Describe your horse when you first got it.
MS or Emmy as we call her, is a 20 year old Standardbred who was raced until she was 8. My mom and dad were friends with her owners. Emmy was also used as a brood mare. When she came to us she was out in a pasture with other brood mares.
Describe your horse now.
MS loves me and follows me around all the time. She is not that fond about men though. I take her on trail rides a lot, even though she is 20 years old she still has a wild spirit. Sometimes I think she thinks she is 10years old. Emmy really trust me and my mom.
About my rescued horse
Now that Emmy is with us she seems to be happy. She gets a blanket every winter, she's on senior feed and best of all she does not have to do the long hours of training to race any more. Emmy had her last foal in April, he too is at our farm, his name is Tator and he is almost 11 months old. Tator will always be special because he will represent a part of Emmy. She is happy because she gets to keep her foal instead of having to give it away or have it get raced like she did.
How I Did It:
Mom said with Emmy came responsibility, such as cleaning the barn or puting her and our other horses in the pastures, feeding her, brushing, bathing and just loving her. I can always depend on Emmy when times get tuff or frustrating to just listen to me and not expect anything but love in return, well maybee a treat or so. I keep telling mom I don't want to take her on hard trail rides because I am afraid to hurt her. The funny thing is that when Emmy starts to walk away I shout to her to stop and she will stop almost every time, only for me, or I will grab her tail and give it a small pull and say whoa and she will stop too.
Advice
- I learned that horses have feelings to and express it by responding to you. They seem to read your every move, your emotions, thoughts and feelings. I remember the first day Emmy came I was upset because my expectation was that she would come right to me, that was totally untrue. Mom explained to me that you have to gain their trust slowly by loving them, spending time with them and caring for them on your own so that they get to know only you.
