Esme

This little pony has so much heart! Summer has been eventful for Esme, filled with new experiences and learning opportunities. She earned her position as my riding partner at both the Spanaway and Ellensburg Buck Brannaman clinics, and she rose to each challenge beautifully.

Preparing for these larger clinics, I wanted to ensure I brought a horse who would truly benefit from the experience without being overwhelmed by the environment. As a trial run, I first took Esme to a clinic with our friend Joel Conner. This nearby clinic allowed us to test how she might react at Buck’s larger clinic in a less familiar setting. Esme handled it like a seasoned pro, staying calm and focused amid the new sights, smells, and sounds. This assured me she was ready for the next level, and a few weeks later, we headed to Buck’s clinics.

Each clinic brought its own unique challenges, which Esme met with grace and resilience.

Spanaway Clinic

Held in the Tacoma Unit’s bustling indoor arena, the Spanaway clinic was a test of concentration and composure. The arena was tight, with stadium seating and plenty of noise, requiring both Esme and me to stay vigilant to avoid any potential hazards. But Esme quickly settled into her stall, happily munching on her hay and showing no signs of stress. Each ride strengthened our connection, and, as often happens at Buck’s clinics, Esme gave me her best rides yet. Buck’s kind words of encouragement confirmed we were on the right track, and the supportive comments from friends made me proud of how far Esme has come through SAFE’s training program.

Ellensburg Clinic

The Ellensburg clinic, held outdoors at the Rodeo grounds, came with its own set of obstacles—especially the gusty winds that carried all kinds of distractions our way. Despite the challenges, Esme maintained her calm and focus. She wasn’t tense, and any hesitation was quickly redirected with gentle guidance. This clinic, held just one week after the Spanaway event, also tested her stamina. But Esme rose to the occasion, staying with me even when other horses increased their energy or unexpected movements caught her off guard. When other riders circled in different directions, weaving through the crowd improved her softness and responsiveness.

These clinics provided experiences we could never replicate at home, giving us the chance to work through any hidden challenges. I’m thrilled that Esme was at a place in her training where she could handle the added excitement and recover when things weren’t perfect. This summer has been an incredible milestone for Esme, and I’m so proud of the progress she’s made!

Pop Quiz: your horse, who was sound as a music note yesterday, walks out of her stall with a major head bob the next morning. Do you:
A. PANIC! Something serious must be wrong, and the vet needs to come out immediately!
B. Treat it like an abscess — soak the foot in warm water and epsom salts, and slap that thing in a duct tape boot.
C. Do nothing. She’ll walk it off, right?

While it is never a bad idea to get in touch with your vet and/or farrier depending on the ailment, in our experience, a sudden onset lameness that presents at a walk is oftentimes indicative of a stone bruise or an abscess. We chose ‘B’ when this situation happened for Esme, who despite being perfectly sound the day before, was now displaying a head bob at the walk.

She was an absolute champion for the abscess treatment procedure, tolerating the 15 minute soak and subsequent doctoring of the foot in question (right front). The hoof wrap parfait consists of an epsom poultice, diaper, duct tape boot, and, if we can find a good fit, trail boot to maintain the integrity of the duct tape for more than a few hours. Abscesses can take a varied amount of time to blow, but typically you expect to see a horse who was Lame with a capital L one day be perfectly sound the next, sort of an opposite of how they come on. But after about a week of no real improvement, we decided that it was time for a pair of more professional eyes on the foot. We called our vets, and set an appointment to evaluate her for any additional lameness that we may have missed by treating it like an abscess.

The vets were out to do a partial lameness evaluation on Esme. While it was no longer super evident at the walk, the lameness was very apparent on a trot circle to the right. Flexions on the front limbs were not indicative of any additional lameness. We chose to block the right front, which resolved the lameness. We also chose to proceed with radiographs of the right front to see what was happening under the hood.

The answer? A deep gas pocket in her heel region that indicates an abscess. We also were able to see her sole depth, which was a little less than 1cm (aka, very thin). Even though her feet are very hard, with a sole depth that thin she is still prone to hoof issues. Once her abscess blows, we will shoe her to help elevate the foot.

Because her foot is so hard, we kept it in an animalintex poultice pad for several days to help soften the hoof to make it easier for the abscess to blow. We have since switched over to the good ole fashioned epsom salt poultice. It’s deep, so it might take a while to surface, but in the meantime we are keeping her wrapped and waiting patiently for her soundness to return. We are also getting really good at duct tape boots!

Health & Feeding:

• Has a little bit of extra padding at the moment, but as it is winter, will not drop down her food amount. With the introduction of grass in the spring, will lower hay to account for extra calories.

Notes:

Esme is a sensitive mare. Can still be evasive occasionally about being caught in the paddock. Head mare in her group.

• Has a lot of life, but that can translate into flightiness/overreaction
• Sensitive about the rope around her HQ, things touching her back legs (we opt for a tail strap blanket vs leg straps to avoid potential issues escalating from volunteers blanketing/unblanketing).
• Influenced by environment easily — can have an ‘ADD’ feeling
• Has tied in the trailer with other horses and a hay bag, done well
• Working on more movement (under saddle) where she’s really turning loose, as she can bottle up
• One goal is to get intermediate riders riding her more. Doesn’t love legs on her squeezing/pinching, working on developing a ‘stop’ button as she has a lot of GO.
• Working on short serpentines under saddle to help place the front feet, as she goes off the line.

