Very smart, friendly, docile - can be sensitive sometimes
LOVES attention
Loves all other horses
Usually at the bottom of the pecking order
30-days saddle training as a 3-yo
2006 he was ridden bareback with no halter by a teenager
Last ridden with saddle and bit-less bridle in 2006
Best would probably be to start him from scratch !!
Needs cooler, dry climate:
Had a very light case of scratches in 2003 - no serious problems since
Gets sunburns sometimes, so shade is a MUST !!
Please ask for more info about Big Ben - he is majestic and so sweet !
LEA's BEST FRIEND !! Preferably adopted together !!
More info at the bottom of the page
Adoption Fee:
NOT A BARGAIN WHATSOEVER (please don't inquire if $$ is an issue)
INSTANT ADOPTION ONLY (no payment-plans)
ONLY TO THOROUGHLY SCREENED AND APPROVED HOME
(Ben will need an EXTRA TALL trailer to be transported, and he will need an over-sized box-stall. I will NOT load him into a slant-load, unless the dividers are taken out and he has most or all of the trailer. He is BIG and will need a lot of room to travel comfortably. PLEASE keep this in mind when inquiring about Ben and possibly Lea.)
Adoption Fee and adoption agreement NOT negotiable
07/11/2008
08/02/2008
07/11/2008
07/11/2008
07/11/2008
07/11/2008
08/02/2008 The horse Ben is towering over is JAY, he's about 15.3 hands
08/02/2008
LEA and BEN 8/1/2008
08-13-2007
08-13-2007
June-2008
2006
2006
08-13-2007
10-15-2006
OK, here is more info about Ben and his past:
Ben came to me in 2003, and before he got here, I had someone put 30 days of (saddle-) training on him. It turned out that it was more abuse than training though...... This guy cleaned Ben with a pressure washer, and to this day Ben is still afraid of spraying water. He's getting better, but we don't have the water supply (nor time) to bath him regularly and get him over this. Then, in 2006 he was at a "foster-home" for about 2-3 months, for some saddle training. I'm not sure how much she did with him, but at some point the neighbor's teenage boy was able to climb on Ben when he was laying down, then Ben would get up and they would walk around, no halter, no saddle, nothing. When he came back I rode him a few more times, and then winter came, more rescues, etc. etc. So he hasn't been ridden since 2006, and quite honestly, I don't know how much he remembers.
I would consider him untrained and start from scratch - that would probably be best for everybody involved. And no, he has never been driven, but I think that would be a great thing for him to learn.
Ben is great for me, I can pick up his feet, clean them, crawl under him, you name it. On Monday he just stood there for the Vet, put his head in my arms and didn't move......
HOWEVER (there is always a "but", isn't there !?), Ben does NOT like my farrier, and vice versa. I'm not sure if Ben just doesn't like "loud" men (or strangers) in general, or if it's only my farrier........ Ben is very sensitive and always on the bottom of the pecking order, and he does not do well with aggression, screaming, etc. And my farrier, if he gets impatient or if a horse doesn't stand too well, he gets loud, then Ben gets even more nervous and things just get worse from there. Now we're at a point where I get nervous whenever we have to trim Ben, of course Ben senses it, and we both are wrecks on farrier day. Well, now we found a routine that works - it's not perfect, but it works. I put Ben in a stall (he's NEVER in a stall), give him lots of food, and then the farrier can trim him with little troubles..... I know that this is NOT the way it's supposed to be (and it's another reason why I think Ben might be happier with you), but it is SO HARD to find a farrier who trims drafts and doesn't charge an arm and a leg. Bad excuse, I know, but I'm trying my best to make everything work..........
Anyway, now to Lea - Lea arrived here in January 2007 from a PMU farm, I was told she was 12-14 years old then, but I have no idea if that's true or not. Ben and her have been inseparable since the day she arrived. They are each others' shadows. When Lea arrived here, she was very skinny, dirty, with overgrown hooves. She would not get off the trailer, and she was shaking badly, even for about 24 hours after she arrived. With time I found out that she most likely suffers from claustrophobia, if there is such a thing in horses...... Or it could simply be the stress of separation from other horses, I'm not sure anymore. When I put her in a stall by herself, she panics and breaks out in a sweat within minutes. When I put Ben in the stall with her, she's still nervous, but not nearly as bad.
Lea is halter-trained and leads, but when she gets nervous or scared, she raises up her head and won't move.... Also, she does NOT stand well for the farrier yet - again, my fault. I haven't made the efforts yet to work with her on a daily basis, plus my farrier's attitude isn't helping. And she is still a bit head-shy at times, still doesn't take treats out of my hands - she comes up to me, sniffs the treat and turns away.... However, Lea is a very calm and friendly horse, she always comes up to me on the pasture, lines up and stands about a foot away from me so I can scratch her belly, and she would stand for that all day if I had the time. She is stiff, probably due to her PMU past and from standing on concrete, not sure if it's Arthritis or something else. And, I think (but I don't know for sure) that maybe a stallion has injured her back in the past. It just doesn't look right and she doesn't move the way she's supposed to. She doesn't show any obvious signs of lameness or pain, she even runs with the herd if she has to, but she prefers to stay on level ground and not go down our hills if she can help it. But if Ben goes, she goes too of course, at least most of the times. Sometimes she stays on top of the driveway, waiting for him to come back...... I haven't adopted her out yet for several reasons. One is that she's so attached to Ben. Then, since she's not really sound, I don't think she should ever be ridden or driven. And lastly, she is so beautiful that I'm afraid people would try to breed her, even though the adoption agreement clearly doesn't allow it, and that would be just horrible.... Well, and who wants to adopt and pay for a pasture ornament with issues ??????
07/11/2008
08/02/2008
07/11/2008
07/11/2008
07/11/2008
07/11/2008
08/02/2008 The horse Ben is towering over is JAY, he's about 15.3 hands
08/02/2008
LEA and BEN 8/1/2008
08-13-2007
08-13-2007
June-2008
2006
2006
08-13-2007
10-15-2006