|
|
|
||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Playing With Fire
Red Line O Fire
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
By Rosie Jones
Nestled near the rugged, yet serene Rocky Mountains in Colorado, at a beautiful ranch, in a luxurious barn, in a handsome stall, the lost and lonely soul of a terrified arab was hiding. On the front of the door his name was written on a shining plaque in green and gold: BHR Red LineOFire.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Red on the day of his arrival at The Epona Project
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Not much is known of Red Line O Fire's life during the six years or so after he was sold to a private buyer by Van Nostern Arabians. He was returned to the prestigious barn after being rescued by a boarder at the stables there. He had a deep scar across his hindquarter that spoke to a history of struggle. The woman who had rescued him hired a private trainer to try and gentle him. The statuesque arab, however, would become terrorized by the misuse of the pole gentling method. The trainer was soon fired and Red's rescuer soon doubted whether Red could be helped at all. Within a short period of time Red would turn his increasing anxiety into kicks and strikes at vets who came to vaccinate him. The Van Nosterns were busy readying for the spring arab shows and could not take Red into the intensive kind of training he needed. Without knowing where else to turn, his rescuer contacted The Epona Project. His fate then fell into the hands of trainer Rosie Jones. -KG
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Red's name tag on his stall
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
As I peered through the bars of his door and into the shadowy darkness of his stall, the first thing I saw were two huge, white rimmed eyes, hollow, cold and full of fear. Red’s trainers and handlers were kind and gentle, his breeding was exceptional, and he was healthy and clever, but he was so absorbed with desperate fear that he was not only useless, he was extremely dangerous.
It is unclear exactly where his worries had come from, but for the last few years various trainers and owners had attempted to solve Red’s issues and none had succeeded. Red would stand petrified snorting, his muscles solid and tense, desperate to run but afraid to move, and when he had thought there was no option but to fight to survive, that he had done, too.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
A very wary Red LineOFire in his stall, ears attuned and eyes wide and aware
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Red came home with us that day, and became one of my projects for the next three months while I worked and trained at The Epona Project. I wanted to prove to Red that being close to people was OK, was safe, and even enjoyable, but I needed a way to convince him to give me a chance to show him this. I needed him to choose to be near people and see that it doesn’t hurt.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Rosie greets the very gracious Lee Van Nostern, owner of Van Nostern Arabians
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Lee patiently waits for Red to calm himself, look over the trailer and step on
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Pam Van Nostern stands by to help load Red
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Lee Van Nostern leads Red out of her barn and to a new future
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Red arrives at The Epona Project on a warm summer day. He meets the other horses over the fence and is left to rest and adjust for several hours. He is put in a pen by himself so he can settle without challenge by the alpha horses. He is soon greeted again by Rosie. -KG
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Red arrives at The Epona Project
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Red greets the herd
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
I think that sometimes tempting terrified horses closer than they want to be can induce defensive and aggressive behavior from them, but I desperately wanted something positive to quickly happen to Red when I was near. My gut feeling was to give it a go. I didn’t feel that a *join up was the right way to go just yet, so I decided to use food as an incentive.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| page created with Easy Designer |