Trims for Sunny and her Buddy Newt

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Today was a great day seeing Sunny and her companion Newt after a few months of Winter weather. They both looked really good and it’s a pleasure to see two wild horses who never quite adjusted to a world full of humans, and their strange ways, living life in a much more natural environment and doing well. Today was a time to bring them into a smaller area and check out how their hoofs were doing as well as a general wellness check. Jessica and Hilary did a great job catching and haltering them both with a few carrots helping along the way - carrots are one good thing about the human world! Newt was amazing as Hilary trimmed hoofs and while it was hard for him, he tried his very best and did a great job of it. Sunny required a little sedation to help her along - trimming has always been a very big challenge in keeping everyone safe from her hind end. The fronts went well with no drama, but once Hilary approached those back legs things changed. We decided at this point that it would be safest to not risk injury, especially since her hoofs were doing pretty good.

A huge thank you to Hilary and Jessica from Wild Heart Restart Ranch for catching and trimming - their wild horse knowledge and skills are amazing. So again, a big thank you to them both!

If you would like to learn more about Wild Heart Restart Ranch you can check them out at: www.wildheartrestartranch.org

Trims for Beau and Belle

A great day for Beau and Belle! They did really well having their hoofs trimmed and Belle especially was impressive! Cooperative, engaged and thinking about the interaction between her and our amazing trimmer, Kestrel. It was wonderful to see since Belle can be very opinionated and feisty when it comes to participating in anything that she feels may not be her idea! Great job!

Beau was a gentleman as usual, anticipating how he could help by offering his hoofs - not a hundred percent sure but willing to give trust and cooperation a really big try, he made the trim go smoothly. Moving forward I know they’ll both be willing participants in their next meeting with Kestrel.

Next time I promise Beau will be the photo star!

A Bucket!

OMG! A Bucket! Let’s Check That Out!

Disappointing moment - it’s empty.

Mare Moments Part One - Getting to Know Each Other

Could this be the beginning of a great friendship? We hope so but hard to tell at this point. We are approaching week two and a truce hasn’t yet been reached. We had our fingers crossed that today would be the day! So take a peek at how our two little mini mares, Molly and Belle, did today.

If you enjoy equine body language and communication, you will love this! These videos and pics were taken over the course of the afternoon and this is week two of these two little mares working things out. Big improvements were made today!

If you’re interested in seeing how this played out please go to Part Two of Mare Moments. Thanks!

Mare Moments Part Two - A Possible Truce?

A truce, although it may be temporary has been reached! Im sure the squealing isn’t completely over yet but it’s a good ending to the day - it’s been a long time coming!

Bo and Belle Arrive!

Unfortunately, overnight the fog rolled in off the Bay and the blue skies of yesterday had disappeared. Luckily by afternoon the sky was less grey and things were beginning to dry out again and Bo and Belle were able to enjoy some pasture time.

Exciting times for BHR today as we welcome Bo and Belle. We are looking forward to getting to know them again and having them join our sanctuary herd here at Blue Horse Rescue. Here are some of their first day with us as they get familiar with the horses, people, routine and surroundings. Enjoy!

Our Favorite Kind of Day!

An amazing post Christmas gift on January 2nd, 2025 - sunny and warm with no wind! We loved it!

Our Lovely Senior Grace

It was a beautiful sunny December day and perfect for a mini road trip to check in on BHR senior mare Grace. Grace spends her days with a herd of three other senior mares enjoying their companionship and the wide open space of a very large pasture to roam around in. Grace is a very people friendly and sweet girl who enjoys attention and lots of pets. She is kind and gentle and very curious. Once she decides your energy is good, she will follow you and stick close for more attention. It was actually challenging to get some pics of her from a distance as she sticks so very close!

I wish Grace and her herd were closer so I could see them more often but Grace is in good hands with her foster mom who is actually an equine vet. Many thanks from all of us at BHR for taking such great care of this sweet senior.

And here’s what Grace really thinks of all the pics! :)

A Visit with BHR's Paiute Pony Sunny

A beautiful Fall day and a great visit with Sunny and her companion as they live their lives wild, (with caring eyes-on them), in a world with minimal human interference. Living as they born to live, they are amazing to see. They are obviously content and very happy, and looking great!

