Angel (CBER Sunrise)

[calypso]

Hi,

**I'm starting this thread here, but will move it to Our horses in a couple days**

Some of you may remember Angel (CBER Sunrise) from last summer. She came to California to live, but after 8 months it was clear that it wasn't the best match. He cared enough about her to want her to have the right home, so she came to me last Monday.

She's up at the ranch where Kaleigh and Lexie are for a little pasture & herd time. And, she will have a month's training and evaluation so we can find out what she knows, and what she likes to do.

Here's some current pictures of her, taken today. Tonight is her first night out on pasture. She's on a small pasture with a nice gelding. Jeanne is easing her into the herd (for MY sake LOL!).

This morning after being groomed.



Looking for JUST the right spot........



To take a roll! (WHY can't they stay clean for 5 minutes!?!?)



"Okay, that's better"



Taking a little exercise



"Okay, open the gate. I'm ready to go back to my stall for a snack."

[atticus]

WOW! She is gorgeous!

[swissgrl]

what a good looking girl.

[toeps]

very pretty!

[NanciK]

This mare looks like the PERFECT hunter for some young girl to love, and move up the ranks in the H/J show world.

caly - remind us about her...how old, is she trained, sound, etc. ?

[calypso]

Wish I knew! She's been estimate at 11-15 years. She's obviously been ridden. She has great brakes, and neck reins, but other than that, don't know yet. Due to circumstances beyond his control, Greg wasn't really able to to work her much. That's why he gave her to me.

I moved her up to Jeanne's specifically for training/assessment. (And to give her time on the pasture in a herd) We let her settle in for the past week before we started putting her through her paces.

I orginally thought she was some kid's H/J, but we put up a small jump and she had NO IDEA what to do with it! It took her a couple tries and then "Oh, JUMP over it!" but her legs were everywhere. There was no muscle memory for that at all! OTOH, she used to jump over a downed tree in her turnout at Greg's just for fun.

She has a nasty scar with a significant amount of proudflesh on her left rear leg from the hock on down. It's probably what put her at the lot. She has a bit of a funky walk and I was concerned she had a stifle issue. It clears completely at the trot. (weird, huh?). I had the vet come out and look at it yesterday and he said no, he thinks it's a bit of adhesion related to the healed gash. He said it's a mechanical problem, not a pain problem (GOOD!) and she should be completely sound for pleasure riding. He also advised against getting in there and messing around with it - would just open a Pandora's box.

We'll have to see how she does as she gets worked and into condition. He said he wouldn't expect it to get any worse, nor would he expect it to get any better, although work *could* break down whatever adhesions are there a bit. So, we'll see how she does with work.

I agree - she is gorgeous and has quite a "presence". She's also a sweet, sweet horse. I thought we might change her name since we have another "Angel" in our midst (the mare pnp4kidz is taking) but the VET said "NO, that name fits her perfectly". So, we have two Angel's. :-)

By the way Angel moves, Jeanne suspects she might be western trained. Hence my joke about a "barrel racing TB!" Doesn't mean she can't learn something new though.... she seemed to like the little jump after she figured out what to do.

mta: my little joke about barrel racing must have been made in a pm or email about her cause it isn't in my first post.

[NanciK]

Thanks for the background. I noticed her mane is on the left, which means she probably was not used in the Hunter world, where they have very strict guidelines about conformation and physical appearance, and the mane must be trained to the right side of the neck.

[djrepp]

She is lovely! She looks to be getting excellent care.

[emjay]

VERY PRETTY

[watermarkfarm]

She's adorable, and nicely put together.

Those big, old scars can loosen up with time and work. A friend has a mare with a terrible old shoulder injury. They keep her sound with a monthly bodywork session.

Katie

[piopico]

She's looking good Caly- she did fatten up at Greg's.

[mickeyfan3]

She is simply stunning!

[Admin]

Massage the scar area as much as you can to break down the adhesion/scar tissue.

She looks great. Get her back to work and build a top line and hip......wowie hottie!

[calypso]

Angel survived her first night on pasture. Oops, I guess I mean *I* survived her first night on pasture.

She's out on a smaller pasture, with less grass (ours is pretty rich right now) with a nice older chestnut gelding and a nice bay mare (who looks a lot like her!). She and the gelding have already bonded. Yesterday I went to get her and bring her up to the barn (microchipping everyone) and she was quite nervous. She probably thought she was going to get moved AGAIN! As we went to leave the pasture she leaned over and nuzzled the gelding's side. It was so sweet - and sad - like she was saying "thanks and goodbye."

When we returned, as we approached the gate, the gelding nickered to her. So I guess he's smitten too. ;D

I'm really happy she's made friends - that is the first thing I want for her. Topline and training - it'll come. This is most important for now.

Question - does massaging/manipulating the proudflesh help even after it's at least a year old? Or am I going to just irritate it and make it worse?

[calypso]

Angel is settling in beautifully. She loves her new pasture buddy. She's relaxing and doing well.

So, today we decided to see how she'd do with someone on her back. Brave Leigh volunteered to take her for a test drive. And, guess what? I have two GREEN horses!! LOL!! I was so sure she was some kids show horse. Nope. Nevertheless, her sweet demeanor carried through. She was nervous, but didn't offer to buck or do anything naughty. And, as she relaxed she really seemed to enjoy herself. She's obviously been started. Knows voice commands. Excellent brakes and steering. She has a nice trot. But a little unsure of how to balance herself with someone on her back. But, she's gonna be fine. Here are some pics:

A little ground work to get started.



