Oscar

Oscar has been a superstar for many of our volunteer riders. He continues to do well as a riding horse and has great ground manners. We love him very much and hope that his forever family comes to find him soon! He is a gentleman and a volunteer favorite. He deserves a loving family to call his own. Here are some handsome new photos of Oscar and volunteer rider Erika.

SEE OSCAR IN ACTION at the 2016 SAFE Benefit Horse Show, July 30–31, 2016, at Meadow Wood Equestrian Center in Snohomish. Click here for details about the show!

We have been working with Oscar on relaxing at the gaits and riding with just seat and leg. He is getting used to the light contact in the reins and that he can go around steady and without worry. He is doing very well and finding his balance!

Here is a clip of Oscar working on his left lead walk trot and canter:

Here is a clip of Oscar working on his right lead walk, trot and canter:

Oscar and his rider Casey Anderson were nothing short of amazing at the 2015 SAFE Benefit Horse Show. The pair competed in Dressage, English, Western, Halter, and Trails, and came away with 4 blues, one red, and one yellow ribbon! They won the Champion Rescue Horse award for the show, and because Oscar is 19 years old, they also took home the Champion Senior Horse award. We couldn’t be more proud of Oscar and how well he handled the busy show environment. He looked like a million bucks, and the judges loved him!

Here’s a video of Oscar and Casey in the Intro A dressage test, for which they earned a score of 65.625% and second place in the class!

Photos of Oscar at the show (thank you, Jessica Farren!)

Here’s Oscar looking like a million bucks with Melonie Rainey in the saddle. We got an update recently from Melonie, who reports, “Oscar is doing excellent! But.…it’s up and down. He can be a real booger. He started bucking WAY too frequently with Zack [Melonie’s student], so I have been riding him. He does just fine with me and is fun to ride! Needs an experienced hand or will sniff it out. We have resolved the dismount thing.…but I fear that it is something that could come back so need to be careful. The same for the bucking. If he thinks he can get by with it, he just might resort to bucking. Unfortunate. He told me he wanted to be a pro’s horse.…I told him he was a little too short…he asked me what I was talking about!”

Oscar, if you recall, was returned to SAFE by his adopter, having regressed a great deal from the horse he was behavior-wise when he was adopted. After his return, we started noticing some lameness in his front right leg. Dr King of Pilchuck Veterinary Hospital donated her time to perform a lameness exam on Oscar and since his x‑rays were clean, it was determined that some kind of soft tissue injury was causing the lameness. The decision was made to give Oscar 6 months off work. He spent the majority of that time with Helga Roberts at Dutch Mills Farm, and was recently moved to the care of  Melonie Rainey at White Birch Farm for fostering and training. Oscar’s rehab time is complete and he’s now being started back into work. Here is an update from Melonie:

“Day 1 of actually sitting in the saddle on Oscar’s back was what I consider a HUGE success. Trust was built and appreciated on both sides. The first time Oscar was in my care, he was truly a solid citizen. He had just come out of several months of training with Andrea and the training was perfection and I had no issues with Oscar whatsoever. He was adopted out quickly. 

I was quite disappointed to hear that he returned to SAFE with several issues, to include bucking under saddle. I have been considering whether this was a direction I really wanted to go, bringing him back from rehab, taking on possible training issues, considering I am no longer a spring chicken and just can’t risk spraining a finger, much less anything else, really not a wise move for me. But…I can’t forget how good he was the first time around. “Okay,” I said to myself, “just see how it goes, see how he behaves.” 

He definitely exhibited some ground manners that I did not remember first time around. They are no more. He exhibited some kicking out on the lunge line that I didn’t remember. They are no more so it seems. He has settled in. We have had bridle issues, nothing seems to fit. Finally found something that isn’t perfect, but fits reasonably well, just need to punch in a few more holes here and there, but it’ll do. Anyway, tonight was the first night I lunged with the bridle. I was thinking to myself, “Will you get on tonight? You don’t have to, it’s perfectly fine to continue his training on the lunge.” “Okay,” I said, “just see how it goes, you’ve got him all tacked up if this goes well.” “It’s dark out,” I said to myself, “I wonder how he’ll behave?” Let me say first off, he performed the halt, walk, trot and canter via voice commands…every time. No bucking or kicking out. 

