Fiona

This is from a note I posted on my Facebook page back in Dec, 2009. It tells the beginning of this journey, which has taken many twists and turns since then.

"Anyone who has been friends with me on Facebook for a while knows I talk about my horse Fiona all the time. I am sure for some, particularly those who are not animal lovers, I sound a little crazy (i.e. Getting excited about her progress in training and posting status for every little new "good" behavior she exhibits).


Let me explain her background and then perhaps my nuttiness will make more sense. Fiona was brought to Wildhorse Rescue Ranch almost 2 years ago now. The ranch got a call that Fiona was left on a property in Scottsdale, AZ. The caller was the renter of the property. As it turns out, Fiona had been left in the stall she was born in for 2 years.

Now, for folks that are not familiar with horses, it's important to note that horses NEED companionship. They are not meant to live alone. Though she had been fed enough to stay alive, leaving her in that stall was still VERY cruel.

The ranch had to sedate her, get her in a trailer and it took 3 days to do it. She was so frightened of people that she tried to CLIMB OUT OF HER STALL, when they even came near her. They got her to the ranch and worked with her to the point that she would go in a stall and eat. She was released with her own herd by the time I started volunteering in Feb 2009. The ranch had already done wonders with Fiona.

Over the last 10 months volunteering I have grown very fond of this horse. There are many horses at the ranch, but each horse connects to each volunteer differently. Fiona struck me for many reasons; She is small, only 14 hands. She's a Polish Arabian who is brimming with attitude. This horse KNOWS she is an Arabian. She even runs with the tail up and like she is floating on air, it's amazing to watch. What really hit my heart though, was the fact that she was so uncomfortable in her own skin.

She would go into a stall, eat her dinner, and then pace, and pace, and pace. She never stopped moving. It was so sad. I have seen a plastic bag blow into her stall and then watched her jump in fear.

I never really intended to adopt this horse, even though I wanted to with all my heart. I promised myself that I wouldn't do it until I could provide her with a great life. With encouragement from Kim, the ranch founder and Meta, my amazing wife, I adopted her in October and I have never looked back.

After just one month of training, she had already stopped pacing in her stall whe she is done eating. She also doesn't have as many cuts from being nipped at by other horses in her herd or from running into gates, fences and just about anything that's in her way when she gets scared.

She is also just starting to let us pick up her hooves, which is critical, because right now we have to put her under to clean and trim them. This sedation is not very good for her, though not directly harmful, it's comes with risks.

All I really want for this horse is for her to be a happy, safe horse. If I get far enough to ride her one day, I think my head might explode I will be so pleased!

I will continue to post pictures, and post goofy comments, which hopefully will make more sense now. "

There's much more to tell. I have ridden her and luckily my head did not explode. It did however fall off and hit a fence with my ribs. I have also been hit in the face with her head hard enough to give me a black eye....as I said much more to tell.