When Sierra came to Hanaeleh, we were told that she was trained to ride and just a little nervous out on trail, but we quickly discovered that not only was she not trained, but that previous trainers had used abusive methods when working with her. As a result, we had to teach Sierra how to work under saddle, and we needed her to trust us and to eliminate the fear reaction she had to being worked. Even after about six months, Sierra still is afraid when being worked in the arena, and will run … [Read more...]
UPDATE: Sierra Under Saddle
When Sierra first came to Hanaeleh, we were told that she was trained under saddle. One ride very quickly showed us that not only wasn't Sierra trained at all, she had been abused, and was fearful and would rear, spin, buck or crow hop when we started to work with her. It wasn't her fault- whoever had worked with her before had been very aggressive, and instead of teaching her what they wanted, they hurt her. Unfortunately we see this pattern over and over- abusive "trainers" who use fear and … [Read more...]
UPDATE: Sierra (October, 2021)
Sierra came to Hanaeleh in August 2021. Those who have followed her story may remember that she was purported to be trained under saddle, but was just a little spooky out on trail. Unfortunately, when we brought her to Hanaeleh, we discovered that this was blatantly untrue- she had no concept of a bridle, a bit, leg pressure, etc. Her "training" seemed to consist of nothing but running her around and hurting her, as she was deathly afraid of ropes and whips. We have spent the past three … [Read more...]
Please Welcome Two New Horses to Hanaeleh
We were not expecting to welcome any new horses this month, but we found ourselves with an unexpected open stall. We had expected to rescue a horse in September, but we had to move that timeline up because her stablemate was moving to a different stable, and she would not be happy alone. We were also called by a rescue about a horse in immediate need and they were unable to take the horse, but were hopeful that we would be able to take her. So, we are happy to announce that we have rescued … [Read more...]