‘Free on Craigslist’ horse (FOCL): In every state there are horse brokers who troll Craigslist looking for horses. It’s like finding a wallet full of cash on the street. They collect the FOCL horses and dump them right into the slaughter pipeline. These horses are the baseline of unwanted horses….but are these horses worth saving?
Horses advertised “Free on Craiglist” are only really free to killbuyers. The rest of us know scoring a “Free on Craigslist” horse is really, no score at all. The expense of ongoing feed, vet and blacksmith bills quickly equate to a net-loss. Plus we realize there may be a reason the horse is advertised for free and only a slim likelyhood that the previous owner has disclosed that reason.
While some FOCL horses are sweet, fully trained and valuable horses whose only real flaw is a bad/irresponsible owner. There are others advertised as “a nice young prospect” which means they are completely unbroken/unhandled; OR “needs experience rider” which equates to bucking, bolting and rearing; or worse “needs experienced handler” that means you will need a full set of body armor before entering the stall.
I believe that most equine challenges can be solved with either TIME or MONEY. If you are solving your FOCL challenge with time, you will also need experience and courage. If solving with money, you may need a lot of it. It’s important to spend time finding the right trainer who specializes in the type of challenges you face. Your dressage trainer might not be the right fit to work with the feral mustang you just adopted.
I find a natural horseman can fix those horses that appear un-fixable.
So here is some mindful advice on FOCL which can be applied to rescuing horses in general.
1. Ask questions, look for clues as to why the horse is FREE. Ask why the owner posts “Must be gone by the end of the day?” or my favorite “Forced to sell due to owner’s health?” and then explain “ I can meet you at the farm after I finish my workout at the gym.”
2. Consider the hidden costs of a horse? For example, you will first need to go get the horse in your truck and trailer. If you don’t have a truck and trailer, you now have a horse so you might want to consider trading in your Honda for a truck and trailer. Also note that miles-per-gallon pulling a horse trailer can be in the single digits, something to consider if your new FOCL friend is a long distance away.
3. Do you have the experience you need to get the horse home? Sometimes you will find a FOCL horse is free because of behavioral issues. You may learn this lesson quickly when you battle for two hours to get your new horse onto the trailer without the help of the previous owners. The previous owners officially relinquished all responsibility of the horse to you once the transfer papers are signed, which were signed immediately upon your arrival. These previous owners suddenly (and conveniently) have somewhere to be. They peel out of their own driveway waiving their apology and you are left alone with the wide eyed-naive horse that has never been off the farm or been on a horse trailer. But, hopefully you understood this dynamic and have investing in a lounge line, a bucket for grain, long whip, and brought a very experienced, athletic and hardy friend along to fight (and win) the Refuse-to-Load battle. A friend who knows when to push, when to pull, not to get tangled in the rope or kicked; and knows to put the bar up first before the ramp.
4. The voice of reason should not be your voice. The close friend you invited along for the ride, needs also to also act as the voice of reason. I see many rescuers inviting close friends for the ride instead of husbands (or significant-others). While it may have been smart not to bring your ‘horse husband’ along because he might not understand the complexities and mind games required to convince a 1,000 pounds to horse load onto a horse trailer that your new horse perceives to be the black hole of death….It’s not too smart if you didn’t invite him/her because you hope he will never know about the new FOCL horse. Since this horse is the same color (Bay) as your other horses, you just hope he won’t notice. A let’s face it, same-color-horses is a common strategy for hiding horses from unsuspecting husband….They are on to us, so you will get caught.
5. Saddling up and Staying on. Now that you are home, do you have the riding experience to survive what you brought home? The real work for a FOCL horse is the training that ensues. If your new horse is attractive, young and sound, mount with caution. In my experience(s), there is a direct correlation between rid-ability and these independent variables. If your new horse is all three, approach the horse as if he is completely unhandled/unbroken regardless of what the previous owners have described.
Trust no one, Your life may depend on it! Even good people lie to rid themselves of bad horses.
Enter the stall with a watchful eye, and mount with extreme caution, preferably wearing
full equestrian body armor (helmet, chaps, inflatable vest). Don’t place your feet in the stirrups and be ready to abort-mission with the slightest indication of trouble. Assume the worst. With horses, they are guilty until proven innocent. Mount up like you are going into the battle with the monster below you. Don’t be afraid to grab mane, pray and swear profusely. Best to remove young children from earshot before mounting. It’s amazing what can spew from your mouth in the heat of the battle.
6. Do you have the Ego and Experience? It’s easy to sit and look pretty on a well-trained mount just like it is easy to look awkward and loose-in-the-tack on an untrained one. Riding an unpredictable work-in-process horse can destroy your ego and your confidence in one afternoon. It’s not for those that lack experience. Horses are innately dangerous. SO Trust your instincts. If you feel scared, chances are you should be scared, and if you don’t have the experience to craft safe solutions to work with young horses, then you should probably find an expert who does. However, if you thrive on this type of a challenge, then a rescue or FOCL horse is your best option.
