Adopting my first Standardbred
A new Chapter
Part II
 |
| My first ride on Auggie |
The morning of August 5th was muggy and uncomfortable. It was a Friday, and work had hit a point where things were finally slowing down enough for me to get away for an afternoon. The ongoing drought had suppressed a lot of the grass growth, reducing the need for constant mowing. I decided that I was going to go see this horse regardless of my mother's opinions or objections, if I didn't end up adopting Auggy, I would eventually find a suitable horse in the near future.
I headed westbound towards York County, PA with my hardhat and paddock boots stashed in the cab of the truck. Before I left, I contacted Amy up at the farm to see what her thoughts were on rescuing a horse. After reviewing the information on Omega, Amy endorsed my mission to find a new steed by way of a rescue and I felt more confident knowing that someone had my back. Whatever I ended up taking home, I was going to need some help figuring out how to make the best of it.
The drive to the rescue farm seemed like an eternity; I turned off of route 10 in Honeybrook and began to navigate a labyrinth of back roads through the countryside. I had never driven through this particular area before and I was starting to wonder if I had missed a turn somewhere along the way. It seemed to be taking forever and I was beginning to have my doubts about the directions until I finally came to Woodbine Road in Airville. A small sign at the end of a gravel driveway marked the entrance to Omega Horse Rescue, and I could finally breathe a sigh of relief that I wasn't hopelessly lost.
I turned into the driveway and up the hill until I could see what looked like pastures beyond a grove of trees. I came around the bend with 10 minutes to spare before my 1pm appointment and pulled up in front of a relatively new aluminum barn. A horse trailer was backed up to the barn and as I got out of the truck, I saw the gruff looking man I recognized from Auggy's training videos. He was leading a bay mini gelding into the barn when he saw me,
"You're a little early. You're here for Auggy, right?"
"Yes, I am...I thought I wouldn't make it here on time."
"Ok, give me a minute and we'll get him out."
Another bay Standardbred, Griffin, was being led out of the barn and towards the horse trailer. I recognized him from the website, and it looked like he was on his way to his new forever home with a therapeutic riding school. Two ladies walked with him, and then stopped in front of the trailer as a third took pictures and videos of the moment. As I wandered to the barn, I could hear Griffin stepping up on the trailer and heading off for the next great adventure of his life.
As the excitement of Griffin's adoption subsided, I was greeted by a short lady, maybe in her 50's, with long black hair.
"Hi, I'm Kelly. You must be Carolyn, here to see Auggy?"
"Yes I am! I am looking forward to meeting him, Sammi has filled me in on him a little."
Kelly was the founder and owner of the rescue and had built up the organization with the help of her husband and generous donors. She led me to the last stall at the opposite end of the barn, with cats skittering all about and the sound of donkeys and goats raising a fuss echoing off the metal walls. It was a busy, lively place, packed with animals looking for their permanent homes. In the last stall stood a massive, plain bay gelding with an arching neck and a flowing, black mane. His eyes were large and intelligent, but he seemed wary of his environment.
 |
| Auggie on ship out day! |
Josh rode western exclusively, so there would be some differences in style to account for. Additionally, as Kelly explained, Auggy hadn't been under saddle for very long, so there were many things he had yet to learn. He seemed to have a solid foundation and a lot of vet work to get him to this point. His history was a long, winding road and he was beginning to come around at last. Because he had a freeze brand on his neck, the rescue was able to obtain his papers from the US Trotting Association to verify his age and racing history. His life after racing was largely a mystery, but most likely he had pulled a cart for the Amish in the area.
Josh rode Auggy around the indoor arena that was across from the barn, while Kelly filled me in on everything they had learned about him. He had been with them since the previous Halloween, and had required a lot of dental, farrier, and veterinary care to bring him back to health. He was anxious and wired tightly for the first few months, but with a lot of patience, they had been able to get him to accept a saddle and some trail riding. He had been cleared by their vet to participate in any discipline with the right person to work with him.
