Hi all! It’s been an exciting summer for sure. My horse family grew by one. I am the official owner of little Flame! You all remember, that cute little pony that I had the privilege of working with back in March for the clinic – well, this cute little cutlet is all mine!
Flame was adopted from a rescue by a former boarder of the barn. When she realized that she didn’t have the time to devote to Flame’s training, she asked me if I wanted him. So the process began of transferring ownership from her to me. Because he was adopted from a rescue, I had to apply to be his new owner, complete with application, personal references as well as vet and farrier checks – to make sure that I am a responsible horse owner. Of course, I passed with flying colors, but the process took several weeks before I finally got the call and the contract that made it all official.
During the adoption process, Flame had a flare up of Lyme disease. His behavior became erratic and he was more jumpy and scared then ever. A blood test was done and sure enough, his Lyme numbers were very high. Medication was started – a 30 day course of an antibiotic call Doxycycline. About 4 days into the treatment, his behavior became worse. This was his second time on the Doxy, and the dramatic exacerbation of his symptoms proved that he was having an adverse reaction to the antibiotic. This antibiotic is one of 3 main ones that is used to treat Lyme. During the month of Doxy, I officially became his owner and he completed the antibiotic and once it was complete his behavior returned to somewhat normal, but he was still jumpy and spooky – the Lyme seemed to be very much still active.
I reached out to my vet and after a 1 month antibiotic break she prescribed Minocycline, a much stronger antibiotic that is more effective for chronic Lyme – double the cost of the Doxy – but there wasn’t another option since he didn’t tolerate the Doxy well. He would be on this antibiotic for 1 month. After about 5 days on the new antibiotic, his symptoms started to greatly improve. When he hit the start of the 3rd week, his symptoms again became exacerbated – but not to the degree when he was on the Doxy, which was a relief. He finished the antibiotic and so far, 1 month later, he doesn’t appear to be exhibiting any Lyme symptoms.🤞🏻
The Lyme flare up lasted the entire summer. During this time, between his symptoms and adverse reaction to the Doxy, he became very challenging to handle. Turning out and bringing him in from his paddock he shares with Alfie became dangerous for all who tried to handle him, including me. His “go to” move when he’s scared – which is all the time when he’s having a flare up, is to bolt. I know, you look at that cute little pony and think, nah, come on, he can’t be that strong…wrong…he’s 500 pounds of muscle – and when he wants to run, you either let go of the lead rope or risk getting dragged. So I made the decision – until his symptoms got better, and until he was in a better frame of mind to trust the wonderful people who were handling him, for everyone’s safety, including his, he and Alfie would have turnout in our large SAFE indoor arena which is attached to the barn.
The indoor arena is large, complete with poles and small jumps that both horses have enjoyed playing with. The arena has great footing for Alfie and is large enough for Flame to run around in and get the zoomies out. It has also become his safe space.
During this time, there were staffing changes at the barn – something that horses that have suffered traumatic pasts don’t do well with – change. His primary handlers during the week are two amazing young adults – Kami & Brian. Both of them have ZERO horse experience. Yep, you read that correctly. ZERO. But what sets them apart from even the most experienced horse person – their desire to learn. They have spent countless hours with Flame, just getting to know him, and letting him get to know them – on his terms.
I was able to get the trainer who came to the barn for the clinic to come back to help give us some guidance on how to build trust with the little guy. Up until that point, I had been the only person who was able to safely handle him – which was very overwhelming knowing that it all fell on my shoulders. The session lasted 2 hours and not only were the barn employees participating but so were some of the other boarders. Seeing so many people who genuinely care for Flame has made me cry happy tears on more than one occasion.
Even though Flame has now been a resident of the barn for just about 1 year, i’m not counting that time at all. It has been 3 months since I became his owner and I went back to the beginning with him. The beginning of everything. I’ve reintroduced him to grooming. Reintroduced him to hand walking. Reintroduced him to the wash stall. The indoor arena is a safe space for him, where he has learned to build trust with Kami & Brian. Trust that will hopefully transfer over when it’s time to go back to the outside paddock, when he and his handlers are ready to give it a try.
The above picture – Flame is loosely tied to his stall – he can choose to move away at any point if he doesn’t want to be groomed anymore. What you see is him enjoying being groomed. Every horse has that one area that they love getting brushed. I have brushed Flame at the base of his whither area – base of his neck – many times before but he has never allowed himself to show enjoyment like this before. For this moment, he felt safe and comfortable enough to actually enjoy and relax during this very quiet time together.❤️
Shortly after this Flame started to get a little antsy, he was telling me he had enough, so I listened to him, quickly finished brushing the loose hair off of him and unclipped him. He was now totally free and able to walk around his stall. Before I left his stall, I stood against the wall just talking to him. He then freely chose to come to me and allowed me to gently pet his nose and face. I also bent down and was giving him kisses on his nose which he mimicked and gave me kisses on my face back. This moment which may seem small to some, was HUGE for him. For those 20 or so minutes spent with him, he lowered his guard, his wall of protection came down. Progress is being made.
Horses are like potato chips, you can’t have just 1. I thought my horse family was complete with 2, Alfie and Copper. Then this little pony came into my life and all I saw when I looked at him was a smaller version of Alfie. He had the same scared looks that Alfie had for many years. He had the same jumpiness and distrust and confusion. I think that’s why Flame bonded with me so soon after he came to the barn, he knew I understood him. He knew I had patience and love to help him. Horses sense those qualities in people. Flame is surrounded by people who love him and are learning to speak his language and who are listening to him.
When I bought Alfie and Copper, my promise to them was simple – I will love you always, I will provide anything and everything you need, I will listen to you and I will be your advocate. I have spoken those words many times to Flame. And I think he is starting to believe that.❤️🐴
Confessions of an Equestrianoholic 