Life Beyond the Pasture

Taking their new skills out beyond the pasture, Mouse and Stephanie explore the land - a few hills, the bay in the distance, lots of new shadows and trees - it was all exciting and interesting stuff. Just being away from the herd can be a huge challenge but Mouse did great and embraced the adventure with willingness and curiosity. And, then there was the different footing - the grass was actually a little crunchy in spots! Both did an amazing job and it was a lot of fun to be beyond the pasture fence on an adventure practicing skills and gaining confidence.

A very good day!

Molly and Loeta Out Hiking

A beautiful day for a hike out beyond the pasture!

And everyone is doing great!

But it’s time to head home after a successful and drama free walk!

Trimming Under the Trees

Nothing Better Than Shade Trees on a Hot Day!

Friendly Moment with Mouse & Stephanie

A relaxing time with Mouse! This may not look like much but this little one, as cute as he is, loves to swing that head around for a pinch, rake, nip, …. never yet made it to a bite! Thank goodness! So this is a definite feel good moment!

Revisiting the Horse Trailer

Still a little sticky with the horse trailer but Molly’s making a lot of progress. Our goal is that with consistency and fair leadership, Molly will build confidence and the trailer will become an ok place to be for her. Unfortunately a few fire evacuations created a lot of anxiety around the trailer so we have make that right again, and that will take time. But she’s doing great!

Hanging out with the Horse Trailer

Let’s just check this out …

Success and then some! My hope was Molly would be confident enough to step up into the trailer! This is a first for Molly and she did a really great job and showed us how far she has come in trusting us to do the right thing and not get her into trouble. She had a few starts and stops so when those hind legs went in, it was a thing of beauty! Well done Molly! Also a big thank you to Mouse. He’s the little guy standing next to me in the trailer. He’s been Molly’s constant companion for many years and I think his soft nickers helped her in. I also think Mouse secretly wishes that he could have the horse trailer as his own personal space - he hops in/out without even being asked but he was a good example of a confident little horse in the trailer today!

Fostering Curiosity and Having a Little Fun

Today was all about Molly allowing herself to be ‘caught’ and haltered and having a little fun. With Loeta’s leadership Molly did a great job of curiously checking out the strange set up of buckets and the blue tarp where they had never been seen before. She walked on the tarp with no fuss but curiosity got the best of her with each bucket having to be checked out and turned over. She soon found a small reward/incentive under the buckets and was very eager to return to them when led away. This was huge since Molly doesn’t feel confident or trusting enough to walk anywhere with any enthusiasm. It was great to see Molly engaged, confident and enjoying the moment!

DAY #1 : Sharing Space

Day #1 : Sharing Space

Today we’re introducing shared paddock and shelter space.

Thought you might like to see how it goes - fingers crossed!

Day #2:

and so far, all is going well with our venture into sharing space.

Just wanted to add that Molly, Mouse and Magic have been sharing pasture space for about a year and their herd habits and hierarchy are well established. We know from observation and consistency that they share their hay nose to nose with only an occasional head nod for another to move off and give space. But we’ll be watching on the paddock cam in case we need to pull anyone out. I’m hoping this will be a success but I’m sure we’ll be making adjustments along the way.

Basing Horses Ideal LIving Situations on Equine Behavior

Mouse Goes Exploring !

Or more appropriately, Curious George Goes Camping!

All joking aside, Mouse did a really good job going for a walk this afternoon - he walked next to me without shouldering in like he tends to, he wasn’t dragging behind or breezing forward and he felt connected. He was curious so we stopped and checked out a lot of stuff along the way. Tarps? No problem! Just bite it and walk on it! Wooden blocks? Sniff it and step up on it! All the other stuff that D’Arcy had was also super interesting! Mouse even hung out at the Air Stream for a while. And the very best thing : Mouse is starting to understand the Friendly Game with the Carrot Stick! He doesn't feel the need to fly around at high speed quite so much. (It can be challenging to ‘unlearn’ the lunge routine and whip.) But, our little guy is learning! It was a good day and I’m very proud of him :)

Next will be Molly!

Colic Scare!

Molly gave us all a scare this weekend with an episode of colic. Luckily we caught it very early and she gradually recovered. Nothing worse than colic! We are very thankful that she’s doing well. Stay strong, Molly!