It’s one thing to win ribbons on a professionally trained horse, it’s another win on a rescue. The best feeling EVER is when your untrained and unruly horse transforms to a well trained horse because of your commitment and hard work.
7. Commitment, hard work, and time. Many horses are unwanted because someone was incapable of training, or failed to train them properly. Equestrians realize that anytime you handle a horse you are teaching them both good and bad behaviors.
I enjoy working with young horses. Often they teach me more than I teach them. For example, my new project is Dragon (as in fire-breathing). I took him for a quick ride alone in the wood. I immediately learned that Dragon does not like to go out alone. His solution to the problem was to get rid of me and go home. He learned that I am not easy to get rid of. Then, we came to a stream. He had already learned that I am not easy to get rid of so he tried a backwards strategy. I learned that some horses can go as fast backwards as they can go forwards. Next, I learned Dragon prefers me to get my feet wet first leading him over and that he can jump 5 feet high from a standstill – oh and I learned to get the hell out of his way or get landed on. I was out for a bareback ride, so I also learned it is nearly impossible to jump from a small rock onto a horse’s back when they insist on facing you. AND Dragon learned that mom does not take NO for an answer.
While, most would have been horrified by Dragon’s behavior on the short ride through the woods. I considered this a perfect ride: I didn’t fall off. Dragon didn’t get loose. No bodily harm. SO my feet got wet, and, yes it was scary to see a 1000 pound horse leaping in my direction over the stream.
But I am a rescuer and am fueled by the process of transforming a horse from unwanted to wanted….
Like this post? Read a more fun equine and animal adventures by Janine Jacques. All proceeds go toward the Equine Rescue Network.
My beliefs very much in common with yours. Add if you are scared of the horse he will know it.
Assurez-vous de suivreglamourmag sur Instagram pour plus magnifiques moments de la piste. Pour garder le focus sur la acheter zara, elle accessoirisé avec une paire de plates-formes de lanières de brevet Nude et une minaudière carrée chatoyant. Bien sûr, c’est la semaine de la mode et de la ligne avant de la Diane Von Furstenberg spectacle, alors l’icône de style glamour eu un peu de plaisir avec des accessoires de mélange impressions avec sa minaudière, mais coller à ses neutres. Il est particulièrement un manteau zara homme problème lors de l’achat de santal, parce que mon orteils courbe, et mon gros orteil tombe souvent juste à côté de l’avant de pantalon zara femme 2016. Il a dit son attention ce jour-là lui a donné une indication de la façon dont elle est belle et comment professionnel.crew présentation demain werent assez excitant, nous venons d’apprendre il inclura un nouveau collab cool zara manteaux femme avec designer britannique Sophia Webster.
Découvrez cette vidéo incroyable, dans lequel Dion dit ne montre qu’une minuscule fraction de son espace de rangement: à l’intérieur de la zone principale placard maintenant, il y a un nettoyeur à sec gagnes vous le savez, un de ces énormes bandes transporteuses rotatives pour tous de Dions vêtements étonnants, plus une installation de stockage électronique pour ses 3. Excité de montrer votre défilement latéral sportif à travers les pièces ci-dessous et zara femme chaussure discount de commencer à magasiner dès maintenant. Puis elle a durci le look avec un bercé sur chaque X autres robe rayée zara moto de cross et topshop lug seuls sandales. Une fois de plus, le weve a obtenu votre billet de premier rang pour l’un des spectacles les plus courus à la nouvelle semaine de la mode de York: zara . Je pensais que cela est un parallèle fou, le train étant terminé dans les années 1800, exactement quand levis a été fondée, Peltier m’a dit. Donc, il est avec une bouffée d’air frais que je vous présente quelques dames inspirants repérés au cours NYFW air cool et poli et oserais-je dire à l’aise dans des zara femme lyon que vous pouvez copier dans un flash.
Tout en étudiant les zara veste homme photos de son voyage de la, Nous avons remarqué sa arborant une sorte de bracelet d’amitié tissé sur son poignet droit. Qu’est-ce qu’un hackathon pirater un thon: : un événement, qui dure généralement plusieurs jours, dans laquelle un grand nombre de gens se rencontrent pour participer à la programmation informatique collaborative. Maintenant, il y a beaucoup de choses avec Olivias sac a frange noir zara, mais il vient tous robe de soirée courte zara comme le puzzle le plus chic jamais le mélange de motif de son tibi cami supérieure, imprimé animal boutique zara lyon, minaudière bloqué, et tissés sandales Sergio rossi elle m’a dit une fois à propos, plus le nubby sentir de son blouson blanc contrastant son oeillet tibi midiskirt. Sa tenue: J’aime éléments sportifs, comme les bords bruts sur le devant de ce top recadrée.one urbaine vous voyez certainement ce thème manifester it’self est en karens nouvelle collaboration de zara manteaux avec l’Australie sur la base Benah de ligne d’accessoires. Jetons un coup d’œil: les enfants cool à des créatures du vent envoyés ces fainéants zip détaillées et rouge à lèvres rouge pointues sur la piste.
http://www.zara-en-ligne.com/