Post by jaybird on Oct 27, 2007 23:09:23 GMT -5
Meet new SAFE horse Jack!
Three weeks ago, a thread was started in Horses In Need about a gelding advertised on Craigslist for sale for $200 in Kitsap County. The photo that accompanied the ad showed a skinny chestnut horse standing by a broken tree in a paddock filled with mud. The ad described a thoroughbred gelding that had proven to be too much horse for the 14 year old he'd been given to...and said that he needed to find a new home right away. We see ads just like this posted on Craigslist and Dreamhorse, and most of the time we can only hope that the horse ends up finding a good home.
But this particular horse was luckier than most. His picture haunted one of the members of this bulletin board -- slewgirl -- who was able to offer him a foster home if SAFE would be willing to take him on. And since it's the availability of foster homes that makes or breaks SAFE's ability to help horses, we were very happy to be able to say yes to that offer.
Slew convinced the owner to surrender the horse to SAFE, which he agreed to do. Slew and I picked him up three weeks ago...he was one of four horses living in a small paddock, ankle-deep in mud and manure, with a tiny shelter and plenty of sharp objects for a horse to hurt itself on. The other three horses were in pretty decent shape, but the chestnut gelding was pretty thin, not to mention ratty and dirty. He was a bit difficult to catch at first, but once we got a halter on him, he led well, loaded easily, and travelled quietly back to his new foster home.
Jack (the name we gave him) is a 6 year old chestnut gelding, approx 16hh and about 100-150 pounds underweight. His feet were overgrown and cracking, and he had not had much of anything in the way of care in the past year, according to the owner. We were told he was a thoroughbred and that he came off the track, but he does not have a lip tattoo, so it is doubtful that that story is true. At this point, we really don't know what breed he is, but he is a pretty big boned horse who will be a real looker once he gets his weight back up.
Jack is a nice horse, but he has most likely suffered some abuse in his past as he is very headshy and nervous. It is pretty doubtful that he is broke to ride as he does not respond to basic commands on the ground and does not seem to know that he is supposed to move away from pressure. He is going to need several months to recuperate from being starved and to learn to relax and be more trusting. Once he is back to normal, we will most likely want to send him to a trainer to be started under saddle. He's a nice mover, and once he's gained some weight and muscle, he could start looking like a nice dressage prospect...
All in all, he is a very likeable boy who will need a lot of handling, but already seems like he is responsive to learning and has a lot of potential. It will be interesting to watch him develop as he gets more healthy.
Huge thanks to Slew who is fostering him and who was the catalyst to getting him to SAFE!!
Here are some more pictures of Jack. These do not do him justice but they will give you a good idea of how much weight he needs to put on.
If I wish real hard, maybe Santa will bring me a forelock for Christmas!
Three weeks ago, a thread was started in Horses In Need about a gelding advertised on Craigslist for sale for $200 in Kitsap County. The photo that accompanied the ad showed a skinny chestnut horse standing by a broken tree in a paddock filled with mud. The ad described a thoroughbred gelding that had proven to be too much horse for the 14 year old he'd been given to...and said that he needed to find a new home right away. We see ads just like this posted on Craigslist and Dreamhorse, and most of the time we can only hope that the horse ends up finding a good home.
But this particular horse was luckier than most. His picture haunted one of the members of this bulletin board -- slewgirl -- who was able to offer him a foster home if SAFE would be willing to take him on. And since it's the availability of foster homes that makes or breaks SAFE's ability to help horses, we were very happy to be able to say yes to that offer.
Slew convinced the owner to surrender the horse to SAFE, which he agreed to do. Slew and I picked him up three weeks ago...he was one of four horses living in a small paddock, ankle-deep in mud and manure, with a tiny shelter and plenty of sharp objects for a horse to hurt itself on. The other three horses were in pretty decent shape, but the chestnut gelding was pretty thin, not to mention ratty and dirty. He was a bit difficult to catch at first, but once we got a halter on him, he led well, loaded easily, and travelled quietly back to his new foster home.
Jack (the name we gave him) is a 6 year old chestnut gelding, approx 16hh and about 100-150 pounds underweight. His feet were overgrown and cracking, and he had not had much of anything in the way of care in the past year, according to the owner. We were told he was a thoroughbred and that he came off the track, but he does not have a lip tattoo, so it is doubtful that that story is true. At this point, we really don't know what breed he is, but he is a pretty big boned horse who will be a real looker once he gets his weight back up.
Jack is a nice horse, but he has most likely suffered some abuse in his past as he is very headshy and nervous. It is pretty doubtful that he is broke to ride as he does not respond to basic commands on the ground and does not seem to know that he is supposed to move away from pressure. He is going to need several months to recuperate from being starved and to learn to relax and be more trusting. Once he is back to normal, we will most likely want to send him to a trainer to be started under saddle. He's a nice mover, and once he's gained some weight and muscle, he could start looking like a nice dressage prospect...
All in all, he is a very likeable boy who will need a lot of handling, but already seems like he is responsive to learning and has a lot of potential. It will be interesting to watch him develop as he gets more healthy.
Huge thanks to Slew who is fostering him and who was the catalyst to getting him to SAFE!!
Here are some more pictures of Jack. These do not do him justice but they will give you a good idea of how much weight he needs to put on.
If I wish real hard, maybe Santa will bring me a forelock for Christmas!