My Little Rescues

Have you ever thought about buying a fire breathing dragon with a bad attitude? Nope. Neither had I.

"Go get HD." The first time I thought my coach was trying to kill me.

I remember the fear I had in my stomach that day as I walked out to HD's field with my mom. After all, the first time I had ever met him he reared up at me with his ears pinned on the other side of the stall wall. (Thankfully for me.)

He bites. He lunges at people. He's mean. He's got an attitude. Watch him, he'll drag you.

"Make sure you lunge him well, and don't get on him until I get there." The second clue that my coach was indeed trying to kill me.

Sure enough, this dragon of a horse hauled me in circles. Around and around and around on the lunge line. Our ride turned out better than I had expected, which at the time, was not saying too much. He took off a few times, I survived and lived to tell the tale.

I lost count of how many times he bit me within the first 2 weeks of riding him.

Let's back up a few steps. HD was one of who we called "The Lucky 7". The farm rescued 7 horses from a farm where many were under weight, had halters imbedded in their faces, and packed right full of worms. Once healthy, they entered training and were eventually apart of lesson programs and/or sold.

Fast forward a couple months to a time when HD was put on stall rest for over a month as he battled an abscess and things began to change. Each day, on my lunch break, I'd bring him out for a groom and let him graze. After all, 14 year old me was unable to drive and had an hour long lunch to fill.

When we returned to lessons, this little dragon certainly found his wings...and I quickly learned how to sit those bucks and take offs. He was temporarily pulled from the lesson program shortly after for faking a limp for other riders....and I don't mean a little limp. We're talking an Oscar level performance. I'd hop on later that same day and suddenly a leg amputation was no longer needed and it was fair game.

It was around this time that he finally (FINALLY) started to not try and bite me all the time...he did however continue to try and bite everyone that happened to walk by. And you bet that included any of the camp kids who happened to be close! There were still certain people that he insisted on lunging towards should they dare walk close to him...the audacity he seemed to think.

Within our first full show season together, I had a judge pull me aside after a class and ask if I owned him. I had politely told her that as much as I wished I did, I did not. By the end of the show day, she approached me again and told me I needed to buy this horse. Over the next few years of showing, we met up with her time and time again, each time she asked if I had bought him yet.

After many lessons, clinics, shows, and leasing for a few summers, we ended up finally buying my red head. Although the circumstances around his purchase we less than ideal, we made it through and he officially became mine.

The more time we spent together, the stronger our bond grew. I had many different people, judges, coaches, other riders/boarders comment on how attached he was to me and how willing he was to do things for me. I jokingly call him my "Guard Horse" as he does tend to be protective of me. If someone new comes around, he 9 times out of 10 will put himself between us. If someone touches my shoulder, he is known to put his nose on top of their hand. Just in case.

We continued to board at local barns for a few years before we moved to the private farm we are at now. Without a doubt, it was the best move we've made both for his managing his allergies (heaves) and his mind.

We began new adventures at this farm, no longer influenced by different training techniques, the pressure of competition, the questioning looks from others. We were free to explore anything and everything we wanted. I started to focus more on his mind, and gave him more of a choice in what we do. That's when things really came together for us.

If you had told me 11 years ago that I'd be riding completely tackless, trick training, and adventuring with this horse, I would have laughed in your face. Paused. And probably laughed again.

We spend a lot of time going for walks with his little brother in the bush, exploring new roads and playing in the hay fields. We also play at liberty both from the ground and under rider, and spend a lot of time just hanging out. Anyone who meets him now doesn't believe the fire breathing dragon stories we tell. (If only they knew...)

Our story is not a perfect Cinderella story. It was not 100% love at first sight, the kind that you hear in fairy tales. Our story is perfectly imperfect and I wouldn't have it any other way.

He still has an attitude and is not afraid to show it, and I'd never ask him to change. It is what makes him, him. I have asked him over the years to change how he expresses himself and we have developed appropriate ways to show it. Feeling especially firey today? That's fine, but my space is still my space and he can run and be crazy once I am out of the way. Not happy about what we are doing? That's also fine, give me that squinty angry face. But when it comes to cleaning wounds or taking medication, he knows he needs to stand still and let me do what I need to do.

