sucess stories 4

Since we adopted this crazy black arab mare, we have come to understand what Lynda and Mike meant when they told us she had little to no "social skills" with humans. hahaha......She grew up in a field with little to no human contact for 7 years before she was seized by law enforcement with the other 2 surviving arabs in that field, all emaciated and all in need of medical treatment. When she arrived at the rescue, her halter (which was on her for years) had basically 'grown' into her face, leaving sores and scars upon removal. Thankfully, they were brought to Lynda & Mike at Equine Rescue, Inc where they received the care, nurturing and handling that was paramount to their survival and placement. Fury (Gabriella) was in the worst shape, with no trust in this strange new breed she was suddenly forced to deal with (humans), emaciated, frightened and pregnant. I remember Lynda telling me about Fury's reaction to humans....it had something to do with 'bodyslamming' the human (usually Lynda) as she was being led. Glad I didn't have her then. haha.
In June of 2006, with the other arabs placed (they were older and did not have the issues with humans that Gabriella did), Fury/Gabriella was brought here to our farm upstate NY. As a retired trainer who has had extensive experience with 'difficult' behaviorally-challenged horses over the years, I agreed to adopt her and give her a home for life. Upon arrival, Lynda and I watched as she entered her new home, walked into the stall and immediately tried to plaster herself into the corner of the stall as far away from this new human as possible. It was sad to see her flinch whenever she was touched by this new human, as if she expected some horrible occurance just from being touched. To say it was a challenge is an understatement. I was advised not to take her halter off for a while since I'd probably never get it back on her. I took Lynda's advice! As an old timer, I named her after my favorite 1950's TV show about a black horse named "Fury". So, Fury she was!! The hardest part of this mutual adjustment was just getting her to trust me enough to touch her and catch her in the field, in her stall....wherever!! She immediately bonded with my black/white Paint rescue Lil Joe, so I used him as my initial 'training tool', walking him along the fence line with Fury following as close as she could but still avoiding any touch or contact by me. Slowly after several days of this dance, she realized if she was going to stay close to Lil Joe, she'd have to get close to me also, and that's when she started to allow me the privledge of touching her and stroking her in the field. The winter months were difficult!!~ We live on a mountain, so the wind and cold can be brutal.....especially in a metal barn which makes a noise like a freight train when it precipitates or when the wind blows. Fury would spend those days and nights circling in her stall....circling around and around...I could always tell when it was a bad night for her as there were always 'crop circles' in the shavings every morning. But, little baby steps with her was the magic key. Fury was not a horse that took to change very well....and I mean ANY change, including moving her feed bucket from the left to the right of the door. Everything was drama with her!! I wanted to move her stall from the front of the barn to the back so she would have more exposure to the comings and goings of people in the barn and slowly desensitize her to 'activity'...it was apparent right away that I couldn't just move her or she'd freak! I had to move her one stall at a time, every few days, little by little. That seemed to be the key for her. And cross ties on the aisle? hahahaha.........uh uh!! Not this black mare!! Not in this metal barn!! Without the security of a 'grooming stall' , she definitely viewed these cross tie things out in the open of the aisle as horse-eating ties and she'd never survive!! (Yes, she is truly a drama queen in every sense of the word). So, we spent the winter just doing little tiny steps, one little step at a time, and finally, the lightbulb went off in her head that this might just be an ok place to be. After nearly 8 months here now, she stands on the cross ties like she's done it all her life, enjoys the grooming process, LOVES her winter blankets now and doesn't blink an eye when I toss it over her back as she stands freely in her stall trying to give me love nips, stands freely in the field or in her stall for hoof picking or brushing, follows us around like a dog in the field, and has become the most curious, interested and inquisitive animal I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. She's curious about everything and has found the strength in her heart to explore these things openly, rather than run from the sight of something new as she did for so long. She now lets me hug her tightly around the neck, rub her ears inside and out, grab her by the face (no halter) and kiss her on both sides of her mouth as she tries to grab my clothes in her teeth in order to groom me back. She's also into giving 'big hair' to anyone that will stand still and let her use her lips to groom your head....it's magical to watch!! She's now learning that the shower stall is not going to hurt her and she willingly walks relaxed in and out of it with no drama. (the water will come later....hahaha). Come spring, we are going to re-introduce her to the saddle and start doing some round pen training with her. Now that she's relaxed and FAT, she hopefully will be less nervous with new things.