The new old man.

I know some people who have a problem with horse slaughter of any kind for any reason, and others who are of the opinion that any horse not useful for riding should be at least useful for meat.  But this Wednesday at the auction in Lewiston, I saw some beautiful, well-bred, trained, and sound riding horses go for meat.  Most of the 40-60 horses were sold to meat packers, even horses who were registered with papers, in foal, and a beautiful matched pair of yearlings.  It was hard to watch. 
And then an old man came through the ring. 

He'd obviously been a well-bred and solid riding horse in his prime, but he was a long way past his prime.  His conformation is just about perfect, and he is sound.  He even has good feet, but he is very, very thin.  Too thin for the meat buyers.  Two other horses went for "no value," meaning that the auction couldn't even get $2.50 for them, and his price was quickly dropping down that low.

I looked at him and remembered the horses that had started my kids.  They were generous and kind and packed around little ones all day.  This horse had done that.  He was being sold for less than a dinner at Applebees after a long, full life, and his only issue was his age and his weight.

So I bought him.  For $10. 

I cried when I held up my bid number, and I'm crying now.  It was a very difficult day, watching amazing, trained, sound, registered horses go to slaughter.  I just didn't have it in me to let this old man be turned out in a pen for "no value."  We all have value.  Even if it is just feeding someone, at least it is some value.  As a matter of fact, with 2-3 exceptions, all the highest priced horses went to the meat buyers, most for over $300.  But thin horses were worth nothing.

He's worth something to me.  My mom bought him a halter that cost more than he did.  I loaded him up and brought him home - he walked right in the trailer, leads, picks up his feet, let me check his teeth, and is happy here.  As long as I can, I'll make sure he has a safe place to live.  I don't know the story of his last owner, and I'm not judging, because I do know that horses are expensive and sometimes the horses are sacrificed for the rest of life, and at his age, most people would assume he's done. I just know that I was supposed to buy him. Someday, if he gains weight like I'm hoping he will, he will be the tag-a-long horse for the kids' friends to ride and my little lesson girls who want to learn to ride at age 5-8.  He's perfect for that!

At our house, he's eating free choice grass hay all day long and twice a day he's fed a large bucket of mash with alfalfa cubes, beet pulp, and high protein grain. He has a vet appointment next week for his teeth and shots, and he'll begin a daily wormer to slowly remove any parasites.  Maybe I won't get a sound riding horse out of my $10, but buying him was a lot more satisfying than a meal at Applebees.

Mellow is moving forward.

Mellow is Paul's baby.  Paul has been his primary trainer since Mellow was weaned and Paul was 12 years old.  I've worked alongside him, but all the credit should really go to Paul.  Of course, that means that any problems Mellow has can also be attributed to our training, since we are the only ones who have handled him. 

I have been so proud of the team they have become, but this spring I started worrying that Mellow wasn't progressing like he should.  He was still rather spooky, and hadn't yet settled down, even though he turned 5 in April.  He actually developed a really bad habit of racing away while being mounted, so he is very difficult to get on now.  We even considered selling him so that Paul could get a new horse to ride with his friends and not have to be on edge because his horse was so young or untrained.

And then we moved.  When we moved in the first of August, the packing and unpacking and cleaning seemed to take all our time, but in the last two weeks, we've gone out and worked the horses almost every day.  What a difference it has made to Mellow! 

Tuesday night he stood quietly with his nose at a fence for Paul to mount.  Eventually we will get to the place where he is standing in the arena quietly, but this was huge!  That same lesson covered walking and stopping with his head down on a long rein, and trotting with control and relaxation, even through simple figure eight patterns and over trot poles.  Paul was able to focus on his quiet hands and how he posts during the trot because he didn't have to be so focused on holding Mellow back as he raced around in a trot with his head up.  This was real progress! 

I am so proud of them both.

What's Next:  Tonight we are heading up to the Saddle Club to ride in a large arena and see if we can keep the level of relaxation and control in a bigger space.

Max is showing his true colors and they are beautiful!

Last night was a great ride on Max. 
      He comes to us with a history of race track and show jumping stables, but many years of pasture and time off.  He wasn't neglected physically, but he wasn't working, and for him, that was a bad thing.  He is an insecure horse, slightly neurotic in the way that many Thoroughbreds are, and he really (REALLY) needs structure.  In thunderstorms, he panics and jumps 5 foot fences if you aren't out in the barn with him telling him that it will be alright.  He is very bonded to both Beth and I, and likes to touch us with his forehead. Not the rubbing or pressure that is a sign of dominance, just a reassurance that we are there.  He prefers time in his stall, pastures are just too big and open for him to feel safe. 
      Under saddle, his nervousness makes him very quick off the leg under saddle, and extremely sensitive to the riders seat.  He wasn't able to trot with a rider without taking off into a very tense canter until this week, and last night was the first night that he stayed relaxed and trotted under saddle.  He did so great that we ended up trotting over trot poles and then we saw his true calling shine.  Tuesday night we had done a similar lesson with Mellow, and he clunked or tripped over every pole most of the times through the line.  Of course, Mellow is only 5, and that was his first time trotting under saddle in a relaxed way also, so it isn't a surprise that he wasn't sure what to do with his feet.  But Max knew! 
      Max picked his feet up and glided over the poles beautifully.  He came to a stop for Beth just 5 strides after the poles, showing that he wasn't speeding over the poles or ignoring the rider.  It was just gorgeous to watch him come forward one more step towards a happy, secure horse.  

What's next:  Tonight we are going to the Saddle Club to ride both Max and Mellow in the large arena and see how much of the relaxed, quiet ride we can have in a much larger space.