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| Name: |
Rudie
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Age: |
Four years old
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| Gender: |
Male
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Kind: |
Standardbred Horse
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| Home: |
Ontario, Canada
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Like
most horse-obsessed little girls, I wanted a horse, But not just any
horse. I had a picture in my mind of the perfect horse for me. It was a
White-and-brown paint horse with a blue eye, and I would be able to ride her
the moment we met. I didn't want anything to do with "boring" bay horses,
especially bay Standardbreds.
Now fast forward to the summer of 2012. I was standing in front of the
paddock at my dad's workplace. (It's not like a typical workplace, it's a
house on a country backroad with make-shift offices in the old bedrooms.) I
was looking at three horses: A tall, Black OTT Standardbred, a beautiful
chestnut mare with a white blaze on her head, and a scrawny, underweight Bay
Standardbred. He pointed to the smallest horse and told me that they had
bought it from the neighbor because he was going to "send him away." This
horse was not the perfect paint, but a scrawny, bay Standardbred who had
never seen a saddle.
Fast forward again to today, and I would never even think about trading him
for the "perfect" horse. We are doing training with him once a week, and he
is moving very fast for a horse his age. He finds joy in pleasing his
handlers, has never spooked and only bucks or rears when he is confused or
frustrated. Like every horse, he has flaws (Among other things, He hates
getting his hooves done and can be pushy when tied up.) But he has helped me
learn to stay optimistic, show initiative and not to be quick to judge. Even
though he is still a skinny bay Standardbred, he is my skinny bay
Standardbred, and I love him!
View more images of Rudie!
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Talk about Rudie in Pet Talk!
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