My good friend bought Yatan last year, and she stabled him with me in the interim. I was tasked with figuring out his niggles - hind leg drag, wants to take off as soon as you hop on. Yatan is an Arab and did quite well in the Endurance circuit in South Africa until they retired him from the sport at around 11 years old. The lady who sold him did so as he was becoming a pasture ornament too small for her to ride. My friend took him over in an effort to get a calm, bombproof riding pony for herself and her little girl to enjoy. Pretty soon we figured out he wasn't too bombproof and he seemed to have niggling discomfort due to old injuries. He was happy with us - he gained weight quickly and kept easily, he was friendly and well behaved. We never had any trouble with him. We trailered him to my friend when she was ready. It didn't work. She has had surgery to her back, and needs a bombproof pony. This guy wasn't as advertised.
A lady then offered a home for Yatan - pretty soon he was losing weight and she had all sorts of medical complaints. During his brief stay with us he had seen the farrier twice, the vet had been by and he was seen by the dentist - no one registered any serious problems. In short, he lost a mess of weight and trust in people while he was in his 'new home' and his heart was broken - my friend, shocked as all hell, then went to collect him again. He wouldn't load, in fact he wouldn't lead and he dragged her along as he took off when she put the halter on. Eventually this little, injured lady, loaded him up alone and took him back home. She then had to find another home for him, having had her fingers badly burnt. It did seem as if PTS was a good way to ensure he never got passed from pillar to post or mistreated.
This is where we stepped in. Tristan went to load him alone, as we have come to expect from him he was a perfect gentleman. We he got to the farm the groom was already waiting with a big smile and a 'welcome home Yatan!'. Everyone was happy.
He has settled in like a champ and is feeling fresh and full of himself. The minute he got to his old pasture with his old pals they all dropped down for an epic rolling session and a 'hey, how are you'. He'll not be ridden, I think he struggles with that old injury and it leads to stress and sore muscles. He'll wander around in-hand now and again. Welcome home Yatan.
 |
| Back at home - see how I run! |
Welcome home, Yatan!!
ReplyDeleteHe seems properly happy, he has little bits of weight to gain but it should be quick - in comparison to the knackered TBs we used to get in - it sometimes took months for them to gain their weight properly. Each one is different though. I'll keep you updated Wolfie.
ReplyDeletePlease do! Do you manage a horse rehab type of operation?
ReplyDeleteSort of: We have had horses handed over to us with behavioural problems - horses considered too dangerous to be alive. In fact we were involved in a long fight versus a young vet and an animal welfare organisation over the life of a pony a few years ago. They said he was too aggressive to be alive. No such thing. He has lived with us for the last few years, we won! Two other such cases stand out in my mind - a shetland cross pony who was unapproachable and an appaloosa gelding who'd lash out with his front legs and teeth. The Appie still has problems now and again, but by and large we manage to vaccinate, deworm and see to his feet though it isn't always easy. These are generally animals who were abused or badly neglected. I have a sort of motto with them: give them lots of time and lots of friends. Eventually they learn from the herd that running away is silly when staying means carrots or food. Then we get your run-of-the-mill old TB who is skinny and needs more food and better grazing. I find these older animals, especially the TBs, take longer to come round in terms of their condition - I try to avoid suddenly feeding them a lot more grain and try adjusting the diet over tome to avoid colic and other problems. As a rule though most of our animals have troubles that exclude them from having a riding life - be it old injuries (I've fracture pelvis to injured knees, bowed tendons, joint problems etc) nothing that prevents them from living a happy life though. Then we also have animals who simply had nowhere else to go and would have been PTS or sold well below meat value - horse slaughter is legal here. Sho, this is turning into an essay. I'll do a post on Rosie sometime - our very first rescue with before and after piccies to give you a better idea of what we try to do. She still lives with us because the aim was to give her a 'forever home' where previously she was a working cart pony in Lesotho.
ReplyDelete