SAFE Horse: HONEYCUTT

[jaybird]

Honeycutt
Chestnut quarter horse type gelding, 15.1 hh, approximately 10 years old
Located in Monroe WA

It has been an awful long time since we have posted an update on Honeycutt. First off, he is doing just fine -- he's healthy, sound, and in good weight. However, his training has not gone the way we'd hoped it would.

After spending several months making good progress with his first trainer, Honeycutt started to backslide a bit. Most times he was fine, and his trainer was riding him out on the trails which he really seemed to enjoy. But sometimes, out of the blue, he would start bucking after being saddled or being mounted in the round pen. This began to occur more frequently, until finally his trainer told us that she felt she must have missed something in his training...and she didn't know what that something might be. She recommended that we send Honeycutt to her mentor, Bill Basham, and have him finish the work she had started.

Bill and Angie began working with Honeycutt and discovered a few things. One, Honeycutt was very sore through his back. Two, Honeycutt's conformation was such that his back sloped downward towards his withers, making saddle fit very very difficult. And three, Honeycutt was a very talented bucker. In addition to these things, Bill felt that Honeycutt did not have the solid foundation of ground work that he would need to establish trust, and that his previous trainer had been "riding his good will" rather than riding a solid foundation of training. And because Honeycutt was so very very tense, they decided that it would be best to go back to basics for a while before trying to ride him.

While Angie did bodywork on Honeycutt to try to relieve his soreness, Bill worked on the saddle fit problem. In the end he tried about 17 different padding solutions, but nothing really fit this hard-to-fit horse. And Honeycutt continued to escalate his episodes of bucking in the round pen, despite every attempt to saddle him in a way that he would be comfortable. He did make progress while with the Bashams, he started to relax and let go of the tension he carried in his neck and back, and with continued groundwork, they got him back to the point where a rider could ease onto his back from the rail of the roundpen. But Bill said he never felt that it was safe for the rider to even move the horse forward off the rail more than a step or two. Because some days Honeycutt would be fine, and some days he would be explosive. It could not be predicted. So rather than risk anyone's safety, he chose not to push Honeycutt past that point.

Bill's final assessment of Honeycutt was that he likes him, but feels that he is too damaged, that HC won't make a saddle horse, that someone will get hurt. HC is very committed to his phobias and fears. By the end, they had the saddle on him every day, and some days he would buck, some days not. His rider sat on him every day, and they would have him move forward a few steps, but soemtimes he balled up and was very explosive.

So Honeycutt made the journey back over the mountains and is now staying here at Jaybird Acres. He's been here before, and seems to remember me and accept my presence. I can approach him and pet him and handle him without a problem. On the ground, he is fearful and cautious, but not at all dangerous. He's actually very gentle. He gets along well with my other horses, in fact yesterday I watched him and Jay grooming each other over the fence. He's a perfect guest -- he keep his stall clean and eats all his hay. And he is so beautiful to look at. He is very sweet and doesn't seem the least bit like a dangerous horse. But he may never be a riding horse.

For now, Honeycutt is going to stay with me, and I'll work him on the ground a little bit every day, just to see if I can help him relax and be more trusting. In the end, Honeycutt may have to live out his days as a beautiful pasture pet, and really, that is not such a bad thing if you think about it.

I think we are still willing to look at applications for Honeycutt, but we will only be adopting him out if the perfect situation for him arises. Our number one concern is that this horse be safe and well cared for, and we will not risk setting him up for failure because in the end he will suffer and someone could get very seriously hurt. SAFE and Honeycutt have been through a lot together, and even though his progress was not what we'd hoped for, we remain committed to the well being and happiness of this very special horse.

[bsnlark]

Smart, well thought out decisions are wat make SAFE such a great organization !!!
Intelligent decisions are what count when it comes to the safety of both the horse and potential rider/owner ( something ALL horse owners , even the multi-named teenage ones, should consider )

Another proud SAFE moment...

Thank all of you, Peggy

[jaybird]

thank you Peggy!
;D

Some photos of Honeycutt taken today:

[safehorses]

Thanks for the pics Jaybird! How can you not fall in love with such a handsome animal...and he really is so sweet. I'm glad he's back on the westside with people who he knows and who love him.

[winterlakesfarm]

I am happy he is with you and will be wishing that he ends up in "just the right spot" whether or not that ever includes being ridden. There are crazy people out there like me who fill their pastures with horses that just need a soft place to land and spend the rest of their days free of the fears and poor treatment of their previous lives. I will be hoping that his story will weigh on someone's heart to just take him like he is- and who knows...maybe one day after having years of someone loving him unconditionally and without an agenda he may let them know he is ready for more. Thanks once again to SAFE for doing what is best for the horse even though it is not the "easy" thing.