Sammi entered the area and introduced herself to me as the person I had been talking to for the last few weeks. She filled me in on what she knew about Auggy as well, and I expressed my concern about Auggy's stoic demeanor. "I feel like he's a bit aloof," as I tried to process everything that I was seeing and hearing about him.
"He just needs time to warm up to you, Standardbreds can be like that, but once they figure out that you are their person, they are the most loving horses. They have so much heart and try their hardest."
I nodded and continued to watch Josh circle around the indoor at a walk, and then a trot. Auggy had not learned to canter yet, but the consensus was that he would soon be ready for that. The time came for me to get on and try him out, so Sammi brought up an English saddle and bridle to change him into. Auggy stood calmy in the arena while we switched saddles and I prepared to hop on. Josh brought up a second horse so we could ride the trail a little bit. I walked Auggy in circles in the arena for a while to get a feel for the horse before following Josh out on the trail.
Auggy was tense and anxious; he carried his head high and looked around nervously. He had a marching type-walk that covered some ground pretty quickly, and he felt as if he wanted to run up on Josh's horse on the trail. The longer we rode, the more relaxed Auggy became. Once every so often he needed to be encouraged to walk past something, but he never spooked. I started think I might be able to work the anxious behavior with time. It was a hot afternoon and Auggy was lathered up by the end of a short trail ride, probably more from nerves than anything else.
I hopped off and Sammi assisted me in untacking and bathing him. Auggy seemed to warm up a bit around that time, so I went to the truck to grab a bag of baby carrots that I had left over from lunch. I offered one to him as Sammi scaped the water off of him. He stared at it, bewildered.
"He's probably never had a treat before," Sammi said.
"Well, I guess he will learn about apples and carrots eventually."
Kelly welcomed me to spend more time with Auggy, so I led him back to the arena to see how his ground manners were. His head came down a little, and I offered him a carrot again. He smelled the carrot and gingerly took it from my hand. His head nodded and his eyes widened. His deep, kind eyes began to focus on me, so I offered him a couple more carrots until the bag was empty. His demeanor changed just a bit, and I could see it was possible that this might work out. I normally don't give treats from my hand (because I like to keep my fingers!), but in this case it seemed like it was the right thing to do.
As I led him back to the barn, it was time to talk about the next steps. Kelly and Sammi sat down with me in the office, which was adjacent to the barn, and pulled out Auggy's file. We spent an hour discussing the adoption process and all the "what-ifs" I could think of. This was a big decision, and I could feel myself beginning to sweat a little at the thought of actually going through with it. I wasn't made of money, what if something went horribly wrong and I couldn't afford something? I could feel my doubts swelling up from a knot in my stomach and inflating into my chest.
"You can leave a deposit to hold him for a week if you want to think it over," Kelly said at last.
"Yes, let's do that. I'll have to talk it over with my mother since we share the barn," I darted to the truck to grab a checkbook and write out the $250 deposit for Auggy. A couple of days would give me a chance to breathe and think things through a bit. This was all happening so fast, and I had planned on looking at multiple horses before making a decision. I had no experience in re-training a Standardbred; Thoroughbreds and Quarter horses, Morgans and warmbloods-yes, but never any type of gaited horse before.
As I drove eastbound towards Route 10 again, I began to feel a weight lift from my shoulders. Maybe it wasn't the best time, but there is rarely such thing as a perfect time for anything. I spent the next couple nights asking God to help me make the right choice; I felt somehow compelled to do something else with my life, but was this the right thing? I had been down so many paths only to find out that I had lost my way, please don't let me repeat the same mistakes.
 |
| Auggie waiting to come home! |
By Monday afternoon the decision was made. With encouragement from Sammi, I had decided to adopt Auggy. I contacted Amy to see if she had space for boarding since we had our hands full with Tony at home. Once Amy confirmed that she had space at the farm at the end of August, I sent the remainder of the adoption fee over Venmo and signed the paperwork online. I was going to have a 17-hand project horse to keep me busy from that point onward. I never asked my mom what she thought about it either.
.JPG)
Comments
Post a Comment