Although our journey hasn't always been easy (I feel I should be an honorary vet tech) a continuing battle with allergies, 3 eye surgeries, a broken nose and a few bouts of mystery lameness... I wouldn't change it for the world. I have learned more from him than any of the horses I have rode and worked with put together.

He's still fussy about people, especially those he doesn't know, but he no longer resorts to feeling the need to bite them. (Not immediately anyways). There are some secrets that, unfortunately, I will never get a concrete answers to that will forever live behind those big brown eyes.

THE MONSTER

In case I didn't have my hands full enough with a dragon horse...why not throw a little sass monster into the mix?

Pip came into my life very unexpectedly as I was asked to help take some photos of miniature horses that were to be put up for sale. It was a little shocking to arrive at the farm and see just how many miniature horses were there. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, the mini mares and stallions had been able to run free together for some time.

We wandered through the field of mostly un handled minis for a while when this certain little ball of fluff came walking up out of the tall grass...You could say the rest is history.

These photos were taken exactly one week apart. As soon as I left the farm that day I contacted the farm I board with to ask how much board would be, contacted my farrier for trimming prices and called my vet a day later to find out the price of gelding him.

I went back to see him 2 days later with my boyfriend who you could say was a little...reluctant about the idea. After seeing the situation and meeting the monster, he came around to the idea pretty quickly. Exactly one week later, we brought him home.

After the initial "can I actually do this?" thinking back to the amount of time and energy went into keeping HD happy and healthy, and now realizing I'd just added a 5 month old BABY miniature horse into the mix... we got to work.

Our first, second, and third battles began before we even left the farm...getting a halter on him, leading him, and getting him on the trailer. Thankfully, he was (lets be honest, he still is) small enough to lift onto the trailer.

Pippin. A hobbit name for my little fluff monster. Funny enough, I had chosen this name a few short weeks before I met Pip. Funny how the world works sometimes isn't it?

After a battle with worms, Pip quickly became a favourite among our little herd. Even the other horses couldn't say no to this cute little face.

Watching his little sassy little personality bloom has been one of the most rewarding things to witness. Watching him march right up to the big horses or to the other mini horses just like "Hi, I'm Pip and we're best friends now." He has yet to be wrong with this statement.

I often get asked what his "use" will be, after all, he will never grow to be big enough to ride. This question always makes me shake my head. For all I care, he could live in my backyard and look cute. However, like HD needed, I feel Pip will come to need a job one day.

It is my goal for Pip to be a therapy mini. I hope to take him into long term care homes, hospitals, perhaps even schools and provide therapy for others. I have written numerous papers for school on the benefits of Equine Therapy and have had the goal of one day providing this to others. Little did I know, this little ball of sass would come into my life when he did and bring me one step closer to making that dream a reality.

Of course, despite the cautioning from family and friends, I also plan to taking him Skijoring. Yes, I will need to trust my monster to pull me on skis....down trails....in the snow. My boyfriend also gifted me with a beautiful refinished cart for Christmas that he will learn to pull one day.

While these dreams are still a ways away, our training focuses on basic steering, voice commands, and of course just having fun! As he's not even 2 yet, I am in no rush for him to grow up. We're just taking it day by day and letting him be a baby as long as possible.

The next time you're debating buying an animal, whether it be a horse, dog, or cat, consider taking on a rescue. There are so many animals out there who have so much love to give, that just have not found their person yet. It breaks my heart to think of where my boys may have ended up had they not been rescued.

You don't need to go out and search for an animal who needs to be rescued the most. There are many out there who have already been pulled from bad situations (like HD) who may not be ready to trust just anyone. Perhaps, they will never fully trust people again, but they too deserve to be given the chance to know what love is. Opening your door to them invites them to open their heart to you, and once that door opens, it may surprise you just how much they can change your world for the better.

Watching them evolve and grow into themselves has given me the most rewarding feelings I have ever experienced. I've watched Pip go from feeling under the weather, to an curious little sass monster who loves to go on adventures. I've watched HD go from not trusting people, and feeling like he needed to defend himself turn into my partner in crime who wants nothing more than to experience the world at my and his brother's sides.

You can change the world for an animal when you rescue them, but don't underestimate the power they have to change your world in return.