Believe in the Magic of the Season

  The trio was in good health, and they had been well cared for, but like so many senior horses, they had been difficult to rehome.  To no avail, their prior owners had tried for quite some time to find a suitable boarding facility near their out of state home or a home locally.

  

Not long after they arrived, we did the intake dance, having their care updated:  hoof care, dentals, vaccines, deworming, and microchips. All three had old horse teeth, and they were all on pellets only senior diets.  The two ol’ dudes had a bit of “the look”, so Dr. Stolba – Loomis Basin Equine Medical Center also collected blood samples to test them for Cushing’s Disease.  Their bloodwork indicated they were both “in the zone’ (borderline), so they were started on low doses of daily medication (pergolide).

 

Upon arrival, Scotty was Rustic and Always were quarantined together; however, Scotty was quickly separated to improve his dining situation.  Rustic was bonded to Always; I say “to” and not “with”. Rustic found confidence through Always and rarely left her side. Though Always didn’t mind Rustic’s affection, his attachment became a detriment to her.  She’s such a lovely mare, and he wouldn’t stand for her to be anywhere but next to him. She loved attention and grooming, and she even seemed to enjoy getting back into saddle work. She thrived without him and had so much to offer. The longer they were here, the more dependent Rustic grew on Always. Scotty’s an independent soul, and unlike many seniors, he was quite adaptable to most anything.

  

Scotty is a 33 y/o Morgan gelding.  He is just a good ol’ guy! Scotty was used for both English and Western riding and on trails for many, many years.  He enjoys grooming and attention and has been willing to do whatever’s asked. Though he’s looking great for his age, he’s a bit arthritic, so he was also started on a daily feel good med (aka Equioxx) to help make each day a little easier. Due to hind end weakness, Scotty had not been ridden for quite some time.  Scotty is simply an uncomplicated guy…easy-going, laid back, and doesn’t demand a lot.

Rustic a 26 y/o Morgan.  He, too, is a sweet ol’ guy, too, but he has baggage, serious baggage! Rustic experienced a nail injury to his right hind hoof as a two year old.  A nail penetrated his navicular bursa, and he had an extended recovery period. As a result, the docs said there was no riding in his future. Worry not, he was trained as a driving horse, and did a lot of driving over the years, but e hadn’t been driven for some time. Rustic is a “Nervous Nellie” kinda guy.  He lacks confidence and bonds strongly to his paddock-mate or neighbors. At first he took a very slow, patient approach to halter, and he was anxious if separated from Always.

 Always is an early 20s Oldenberg mare.  Always was originally trained as a hunter/jumper, then later used for both English and Western riding, and eventually on trails.  Though she is a branded Oldenberg, her registration was lost. Her registry information was found online. Always is a very nice gal, very easy-going and mild mannered.  She enjoys grooming and attention, and she’s “always” willing to do what’s asked. Always was restarted with light saddle work, and after several years off, she was a delight to ride. She appeared to have had a good education under saddle, and it appeared with some conditioning, she could possibly work as a companion with occasional light riding.

It wasn’t long, and this sweet mare found her family.  She was headed to a big pasture to befriend another gelding to be his companion and an occasional light riding horse.

In comes Clancey!  Clancey came to AAE from a foster situation a few months after the fab three arrived.  She had belonged to a young woman that was heading off to college, and she was running out of time to find a home for her long time and senior companion.  Clancey had done it all, and the years of work had taken a toll on her ol’ bod. Her foster succumbed to the young gals plea for help after they visited to meet her as a potential riding horse.  They left when they didn’t see a fit, but impulsively took her in after pleas for help from her young owner. However, their other two horses were less than welcoming to the poor ol’ gal. It wasn’t long before they realized it would not work out and asked for help.  We accepted Clancey, but she remained with them in foster until we could find an adopter or space opened up.

 Sadly, no good situations presented for her, and she finally moved over to AAE.  Scotty was eventually moved to a paddock beside this lonely gal (Clancey), and they fell for each other!  It wasn’t long until Clancey and Scotty were neighbors that grew very fold of each other.  They were placed in long term foster when one of our volunteer families opened their hearts to this old couple so they could live out their lives together. Thank you, Jill and Bret for making room in your hearts, home, and barn for these two oldies!

That brings us back to Rustic.  As Rustic and Always became more of a challenge, Rustic’s behavior regressed. Rustic’s separation anxiety was extreme.  Ultimately, Rustic and Always were separated for Always’ benefit; she thrived, and Rustic moved on to attach to his next neighbor (yes, he quickly forgot about Always and began obsessing over another gelding).  Rustic was moved to a bachelor pad in the barn where he got exposure to daily volunteer activity and ultimately, their affection.  The aloof Rustic wants to be loved, but he resents a halter.  He is very selective about who touches him and when. He plays hard to get, and he IS often hard to get, unless he’s in a relatively small space.  Rustic is sensitive, and when approached slowly and calmly (by some), he accepts and enjoys h     cvxn (on his terms).  He can be a nice guy, but needs an experienced and calm/low energy person.

Rustic desperately needs a special kind of home where he can live out his remaining years.  Once haltered, he is easy going, enjoys grooming and walks.  He wants to bond with certain people.  He is good with front hooves and with farrier on front hooves, but right hind (past injury) was an issue with first trim. Rustic kicked out at farrier; however, prior owner indicated he was fine once hoof is in hand. That wasn’t the case that day.  We’ve since used a sedative gel to trim him to assure safety of our farrier.

We have kicked off our Boots & Bling planning for 2020.

The event has included a catered BBQ Dinner, DJ Music and Dancing, Live/Silent/Dessert auctions,

a special fundraiser, and line dancing with instruction.

We need help in most areas for planning for this event to make sure its a huge success for AAE and our horses.

Please email us if you are interested in helping with Boots & Bling.

We meet once a month until the event.

    

Maybe you’d like to help around the barn, but don’t want to work directly with the horses, or you don’t like to muck?

We could use some help cleaning and organizing, whether it’s the feed room, the meds room, the office, the tools, groundskeeping, painting shelters, monitoring the fencelines, tree trimming, coordinating vehicle maintenance, or a zillion other things.

There’s so much that needs to be done, and

we could use some extra hands to help keep things looking nicer and more clean.

Please email us if you are interested/available during regular barn shifts,

Mon-Sat 8a-noon, Sun 9a-1p or afternoons 3p-6p.