Esme started her time at SAFE as a curious, yet standoffish mare, spending her days playing chase with Jacob and Edward out on the grass field they shared. She was challenging to catch, requiring a practiced (and patient) touch. And while there are still some days where she enjoys giving you a literal run for your money, Esme’s progress in so many realms has been astronomical.

She has remained a quick witted and quick footed little horse, but these days does much of her thinking and moving under saddle. She is definitely more ‘go’ than ‘whoa,’ which certainly makes her a fun ride for those with more experience who enjoy motoring around. Recently, she went for a ride out on our neighboring trails — her first time ‘off property’ in the (not so) wild woods. She had been for walks around the property before, which is a feat in and of itself, but the loop trail we most commonly use is somewhat of a different animal, filled with ticklish ferns, unknown scents and sounds, and the ever present threat of bikes, dogs, and other horses.

Overall on her first ride out, Esme did very well. She’s a confident leader, not afraid to forge ahead at the front of the pack, even into the unknown. Over bridges and, well, not quite through water, but close enough to hear its rushing, Esme trekked bravely. The undergrowth brushing against her legs did give her a startle at one point, but nothing earth-shattering by any means, and she soon faced (or stepped on, rather) her fears by repeatedly encountering that which tickled until it lost its scare factor.

Esme is still available for adoption to the right person. She still needs a confident partner to help guide her, and one who is not afraid of all the life she brings to the table. But she is brave and willing, and will make some lucky person a really wonderful riding horse!

Even though Esme has been going well under saddle for a bit now, there are still some basics that she is in need of revisiting. Because Esme was improperly halter started once upon a time, she still has a difficult time coming off of pressure. In the below video, Joel helps Esme learn how to follow a float and a feel by dallying her from his saddle horse.

This is also important work to help Esme learn to tie. In teaching her to come off of the pressure of the line instead of fighting against it, he makes it so it is less likely Esme will pull back when tied. He also helps her learn that if she feels she needs to move on the wall, she can do so laterally instead of sucking backwards.

Esme, started under saddle last fall, is coming along very nicely as a riding horse! She is a cute little mover, and is soft on a loose rein, walk trot and canter. She recently had her very first rides in the outdoor arena, and did great, even amongst many would-be distractions. She is beginning to work a bit in the soft feel on two reins — a really exciting development from the horse who two summers ago could barely be caught!

Speaking of being caught, now Esme practically insists on it. When you enter the paddock she currently resides in along with Darla, Tanis, and Tiva, Esme presents herself front and center. Regardless of what your plans were, she thinks that she is the one you should be paying attention to. In her current herd, Esme has established herself as the boss, but she is a kind leader. Yes, she may decide that the hay box you’re eating out of is actually the one she needs to eat from, but you can understand that, right?

Esme is soft and responsive on the ground, and has become a mare who is safe for nearly anyone to handle, brush, and blanket. She can still have her moments of being a bit wriggly, but overall has really matured into a sweet and even tempered girl. Esme is going to make a wonderful horse for an advanced rider looking for a lovely partner, both inside and out.

Following in the footsteps of her two “older brothers,” Edward and Jacob, the horses she came in with, Esme has been started under saddle. This sweet little mare made it clear early on that she was going to take a bit more time, but that has never been an issue. After all, it just means getting to spend more time with Esme, and that’s never a bad thing!

Esme didn’t fuss much over having a rider on her back. Each horse is different of course, and have different experiences in their pasts that contribute to their present day responses, but we do our best in each case to prepare them for things like wearing a saddle and carrying a rider so that when the time comes for these things to actually happen, it’s not a huge deal.

Joel put the first ride on Esme, before passing the reins to Terry. Riding a colt is a very different experience than riding a broke horse – to avoid getting into a wreck and confusing the horse, the rider must simply ‘go with’ them as they move out. I don’t think the phrase ‘easier said than done’ even applies here, because I don’t think it is either easily said or easily done. Gripping and squeezing a horse, what I would argue are two very common and innate moves we humans tend towards as the thousand pound creature below us starts to move, sends mixed signals. So the best thing to teach your legs to do is to be inactive, to flop there like two noodles, meaning nothing to the horse when you don’t intend them to. It is easy to get in a horse’s way, and for those first rides especially, it is important to stay out of it.

Often, during those first rides, the horse and rider combination will often be flagged up through the gaits by a third party. This is also for the horse’s benefit, to keep them soft off the ask, so that the communication is very clear. The first ask would be with the seat, where the rider sits ahead, and the horse understands that means go. Legs come after, but there is always a clear progression. For horses who are dull or just learning, having someone with a flag to help the ask means the release for the horse can come a lot sooner, therefore making the message a lot more clear. By the time they have a rider, the horse is already very familiar with a flag’s meaning, the feel of a person telling them to increase their energy, so it typically takes very little to tip the horse up into the next gait when aided by someone on the ground. That way the rider can focus on being clear about their ask versus overly focused on getting it done.

