An Impromptu Meeting....

MEETING ODIE!

Today I had an impromptu meeting with “Odie”. This fellow is a 10 year old off the track Thoroughbred. Once his race career ended he went on to other things. He is registered and has a lip tattoo. Sadly his life got a bit tough at one point until he was taken in by a friend. He is a pretty sorrel gelding who stands about 16.2hh. Our friend boarded him locally for a time but he seems to not have been really cared for as he lost a bit of weight. The facility for sure failed in their obligation to the owner and the horse! Our friend now has him at home a big pasture with lots of free feeding.

The “plan” for Odie is still up in the air. He may be re-homed once his weight and good tune up happens or not. No worries or rush to make a decision which is good. It allows the family to take their time and see how “life” develops.

As we headed out to the pasture to say hello is human says “he does not like men all that much.” Hmmn. Now it is a personal challenge! So without anything in hand we move out to the pasture. I catch his eye and let him know I am there with calm, quiet energy. I took some easy paced steps up to him and do the “Horseman’s Handshake” (let him sniff my hand, step away, repeat). Once he seems cool with me being there (it happened very quickly) I rubbing his shoulder and neck. Petting and rubbing happened as the search for “oh no” spots occurred. No red flags. WIN! He picked up all four feet without issue. WIN! Then we got a rope halter on him. Again, no fuss at all. Very cool. We then did some leading around the pasture. He seemed very soft and willing. We moved forward, we stopped and we did a little backing up. Rusty but pretty good! We attempted some basic ground work – circles, hind quarter yields, backing to steady pressure (no clue about rhythmic pressure yet) and a few other things. Some were okay. Some were unknown, Some were pretty darned good!

I don’t think Odie has a problem with “men” at all. I think it is what the male person brings to the pasture. We got along great!

Hope to be able to have weekly sessions with this big guy and see what coolness we can unearth! He is a good looking fellow and with some additional weight gain he is going to be quite striking! As we progress forward Odie will be a special equine partner!