Gigondas

Gigondas is the 5 or 6 year old thoroughbred mare that I rescued from a feedlot up in WA state. She and Beauty were both there. I saw their photos online and KNEW I had to save them!

She took one look at my husband and FELL IN LOVE with him. Hmmmppphhhh! Well, in a way, I'm glad. They get along so well with each other and she trusts him. She puts up with me and has NEVER done anything bad, it's just that she LOVES him (go figure!). We had her in training a year ago, had her saddled 3 times, then the fourth time, when our trainer was ready to ride her, she exploded. She went straight up. Needless to say, her riding was put on hold. Then we moved the horses down here closer to us. Art hasn't done much with her, just lots of petting and letting her run in the arena. He walks in with the halter and if she wants to go, she'll come right up to him. If not, FORGET IT! He can't halter her. She stood perfectly still for our vet when she got her shots this spring. In fact, she was the BEST of the 5!

I'm writing this because today she showed how level headed she can be! Art took her up to the cross ties, tied her, and began to hose her off. Now, she has always enjoyed her bath. But, when the water went from lukewarm to cold, she pulled back on her ties, just like Sunni did a few weeks ago. Only, instead of absolutely PANICKING like he did, she stopped when I yelled, "WHOA!" She completely stopped! She settled down! Like a sensible horse! Hmmmm......and Art proceeded to finish her bath. GOOD GIRL! Nothing like a sensible thoroughbred. Oh, and now we can pretty much scratch her ears and around her eyes (that was NOT possible a year ago!). In fact, I was able to put fly stuff all over her face for the first time today. YEAH! Time and patience DO WORK WONDERS! She was an abused mare and didn't trust people and was very spooked by sudden movements. We have worked SLOWLY with her, no pressure...we certainly aren't in any hurry with her!