***edit: This date should be July 18, 2010. I have no idea what happened that made it June! I did not take full possession of him until 7/18/2010 - and I have papers to show it.***
Today was the day Touch Diamond got delivered to the Running R Ranch. We let him out into a pen that allows him access to all the horses, but keeps anyone from injuring the others. This allows them do introductions on their own, but will in the end reduce the amount of risk that there will be serious fighting and kicking and reduces the chance someone will be cornered, or run into a fence and cut up. They can talk, groom, bond, or work out their differences as needed, and everyone has a place to go within a safe distance of everyone else.
For a week or two this round pen will be Touch Diamond's home day and night. He has a stall if the weather turns nasty for safety and health. This isn't the largest ranch, but the owner is very careful to maintain his pastures to a level of grass as long as possible. However since the round pen has no forage, Touch Diamond is being provided grain, coastal hay, and water. While this will give everyone a good change to do "gentle" introductions, and will also allow us to see who he gets along with well so we can put him in with the right horses when released.
****Along with the benefits of measuring and corralling any unwanted behaviors this will also allow us to clean him out for any parasites that possibly are in his system without risking them going into the pasture which would re-infect him, and also infect the other horses. It's going to work a bit like quarantine. I know the rescue facility dewormed him, but because his legs were covered in bot fly eggs I feel it necessary to be on the safe side.****
I observed him for a while as he settled in. I am going to take a camera out tomorrow to begin documenting and filming the work being done.
He is very friendly and curious. I have been given permission to post the information from the prior owners / rescuers about him to provide the best coverage about just how far he has come. She is sending me some additional pictures, but here is a duplication of the website she was keeping for him before I took him on. She has made some drastic improvements. It's amazing how far he has come.
I want to repeat, the following is a copy of what she has had on her site:
Bravo
$500.00
After Arrival at NTO...3/24/10
Improvement as of 4-22-10...
Bravo is new to NTO. He is a 6 yr old, dark bay gelding, and measures at 16hh. His registered name is Touch Diamond. I got Bravo from a young couple who rescued him from a horrible situation. Although it does not show in the first two pictures, Bravo is covered in rain rot and his face and upper neck is covered in ring worm spots. His legs were covered in bot fly eggs, and he was just a complete mess. He is by far one of the worst of the horses NTO has encountered, not just weight, but overall condition. But, Bravo has such a sparkle in his eyes. He is just begging for someone to help him. Thank goodness the day was warm as we began working on him as soon as we got home. My volunteers began the task of bathing him all over, then doctoring the rain rot and ring worms. He has good teeth and an even better appetite. I got some medicine from the vet that will help fight the fungus battle from the inside out, so he should show signs of improvement real soon.
I try not to dwell on the past of the horses I get, but there is no excuse for a person allowing a horse, or any animal to get into this shape. His previous owner indicated she was feeding him a sack of feed a day and hay. You know people, don't lie. Just ask for help. It is not a crime to need help, the crime comes in not asking for it.
4/22/10
As you can tell, Bravo is coming along very nicely. His hair has almost been replaced with good healthy hair, and the rain rot is all but gone. He is a remarkable young horse. We checked to see if he had a tattoo and he did, so we got on line and found out who he is. His sire is currently standing stud in Oklahoma. He was never raced, and we are not for sure why. But sometimes just because a horse is a thoroughbred, does not mean he has the heart or desire to race. He may just be a trail horse or maybe he can be a hunter jumper. We will help him choose. In the meantime, he is just hanging out with so much grass he does not know what to do. Occasionally he will just take off running and he literally thunders around the pasture.
Native Dancer, Mr. Prospector, Nasrullah, Bold Ruler and War Admiral are all listed on his five generation pedigree.
5/4/10
We saddled Bravo the other day in Western, and I am not for sure he knew what that saddle was all about. He humped up a couple of times, but then settled down. We lunged him and he did not seem to know how to do it. He still had the saddle on with the stirrups bouncing around and he never acted like it bothered him. When I got him, his previous owner said she had put the grandbabies on him and they rode him. Not for sure this was the case, but when he gets more weight on, we will work with him undersaddle again. He has no soundness issues, so I would consider him a prospect for any riding activity.
6/1/2010
Bravo is ready to go to his new home. He is very sweet, easy to catch. He is ready for whatever you want to train him in.
That was the end of the posting on her website. She had sent me a new picture of him in the pasture via email during the arrangements and discussions about getting him here to me.
She said she would send me more pictures of him during his progress with her so I can provide a proper documentation of his full recovery and conditioning and "re-employment"
Until next time -
Happy Tails!
Lucy Roberts
[--;-/=_
`-; \=_ ___
) ,"-... --./===--___
___|/ / ]`
/;- - > >...-\ <\
`- < <, 7 /-.\,
`- /( ' _