I decided to just put my weight in the stirrup and see how he behaved. Didn’t flinch. I did it again. Stood straight up in the saddle. Nothing. “That’s it,” I decided, “I’m getting on. I’m feeling good vibes. We’ll just walk.” I got on and the stirrups were WAY too short. That could have been a disaster if he decided to ditch me. I got off, lengthened the stirrups. Still a solid citizen. Got back on, took off walking, he was attentive. “I can’t stand it,” I thought, “you have to trot. Just see how he behaves. You’ve got this.” We trotted. Not a lot, but we went around, we reacquainted ourselves with each other, and it was a good thing. I forgot what a smooth trot he has…and kind of a big trot for a little horse. Oscar waited for my direction, listened attentively, no head shaking, no threatening anything, nothing. I truly consider it a win of a first day back in the saddle. We are off to a good start. 

Another thing of note, just a little something I have noticed, is how kind he is to dogs. My new dog, Ebony, challenged him one day out in the pasture. She is new around here and didn’t know what she was up against. After all, she was eating horse poop, probably his poop, and it was her’s. She told Oscar to back away and I thought for sure he was going to strike her. I didn’t know how he would behave and she was very vulnerable out in the middle of the pasture without knowing it. Didn’t happen. We also cross through Oscar’s pasture every day to walk down to the barn. He always greets us and NEVER chases the dogs. Tonight in the arena, Ebony sat down in the middle of our lunge circle, Oscar was heading straight for her, she didn’t know what to do, so she froze, he stopped and went around. Kind horse. Just a fact. It’s all about love and good treatment and I do believe he’ll give you the world.”

 

Photos by Deunan Berkeley

Oscar has been showing some front end lameness since his return to SAFE. This lameness, which appears to be in his right front leg, isn’t noticeable at the beginning of a ride, but seems to get progressively worse as he is exercised. Dr King of Pilchuck Veterinary Hospital donated her time to perform a lameness exam on Oscar and help us get to the root of the problem. X‑rays were clean so we are likely looking at a soft tissue injury below the fetlock joint. Possible diagnosis include injury to the collateral ligaments, sesamoidean ligaments, or suspensory extensor branches. An MRI would be necessary to pinpoint the injury, but since all of these injuries would require the same treatment, we’ve opted to move forward with stall-rest and hand-walking. We’re also going to change his trimming to rebalance his foot, as he appears to be putting all of his weight on the inside of his step which could either be the cause of the injury or the result of it. Either way, a change in the way he is trimmed will likely make him sounder and more comfortable over time.

We were a bit worried about how Oscar would tolerate stall rest and rehabilitation, but so far so good. Terry reports that he’s doing great for his rehab and walks. He loves to roll and get groomed. He is still itchy but per Dr Meyer’s suggestion we are trying him on Spirlina to help with allergies.

To view Dr King’s write up of Oscar’s exam and treatment, click here: OSCAR RF LAMENESS

Here are some more photos of Oscar taken by Deunan Berkeley:

When Oscar was returned to SAFE in December, it took nearly two hours to load him into the trailer. As Terry remarked not long after meeting him for the first time, getting the respect of this feisty little gelding would be her first priority. “He is very sweet on the ground,” Terry commented, “but when pushed to do what isn’t his choice the old stallion ego is just under the surface. On top of being spoiled at the last home we will be taking some time relearning that I am boss. He will get it, he is a smart boy.”

Terry was not wrong about that! Look at what she’s been able to accomplish using groundwork techniques to reshape Oscar’s outlook on the world:

Not only are we super pleased with Oscar’s willingness to load into the trailer, we couldn’t be prouder of our wonderful trainer, Terry Phelps, and the amazing work she is doing with Oscar and all of the horses at Safe Harbor. Her kind and patient handling is paying off with horses like Oscar. 

