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| Name: |
Valentine
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Age: |
Eight years old
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| Gender: |
Female
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Kind: |
Paint Horse
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| Home: |
Ohio, USA
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In
April, I got in touch with my old horse trainer who was thrilled to
help me find a horse to lease over the summer. I thought nothing of it
until I received a phone call from her a week later. She had explained she
knew someone whose daughter was going to college. They had three horses,
one that they were seeking to have someone work with. It was just three
days later that I stood in the family's barn, saddled their sixteen-hand
mare and prepared to ride. The mare I rode was this striking red Paint who
has no marks on her other then three white socks and a slightly crooked
blaze. Her name? Valentine, or Val for short. She is a purebred, papered,
Paint. Her eyes were so very blue, and seemed to speak to me without
saying a word.
I'd learned she'd had a rough life. They had bought her as a two year old
and sent her to a trainer in Tennessee at the age of three to be trained.
When they brought her home after six months of training her mouth was
literately bleeding from the harsh treatment she had received while with
the trainer and how harsh of a bit was used. She had become very spooky
and uneasy with anything in her mouth or around her head, but soon leveled
out with loving care.
Then one year, she was leased out to a 4H-er who moved her to a stable
near by as part of a written agreement. After not hearing from the lessee
for a period of time, her owner went out to where she was stabled to
discover that Val was extremely emaciated. They left the girl a message
saying they were taking their horse back that moment due to her poor
condition. They never heard another word from the girl. Back in their
hands, Val became stable again, but still has her bad days as anyone with
her rough past.
I have been working with her for the last two months now and we're
learning so much from one another. She'd teaching me to have patience and
faith, and I am teaching her to trust once more and plenty of tricks along
the way. Just this last week she picked up that of bowing with only a week
of work, and I couldn't be more proud! As of right now, we are training
and looking forward to perhaps showing at the end of the season in classes
such as Western Pleasure, and next year we'll be showing in our local 4H
if things go as planned. Long story short, this stubborn little mare will
forever hold a place in my heart no matter what.
View more images of Valentine!
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