Ready, set,....



UP, and away



Check out the tongue!! I couldn't tell if she was REALLY concentrating...or just didn't know where to put her tongue with that bit in her mouth. LOL!!



Getting the hang of it





Oh, this is FUN!!



Everyone was pleased with the first outing! And, she was happy to rejoin her buddy (and her hay!!)

[toeps]

WOOHOO! Go Angel! You are stunning!

[piopico]

Well she hasn't been ridden in how many months...........has no 'riding' muscles..........if she has 'brakes', and was responsive to the reins and voice..........she may surprise you with time!!

[calypso]

I agree piopico. I think she might be western trained which would explain the indifference/bewilderment at leg cues. This was the first opinion, but Jeanne (and the rest of us) want to hold off on a complete assessment until she's been ridden a bit more.

At any rate, she's very sweet and, even when nervous, tries to please. She's highly distractable, but she's had a lot of changes in her life that we know about - and who knows about the 10 years before! As she feels more secure she'll settle down and she's going to be fine.

[calypso]

Angel is settling in and doing well. She's currently on a smaller pasture with a sweet, old, retired chestnut (I don't know what kind of horse) gelding. They seem to like each other quite well. When I am elsewhere on the ranch and look over they are always standing near each other. She is willing to be taken from the pasture without any complaint, but she's always happy to come back to him.

Here they are yesterday:




And her, wondering why I'm interrupting her dinner.

[nalasmom]

O she looks great. How is her U/S going?

[calypso]

LOL!! When I saw U/S I immediately thought "ultrasound" and wondered where you got the idea we were doing an ultrasound on her. (I spend waayyyy too much time a the vet!!)

Then...U/S ...under saddle??

If so, no new news. She hasn't been ridden since the "test drive". Her front feet are pretty flat and tender, so I'm gonna chat with the farrier when he's out next week. Meanwhile, she's in a (soft) pasture with a nice steep hill so she can get some excercise and I bring her out for walks.

Right now my focus is on letting her settle in and makes some (horse) friends. The pasture on one side has two nice, pregnant mares in there. During the day another mare is turned out with Angel and the gelding. They all seem nice to her. (The two pg mares are unimpressed with her gelding buddy, so he's quite happy to have Angel as his companion). Adjacent to these two pastures is the mare/baby pasture where K and company live. (So far K and Angel have ignored each other. Mares.)

[rocky]

Oh she is lovely!!

[calypso]

Angel is looking good and is enjoying hanging out with her "boyfriend". I learned he's a sweet older guy who is on retirement. His owner has lived in England for the past 6 years, so I make a point of making a fuss over him when I'm fussing with Angel.

You can see they're bonded in this series of pics (taken June 10th)

[calypso]

Out for a stroll. She was pretty wound yesterday so I took her into the arena and we tried some ground work - she was not impressed. Neither was I. We'll be taking a turn in the roundpen this week.

I think I need to start from the beginning with her. She's looking good though, and happy with her "boyfriend" and new home, nickers when I come to her, easy to catch. Just not very respectful. She doesn't show disrespect the was Kaleigh used to (with her feet) . Angel just is highly distractable. I think it's more an issue of trusting me to be a good leader. No wonder, given how much she's been bounced around. She's basically a sweet horse who wants a place and a job, so she'll be fine.

[ptowne]

Is she off the track? My OTTB mare has been off the track for years, she's 20, but she's still quite disrespectful. She thinks that if she runs into you it's your fault for not getting out of her way. We need to work on that. It seems to be a common trait in the trackies.
Angel is just lovely. Have fun with her.
Pam

[calypso]

No, Angel is not off the track. But you just described Kaleigh - who came with a whole package of track manners and attitude. She's been re-educated LOL! Thankfully she's a sweet mare at heart.

Angel is just nervous and unsettled. It's a matter of trust rather than defiance.


She's a great mare, thank you!

[calypso]

My cousin came up to the ranch today and we spent several hours playing with all my kids. We brought Angel out and groomed her and fussed with her then took her for a little walk and so on. When it was time to go back to her "boyfriend" she always gets a little, uh, "impatient". So, my cousin circled her around a bunch of times and then - much to my amusement - made her walk backwards much of the way back! LOL! Angel was looking like WTF? But she was getting a lesson in manners.

My cousin got an Off-track quarter horse when she was 19 and they taught each other a lot. Nothing my kids pull fazes her at all. It's a lot of fun to watch her work with them.





Walking backwards back to her pasture




Some of the moms & babies looking on - (Kaleigh and Diva are in the middle). I can only imagine what they were thinking!






Safe back with her herd. "You wouldn't believe what that woman had me doing! She doesn't know how to walk forwards! Some of those two-legged horses are really strange. But....... even the strange ones have carrots."

[pnp4kidz]

LOL! They all look GREAT!
and I love that last picture, there is a horse in the middle with NO HEAD!!!
wow!!!

and, they all look GREAT! Did I say that yet???
nice job. Who is riding Angel now??? ? Isn't it time??? :-)

[jtjedi]

Steve Rother says that the best lesson a horse can learn is how to walk backwards, with gusto! She was doing the right thing. You will have it made when Angel can trot backwards.

[piopico]

THey're looking great.