Oscar has been doing much better under saddle, and we’ve seen good improvement in his willingness to move forward. Also the Dynamite Vit has helped his lethargic behavior and he is not drifting off while we are working with him anymore. He still has issue with dismounting so we are working on desensitizing this issue. It doesn’t seem to be pain related because I can get off without a reaction if he is distracted and not anticipating the dismount. He has been continually slightly off when tracking to the left on his left front leg. Dr Meyer adjusted him last week and didn’t find any significant areas to treat that would cause this. We may have a vet out to flex him soon to see if there is anything that can be diagnosed.

Oscar has been pulled from the Volunteer Rider program for now, due to resistance moving forward and some kicking/bucking at the leg. Saddle fit is an issue—he’s very sensitive to the saddle rocking on his withers. We have been working on his grumpy reaction when rider dismounts. He is going forward better now but he’s still very much behind the leg and his rhythm is all over the place. He is not ready for a volunteer rider to ride him yet but I’m hoping to reintroduce the better riders to him within the month.

 

We have an old friend back among the herd at SAFE Harbor…the Arabian gelding El Johar Jamaal, formerly known as Oscar the Grouch, currently known as Oscar the Sweetie Pie. SAFE has elected to allow Oscar’s owner to return him to us to be rehomed, as we strongly feel that taking him back is in the best interest of everyone involved. We are currently reassessing Oscar under saddle, and hope to have him ready for re-adoption very soon.

Oscar was one of 16 horses seized from a breeding establishment by Pierce County Animal Control in late 2011. He was signed over to SAFE along with four other Arabs from that seizure in Feb 2012. Upon meeting Oscar, we were extremely worried about what we had just committed to by taking him. He was a 15 year old breeding stallion with minimal handling due to neglect, and he was about as wild and unruly as you might expect a horse with his background to be. To our surprise and delight, Oscar’s rehabilitation went splendidly. Gelding him was the first step, then basic socialization by Dr Hannah at NWESC followed while he recovered from surgery. Once he was fully healed, we sent him into training with Andrea Lucianna, where he learned to coexist peacefully with other horses (thanks to Faerplay!) and proceeded to excel in his lessons under saddle. He graduated from Andrea’s training program with high marks, and moved into the barn of trainer Melonie Rainey, who fostered him for several months and donated his ongoing training. Oscar’s remarkable turnaround continued under Melonie’s guidance, and she found that this former stud horse was gentle enough to be groomed by children and safe enough to be ridden by beginner riders. 

We’ve been enjoying his return to SAFE Harbor. Terry had this to say about him last week: “Oscar loves neck and back scratches! He is such a ham. I can’t wait to start riding him next week. Friday he took the bridle and lunging with side reins no problem. Such a cute mover!” We’ll have more updates for everyone as we continue to work with Oscar, but for now we are feeling very bright about Oscar’s future.

Oscar spent a day at SAFE before heading up to training. He enjoyed some time playing in the arena, where these gorgeous photos were taken.

Oscar had his teeth done this week and they were some of the worst teeth Dr. Hannah has ever seen. Huge points and ramps that caused ulcerations all along his cheek and had worn down the opposing teeth, in some cases down to the gum line. One broken tooth. He should be feeling much better now! 

Oscar also had two smaller growths removed, one from his eye and one from a hind leg, that Dr Hannah initially thought were sarcoids. Upon removing the one on the hind leg, however, she felt that it should be sent to pathology, and it came back a melanoma. Dr. Hannah got good margins on the removals and his bloodwork came back good, so hopefully the melanoma will not return or metasticize. On a very good note, he is now completely healed from his castration, has had all his routine care and in a week will be heading up to training and his next adventure in life! He has done an about-face in his behavior now that the hormones are gone from his system and we have high hopes he can be a very nice riding horse for someone!