It was a typical day, logged into my favorite social networking site and perused the site. You really never know what you are going to find so I wasn’t quite shocked to see a post from a local individual trying to place a young, big, unbroken Thoroughbred mare. The post sounded desperate and the individual who posted it was not the owner. That is how Nala came into our rescue. Later the same day, I called and inquired about the situation. Owner was having trouble finding a job and couldn’t continue caring for horse that she owned for 5 years. The horse was 6 and had never been saddle broke. Additionally the horse has a cleft palate. A rare and usually fatal condition that affects less than .1% of horses. You cannot see the cleft palate, however she has a hole in the back of her palate that leaves her vulnerable to getting food down her wind pipe and getting pneumonia. Understandably, most foals do not survive, or are put down, that have this condition. They are unable to drink their mother’s milk well, because when they raise the head to the teat, the milk trickles down into their lungs and they chock or develop fluid in their lungs. I had never seen a horse with this ailment so I did some research and fact is, that there is not that much research about the horses that actually do survive and thrive with the condition, as she apparently had. The whole thing sounded remarkable to me and I was truly curious to see this animal. I made an arrangement to see the horse the very next weekend. One of the first things I was told was that the situation where the horse was simply that it was not a good situation. She was clearly underweight, needed her hoofs trimmed, needed the dentist as well as her immunization shots. Owning a horse brings much responsibility, both in time and money. This girl deserved a second chance. As it turns out, she is the absolute sweetest horse I have ever had the pleasure to deal with. That day I lunged her in the arena and loved her huge big step, although awkward and unsteady. I envisioned this big girl jumping and having a rocking horse canter. Within a few days she was at our place and settled in nicely. After about a week, we set about breaking her to the saddle. She was an absolute gem about the whole ordeal. She arrived in May of 2013 and by July was going out on trail rides and taking in her scenery. We love to tell the story on how the first time she walked over a sloping speed bump, she stopped as if unsure how to walk over it This girl had not seen much in her life but you could trust her under saddle to obey the request of the rider. This is a result of slow and steady training and building of her confidence under saddle. By September she went to her first show and won her first blue ribbon, one of many to follow. One of our regular riders, Madison McPoyle, only 16 at the time, showed her the entire season. Nala and Madison were champion of their division by the end of the show season. She continues to show and has been jumping 2’ 6” courses and really enjoys her new job. This is a remarkable feat, considering that some thought that this big beautiful mare would not amount to anything. In her time with us she has never once had a medical problem from her cleft palate, although the condition has certainly thwarted a few adopters from taking a chance on her. She has shown us all that we should not limit ourselves by what others think. She continues to amaze me with her gentle soul and willing attitude toward everything we put in front of her. This mare is truly a blessing and is still waiting for her forever home.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 22:26:09 +0000
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