Little mare Addie seemed wise beyond her years when she first stepped off the trailer — for such a young horse (we thought she might be 3 at the time), she was already accustomed to picking up her feet and had no problem being blanketed. Despite her age, it is clear that she has already had quite a number of experiences.
If anything, Addie is almost too brave, which can translate to disrespect towards people. She has kicked out at us when we asked her to move off her hay, and will do the same on occasion in the round pen when asked to move forward. Not particularly atypical, but something we are aware of. Instilling horses, especially young ones, with proper boundaries keeps them happier and the humans who interact with them safer.
Addie has made nice progress in our training program. She quickly ticked all the boxes we check before saddling, and her first saddling here was pretty uneventful. She moves out a bit ‘tight’ at first, but has not reacted in an explosive manner the way some horses do when saddled. She does quite a nice job giving to the pressure of the rope, and changing eyes on a person. She is a nice little mover!
Addie is up to date on vet and farrier care. She has had a dental float, been microchipped, and had her teats cleaned. She is up to date on her vaccines. She was also dewormed upon arrival, as she arrived with a positive worm load. She is gentle about being groomed and is mostly good for picking up her feet– she has been trimmed once since arriving at SAFE, with her next trim planned for next week, and a 6 week trim schedule set going forward. She gets daily thrush treatments to help combat the thrush all the Graham horses arrived with.
Addie is in turnout with Bramble, where the two make occasional plays for dominance with one another, especially when food is concerned. She and him, along with neighbors Betty and Eleven, get turnout in the big arena together.