be able to give my first riding evaluation. This was such a big milestone for me because it represents that I have the riding ability and confidence to do this, which I would not have had a few years ago. The second highlight of this month was seeing Patsy arrive at the barn. I have always had a soft spot for minis, and she is adorable. (Sadly I forgot to get some pictures of her.)

The one thing I really learned this month was how to ride the rescue horses, and give riding evaluations. How riding rescue horses is different from normal horses is mainly focused on using caution, and being ready to bail at any moment in case things go sour. Since the majority of rescue horses have an unknown past, it can be really hard to tell what they are going to do when you put a saddle on them, or when you go to sit on their back for the first time. Before getting on for the first time, horses are also taught the “one rein stop,” which is used to stop a horse quickly.

Although giving riding evaluations was a challenge, the real challenge for me this month was getting Ginger out of her stall. Like I mentioned earlier, Ginger is a nightmare in her stall (usually she pins her ears back and tries to bite you.) The strange thing about her though is that if you go into her stall and put a halter on her, she’s completely fine. To combat her stall anger, I stand by the entrance to her stall (in case I need to escape) and keep feeding her treats, which seems to help. Another issue with getting her out of her stall is her foal Jesse. As cute as he is, he is a giant block whenever I am trying to get her out of the stall. To solve this, I need another person to hold him back while I go and get her. This problem will be solved after Jesse is weaned and will be in a seperate stall.

I plan to keep going to my internship for about half of my winter break. Next month, I hope to start really working with Jesse, since he will be weaned from Ginger, and improving Josie’s riding skills.