Gambler

[ljbrooks]

I don't think I ever posted here about Gambler, so I think it's about time! ;D

Gambler is a 30+ CBER horse that I picked up from the lot on March 18, 2006. He is a great horse and a joy to our family. He is my daughter's horse mainly, but has given rides at birthday parties and to many, many beginners who visit us.





First day home



Home a couple of months



My daughter's first love



Feeling good this past summer



He's hard to keep weight on, but is stalwart through it all



Waiting in the pasture for the girls to join him



He's blind in one eye so has to turn his head completely around to see what is going on



"hunter's bump", Can't get enough weight on him to make this go away



My son, Levi, loving on Gambler



Hiding behind the umbrella so he could stay in the yard!



"Guarding" the filly. He would watch her while she slept, even from the other side of the fence.



He loves to stick out his tongue for pictures!





I think the two pics above are my favorites of him. He looks so serene and beautiful.

He is a great horse. Everyone loves this horse. Beginners gain confidence on him and he is always ready to have some fun on the trail. What a blessing this old boy is.

[ljbrooks]

And here's a picture from yesterday.



On Monday all the horses got their shots and check-ups. Gambler and Dodge also got teeth and sheaths done. Gambler has squamous cell carcinoma/cancer on his sheath and has sores that get irritated and ooze sometimes. His sheath gets horribly dirty and crusty all the time. I don't know if that is a symptom of the cancer or just how he is. I am just watching the sores, making sure they don't get bigger or too dirty. If they get much larger, we'll have to have them removed by laser or ...? I don't really want to go there; he has some other things working against him including being darn old! I have some funny pics Faith took of Gambler "getting cleaned". ;D


A sore on one side. There is another, but smaller one, on the other side.


During the cleaning. (Faith was up close and personal! )


You can see he's missing a couple incisors in this one. He doesn't have much tooth left in general, so she didn't get too radical with the float.


During the process.

[quatzie]

Looks like a little girl is very happy with her new horse, look at that happy face.. It is so worth it.. happy horse, happy kids .. and mom too.

[gratefulknits]

This totally brings tears to my eyes; what a wonderful rescue, and what a happy happy story. You've obviously been a dream come true for this horse.

[Tate]

What a lucky boy he is to have found you and your family.

[piopico]

That little saddle is just TOO cute. Your daughter and son are so lucky to have him...and YOU.....to teach them the 'right way' in this world.

[April]

What a regal old man he is, your kids are so lucky to have a nice guy to love on.

My old Appy had a huge sore on his sheath too. It kept getting bigger as he aged. But we didn't catch it early on when we could've prevented it from enlarging.
My Dad tried to work on him and remove it, but it was too big. (My Dad is a Vet .)

We have pictures of him waking up from surgery with his tongue sticking out and looking all drunk. He lasted many good years with us, we just kept special medication on it. He was a good ol boy. Your Gambler reminds me of him .

[ljbrooks]

Man, I love this horse. He is so sweet. I love being able to let my daughter brush, feed, and pet him without worrying about him kicking her in the head or something equally sinister. He's just a good ole boy, and knows that we love him and I think he loves us in return.

[ljbrooks]

Gambler has done his "job" yet again today. My little nephew had a pre-school project to do and wanted to use Gambler. The class has a stuffed cat that each child takes for a week and they record the stuff they do with the cat. The cat has been to the beach, to a spa, etc. and my nephew wanted a picture of him riding a horse. Enter Gambler.

My nephew held Gambler's lead and the cat. Then the cat rode, then they both rode, then the cat was on his head. What a fun afternoon! I left his blanket on as something for Cody (the kid) to hold onto. He does look a little worried in that last picture. ;D

[MustangAppy]

OMG, I am on the floor!!! That is just too much, poor boy, it's just not dignified...

[ljbrooks]

Four little girls, and their younger brothers, came over after school for a play date and Gambler was the main attraction. As you can imagine, I was the horse handler, so didn't take any pics, but the other moms did. I'll try to get some to put here. There were three little boys, aged 3 and under, that were walking all around him, riding him, etc.

