Shanti – a story of recovery

Early in 2006, an SMR member contacted me. They had seen a mare listed on DreamHorse that was not far from me. Since these folks lived several states away, they asked if I would mind going to look at her and taking a few photos. She was listed as SMR registerable. She happened to be in Oakridge just five minutes from my friends at Tired Dog Ranch.

I will take any excuse to go see a new horse, especially if I happen to know three of it’s grand parents. I emailed and we set up a time to meet. Amy Jo and I drove up the hill past open fields to a car lot with vehicles in various states of repair, a house and a trailer office for the lot. I wondered if we were in the right place. A teenage girl came out and took us to the back of the lot, behind some chain link fencing, where 3 horses lived in a paddock of probably less than a half acre. The ground was bare; the fencing two loopy strands of barbed wire on T-posts and the gate baling twine.

The horse we had come to look at was tiny, rough coated, covered in scars, thin and sad looking. Yes, she was dun. She was registered, but her papers had never been transferred, despite having already changed owners twice since being sold by the breeder as a bright weanling.

I took my photos, gave her a few pets, asked questions and left. The photos were sent to the people who had asked about her. A week passed. They apparently had no interest in paying the asking price of $1,000 and shipping her several states away.

I couldn’t leave her there. I really didn’t need another horse. I had Lily and Paisano already and I boarded, so every extra body was extra expense. Oh, and I was healing from a broken wrist… Still, she haunted me, so I went back a week later. Could you leave this face?

What a sweetie

Yes, that is a yearling halter on a 5 year old.

When I walked away, she followed me….

Looking for more scratches

I arranged a price (not what they were asking), borrowed a trailer and picked her up a few days later. She got a new halter before she was loaded up and with a little coaxing of alfalfa, we were on our way. We didn’t need the offer of assistance (letting the dog chase her in!).

After I got her to my boarding barn, I wondered what I had gotten into… She was frantic in a stall, circling, hardly taking a bite of hay in between. The next day, she looked even worse, all tucked up in the flanks. I wasn’t sure how much she was drinking, so she got wet mashes of beet pulp and alfalfa pellets to entice her to eat and drink. I wondered if she would return to some level of sanity. I had a few fleeting thoughts that I might have to put her down, if she could not come out of her mental panic.

From what I could glean, she had been sold on by her first owner as a yearling to the girl I had bought her from. I think that the girl might have gotten hurt or was just overfaced. She has a pretty good dent in her neck. I wouldn’t be surprised if a family member had gone out and beaten her up over something. None of the family were horsepeople. Shanti had learned to respond to any pressure by rearing, swinging her head away to tear the lead from your hands and then bolting. She tried to bite when pushed and was quite defensive and fearful.

Her registered name was Warrior’s Shadow Lady. She had been called Shadow. That’s the name of my dog, so I needed to call her something else. I settled on Shanti. It means ‘Peace’ and I figured that she needed a bit of that.

The first few days, she got turn out in the attached arena. We weren’t ready to put her out with the mares just yet, but she did get to meet them over the fence.

Meeting Lily and the mares over the fence.

After a couple of days, she start to settle and I scheduled the vet to come out and check her over. That very day, she developed colic symptoms. Her timing was good, I have to say that! She ended up getting tubed (complete with a decent nosebleed). It turned out that she had a tapeworm infestation. To date, this has been my most expensive, unexpected vet bill. I guess I’ve been lucky to have healthy horses! (knock on wood!)

We had some initial ‘discussions’ at the end of a long lead or lunge line convincing her that her previous behaviors would absolutely NOT be allowed. She, in turn, learned that nothing bad would happen to her, either way. And that if she complied, things were pretty darn nice. She absolutely LOVES belly scratches, I found that out the first time that I met her…

Yeah, that's a good spot...

So, we went along, getting to know eachother. She gained weight and started to look more like a healthy five year old. She turned out to be a very alert, sensitive horse. That’s likely what got her into the previous situation. She was too much for a beginner to deal with, a bit reactive and strong willed. But she was also sweet and inquisitive, and smart.

Out with Lily 5 days after coming home

She had lovely movement

And she was very well bred. She was a grand daughter of Paha Sungilasa, and also had Jack Slade, Narragansett, Chato, Esperanza and Midnight Special in her pedigree. She was definitey a gem that just needed some polishing.

To be continued….

Oh, and I consider this to be a recovery, rather than a rescue. I was able to not just save her body, but her identity too.