[leahlady]

I may be completely wrong here... but was an English saddle tried on Honeycutt? I'm **assuming** the saddle used was always a western saddle...I knew a horse that would buck like this...until one day...the rider decided to try an english saddle, and the bucking stopped. Just a thought..

He is soo cute. I'm sure the groundwork and consistent handling will help this boy a lot. I can't help but believe that with the right person, a comfy saddle, and enough time, he might someday be happy to carry someone on his back.

[cardicorgi]

Leahlady, yes they tried an English saddle. They also tried not using a flank strap...different types of Western saddles, etc etc. They were pretty exhaustive with tack and fitting, and saddle pad solutions (e.g., pads with panels you can pump air into, sheepskin, etc).

[schwung]

For those of you who are not familiar with Honeycutt's story, we have had him since July of 2005, and he came off the feedlot as so many others, with no information on his history. He spent a little over a year with me, and I tried to ride him once, and he launched me so quickly and suddenly that I don't think my butt ever even touched the saddle. He was ridden at the SAFE clinic last summer, and though he was very scared, he only bucked at first when initially saddled. The clinician thought he just wasn't broke, but I have always suspected that someone at least tried to make a bucker out of him. His fears had to have come from somewhere, and they are very, very strong, and he has obviously been treated badly by humans somewhere along the line. In November of last year Jaybird took him and then he went into training with a trainer on the penninsula. As Bonnie mentioned, he made progress but had what we hoped were just holes in his training. He spent 4 months with the first trainer and 5 months with Bill at Full Circle. All the trainers that have worked with him are NH trainers who spent a lot of time with him on the ground, desensitizing him, etc. before trying to ride him.

I know that I speak for all of us at SAFE when I say that it is distressing to have come to a point that we have to give up on HC as a riding horse. We love him dearly....I can tell you that this horse has a way of looking at you with a mixture of both fear and hope that breaks your heart in two, and you can't help but want to help him. I cannot say he could not be brought around with more groundwork, more time, more trust-building, and eventually allow someone to ride him. But it will take months more, even years more, and at this point, we simply have invested all that SAFE can afford to invest in one horse as far as training goes. If we listen to the horse right now, he does not want to be ridden. He wants to be cared for. He wants to be treated kindly. And he wants to trust, but on his terms, and on his timeline.

I believe there is a right home out there for each one of our "hard placements", and sometimes we just have to be patient. Many many people have wanted to adopt this horse in the last two years, but due to his issues, we have been very, very careful - as they all wanted him as a riding horse. His right person just hasn't come along yet - perhaps it will be someone who has a hole in their hearts as big as Honeycutt's, who just needs a friend to help their heart heal.

[trillium]

His story makes you want to cry. It is so sad that he is so fearful and untrusting. I too hope the right placement comes along for him. Someone who just needs a pasture mower and has no desire to ride anymore. There must be someone out there for him.

[bsnlark]

Im full, im full, im full, im full, ;D...sigh, nah, yeap, Im full !

See Cardi, the hypnosis is workng

Cat, you said something about bringing Sunline over here....
Oh, just a minute, I think Cardi is at my door....gotta go,

and I almost forgot, I'm still full...............

[EquinePerfection]

I wanted this horse ever since I laid eyes on him and have been following him for a long time. I know they probably tried it, but you could try a Wintec all-purpose with CAIR systems on him. Just a thought. If I could afford him this horse, he would have a home in a second. I'm sure there will be someone who needs a horse to love, good wishes for Honney cutt!!

[schwung]

Personally, I don't think HC's issue is pain or saddle fit and I don't think any saddle is going to fix the bucking issues. I don't want anyone to think that the right saddle is going to solve the problems with this horse. I think Bill explored that theory with him in hopes that it would solve the problem, but came to the conclusion even if he is sore in his back, that isn't why he is bucking. I only wish it could be that easy.

[Gingersmom-Tate]

I just love this horse too, I'm sure one day soon, his forever home will come. I took both of my girls without any expectations of riding, just looking at them gives me enough joy. Maybe when he gets adopted his new owner will let him shine just at being a horse...no expectations. I firmly believe it may take a few years of being cared for by the same person for HC to trust.

[jaybird]

I mentioned to Honeycutt this evening how many people from SAFE really love him...he appeared to take that into consideration.

I was just outside picking the pasture that he's turned out in tonight and he followed me around and hovered nearby me while I worked. Then he did a very un-Honeycutt like thing: he took ahold of one of the handles of my wheelbarrow and very slowly lifted it up and dumped in on its side! I had to laugh. There may be a mischevious horse in there after all! ;D

[Sara]

How could anyone look at that face and do anything other than smooch him? He's such a doll, I just love this guy.

I hope his person comes along soon enough, but until then, I am eternally greatful on his behalf that SAFE came along and was there for him. What other rescue would invest 9 months of professional training to help get his mind right?

SAFE is truly a class act.