I think Gambler knows when little kids are on or around him. We were walking with a child on his back and another kid came running past and Gambler just stopped until the child was safely past, then kept walking. He really likes kids.

It was alot of fun, but he got tired at the end. All the girls had two rides each, plus one each for the boys, so he had 13 times of little ones jumping on and off and walking and trotting with them.

He's a good boy.

[ljbrooks]

These pictures are from a few weeks ago. I had forgotten I'd taken them. This is Faith's first trail ride where we've trailered out to ride. We've ridden from the house, but this was special for her. Of course she rode Gambler. I rode Dodge and ponied Faith and Gambler behind. Everyone did great! Faith got a little nervous since Gambler is pretty tall and we ended up going over some rocks that made him stumble, just a bit. There was never any concern except to her. He wasn't about to fall or anything.

I think they both really enjoyed it and now I have another trail buddy.





And Faith petting him afterward, thanking him for the ride.

[kidznhorses]

What absolutely precious pics! Tell Faith I LOVE her purple saddle!

[swissgrl]

Ohhhh, those are absolutely priceless. He looks like such an awesome boy.

[atticus]

Gambler is such a good boy, he is one of my favorites!!

[wendyp]

Gambler took Faith on another trail ride yesterday with Lisa, Tonisha and I. What a great horse - and Faith is just like her mother - Always wants to go FASTER! Lisa - did your pics turn out?

WendyP/Bend, OR

[agilitygal]

That's one happy girl and horse.

[ljbrooks]

Thanks Wendy, for that plug for my daughter's...mis-placed confidence. ;D After we left you and Tonisha, (I was walking), Faith put her legs back up and wanted me to take her picture again. Let me show you the picture.



Immediately after I took the picture, Gambler shifted his weight and Faith fell right off! She literally ate dirt and had it up her nose and was spitting it out. It was gross, but I admit I couldn't help but laugh. She had her helmet on, so was fine, but her face got a couple of little scratches from the bushes.

Lesson learned.

[hystyle]

LOL....Silly little girl! I think she really enjoyed going with the "girls"!

[ljbrooks]

This poor horse. He suffers more indignities than any of my other horses. From getting his sheath cleaned more than anyone to not having incisors left to graze, the guy gets it rough.

So, last weekend, some friends from Alaska are visiting and the gal is not a fan of horses while hubby wants to go for a ride! So, we all go and she did really well. The last time she rode was in 2nd grade and the horse ran off with her, so she is freaked the whole time, white-knuckling it on the saddle horn. I thought I'd pony her for awhile until she saw that Gambler wasn't going to bolt. Nope. She wanted to be led the whole way. At the end, Gambler was so ready to not follow in my mares booty, he was out in front, blazing the trail, such as it were. I think he was slightly offended that she didn't trust him, but he was also a super good boy and was better than all the other horses combined. Except for Dodge, but his rider thought he was "acting up" because he is so sensitive. He cantered several times when the guy tapped him with his heels accidentally.

I was super proud of the gal though. She never complained, even though it was obvious that she was so frightened. Here are the pics.

At the start. We got Sherry up and that's me and Adam, my hubby, on the ground.


Buff riding Dodge.


Me on my bitchy mare, Pie, and Sherry on Gambler.


Adam is in front on Mahan, then me ponying Gambler.

[ljbrooks]

Ahh...Gambler. These were taken a month or more ago. I have two cameras and I always forget about this one and any pics I may have on it. You can see he's shedding like crazy in these pics and that Faith is covered with it! ;D











I know. I know. I need to control my kid.

[wendyp]

I think Faith has been watching her mommy ride, and that's where she got the idea for these poses..................

WendyP/Bend, OR

[ljbrooks]

We gave Gambler a bath a couple of days ago. Faith almost covered him in glitter afterward, but I don't think you can tell in the pics.

Before:


Getting a bath:


After:

[agilitygal]

What a good guy!

[atticus]

I just love this guy!! He is the sweetest ever!

[Eileen M]

Woooo hoooo Gambler You're one lucky dog ;D

[ljbrooks]

Gambler crossed the Rainbow Bridge on August 1st. He will be sorely missed.