Blanche

To watch her go under saddle, it’s hard to imagine that Blanche was only started a few months back, that she only has several handfuls of rides on her. Blanche is a very special type of horse, one who is relatively uncomplicated, as far as green horses go, and who has a monumental amount of try. This past weekend, Blanche experienced a lot of ‘firsts,’ all of which she took in stride, as has become standard for her. She participated in her first Joel Conner clinic in the riding class, though you wouldn’t know it was the first time she was in a clinic setting, bustling with with 11 other horses based on the way she handled herself. She also spent some time outside riding in the outdoor arena, and was brave and relaxed as though she’d been doing it all her life. Lexee N, who has been the one riding Blanche since the beginning, took her into the clinic, and has the following to say about their time together:

“Blanche is proving how smart she is, and although green, has made tremendous strides in being a gentle riding horse. She always tries and is soft, which for a big horse can be a tough thing. She also has found comfort and confidence when riding in places thanks to finding more balance. Riding in the outdoor for the first time felt like she had always been ridden out there. There was no change in her feel, just her waiting to see what was next. Her future home will be so lucky to grow and learn with her!”

Blanche has been an ‘easy’ horse from day one. The fact that she allowed us to halter and lead her with some quality right out of the gate put her in a higher percentile than the majority of our intakes. But because we didn’t know a lot about Blanche’s past, we had no expectations as to what it would be like once we started to work with her.

Preparing Blanche for saddling went about as smoothly as it could have gone, and made us believe that it might not be her first rodeo. And sure enough, her first time cinching up was more reminiscent of a horse who had felt the saddle hundreds of times than one who was experiencing it for the first time. Whether or not it was actually her first is a different story, but between potential past experience, current preparation, and a mellow personality, Blanche’s first time being saddled at SAFE was categorically amongst the easiest we’ve had.

Check it out for yourself below! But now that Blanche is doing all her groundwork in a saddle, it wont be long until there’s a rider on her back to help guide her on the next step of her journey.

Blanche has begun her foray into our training program, where she is proving to be a quick study. Based on how she is for the handling we’ve done so far (tremendously reasonable and very sweet), it maybe shouldn’t have come as such a surprise that she would be similarly minded when we began our groundwork. For each new stimulus, she was responsive but not hugely reactive (her initial reaction was to ‘honk’ — a variation on the snort).

Her history is unknown, and while she is gentle for all-over brushing, has been a very polite girl for the vet as well as the farrier, and is soft on the end of a lead rope, we are doubtful that she has been saddled before. While the rope work we did with her to prepare her for that first (?) saddle went off without much of a hitch, there exists the possibility that she is just the relatively unbothered type. Trotting and loping out with a rope around her belly did not generate any bucking, which is a good sign that the presence of a cinch won’t be world-ending, and she was able to easily change eyes and yield her hind on the same rope.

Throwing a pad up on her back was also a non-issue, and also bodes well for that first saddling being a successful one. We anticipate that it will happen sooner than later for Miss Blanche, and that riding days will follow soon thereafter!

Sweet Blanche has been settling in at SAFE nicely, having a nice mellow (and quite mild!) winter. She and Dorothy love to kick up their heels in the arena together, and when she’s not hanging with her buddy, Blanche is always eager to greet you at the gate or the hay net. She really is one sweet mare. She took the time to pose for a few photos on a rare winter day, modeling how well purple looks on her shiny black coat (even though both were a little dirty, we still think she looks striking!) Contact us to hire Blanche for your next modeling gig!

Blanche, despite being named for a Golden Girl, is neither old nor golden. She is a 7‑year-old BLM mustang mare whose white freezebrand is the only part of her that isn’t black. This lovely lady came in alongside Dorothy, and despite not having known one another before the trailer ride over, the two will forever be bonded as Golden Girls as well as SAFE horses.

Not much of Blanche’s pre-SAFE story is known to us. We are in the process of decoding her freezebrand to find out a bit more about her origins, but really all that we know of Blanche is that she was picked up by Pierce County Animal Control back in July in need of groceries and routine care. But despite having faced neglect, Blanche has a kind eye and a kinder spirit still. She had been gentled to a degree that made the basic handling we do with new intakes (those who allow it) a total breeze. The day after her arrival, we were able to trim all four of her feet without any issue whatsoever. We were also able to bring her into a stall later that same week, and have her seen by the vet for a much needed dental.

PCAC and the fosters they work with improved Blanche’s situation significantly, so by the time she arrived at SAFE she was in much better shape than she had been back in July. She still had a bit of weight to gain, and some logistics had kept her from seeing a vet for a float and vaccinations while at foster, but overall she was in good health. As is the case with any new intake, she will be given several weeks to settle in (and get past her intake quarantine period), but we will bring her into our horsemanship program soon to evaluate what all she knows and continue her on the path of being the best version of herself!