I digress – all of this to say that for her first rides, Esme was a rockstar. No shenanigans, no real fuss. Patience with her riders – what more can you ask from a girl?

Esme has had a busy summer, spending much of her time learning to wear a saddle (some days, it’s easier than others) and drilling the groundwork basics on the regular. One big hurdle for Esme has been getting comfortable with the rope touching her — her back, her legs, even the area where she already knows the saddle goes. In the video below, Terry works with Esme to help support her through her discomfort in being touched by the rope in different positions and conditions.

Not every horse will have to deal with situations like the ones Esme is preparing for in their lives. Most horses we adopt from SAFE will spend their days working in ways that do not include circumstances where they might be regularly exposed to a rope around their feet or hind, but showing Esme that she can handle the pressure of a rope helps to prepare her for the unthinkable. This work helps to show her that if she ever does get caught in a similar bind — say she were to get tangled up in a fence or have a dangling vine brush her during a trail ride — she can handle it without blowing up in a reactionary way. She may not be quite there yet, but with every groundwork session, she gets a little closer!

One of our horsemanship volunteers, Sue, had this to say about Esme.

“Esme has come a long way from the wary mare who was hard to catch, and careful who came close. She spent some time in the rehab paddock next to Pepper, and was always very curious when I groomed Pepper. What is happening over there?  Should it be happening to me? After a few days she would actively go to the fence line to watch, and to the gate when I approached. She is long past this now, and happy to have attention whenever she can. She loves to be groomed, and knickers when people approach. For a while she shared a paddock with Pepper and was quite pushy about demanding her turn if Pepper was groomed first.  She has a gorgeous flashy trot. I can’t wait to see her blossom.”

Esme came to SAFE alongside Edward and Jacob, and while they all got along quite well, being the only girl in a herd of boys does have its downsides. She could certainly hold her own, but the boys picked on her a bit, as horses figuring out herd dynamics are want to do. Eventually we split the trio up, and for a while, Esme was in a paddock by herself – across the street neighbors with Edward, but given a moment outside of having to deal with essentially older brothers.

When Pepper hurt her leg, she was moved to a paddock beside Esme’s, and the two were fast friends. For a time, Esme was not keen on being caught by anyone aside from her main trainer, so she was living outside 24/7. At turn-in time, when Pepper would leave to go inside for the night, Esme would call to her, and in the mornings when she returned, it was clear Esme was happy to see her back. Once Pepper’s leg was healed, we decided to turn these two girls out together. 

It was a success. After some brief initial squealing on the halters, the girls were turned loose without much hullabaloo. There was one kick from Esme, but no one was injured, and the tension dissipated immediately. For the most part, the girls just explored the new space together, Pepper following on Esme’s heels. 

The very next day, the two were sharing hay from a hay net together, clearly destined to be best buddies. When Pepper left the paddock for a trail walk one afternoon, Esme called out to her friend – “where are you going without me?” – and was very delighted to see her return. 

In addition to this new friendship, Esme has also started coming into a stall in the evenings. Wary to be caught at first, she quickly adjusted to coming in at turn-in time, and soon was trotting right up to the gate, even more eager to be caught than Pepper. Seeing her now, it is hard to imagine that she is the same flighty and fighty girl who arrived last summer – she has become a gentle friend to Pepper, and an easy, respectful horse for her handlers.

Esme did well at our colt starting workshop in November. She was able to be saddled every day and became more and more comfortable with carrying the saddle. As with Jacob and Edward, we are going to spend the winter months getting her more comfortable and better prepared for the first rides. No use in causing trouble that isn’t there with a ride done too early in haste to get it done. A set-back with a sensitive horse could be a lasting issue we don’t need to cause.  

The biggest issue facing Esme is her comfort level with things touching her in her blind spots. She is very quick to kick out at anything touching her hind legs. Work on this issue is important to help insure a lifetime of safety ahead. Not only will her comfort with this help the gentling process and her becoming a riding horse, but it will also help her accept pressure. If she were ever to get caught in fencing, we hope that lessons to give to pressure on her legs would help prevent her from panicking and hurting herself kicking at whatever she is entangled in. Seems like a simple thing, but can be a lesson that save her from serious injury or loss of life.  

Esme has had a few successful farrier visits and is now fully vaccinated. We continue to monitor her fecal content, worm, and recheck her to eliminate the heavy parasite load she had upon arrival at SAFE. She has been treated with Ivermectin and the double five-day dose of Panacur. With a small load still present, we will be worming her for a third time. She is getting fecal checks regularly and hopeful we will soon have all the parasites eliminated. Years of going untreated without regular checks and treatment can create incessant parasites that take time and multiple treatments to get under control.  

Meet our new intake at SAFE, Esme. She is a 6 year old Yakima Reservation mare, who has not had a lot of past experience being lead. Esme is very friendly and interested in people, just a bit frightened by the halter. This is our third day working with her and things are going very well. We have been able to brush her, give her a lice dusting and she did great for a blood draw for the veterinarian.