Ranger

If we were the betting types, we likely would have put money on the idea that Ranger had been saddled before. A gentle, older horse who doesn’t balk much at the flag touching him or get squirmy in the cinch area tells a story, wordless as it is. Yet even still, we dot our “i“s and cross our “t“s here, and Ranger has been running through our groundwork checklist from the beginning as though he was green as summer grass.

That being said, when it did come time to cinch him up, Ranger was more prepared than ever to do something that he’s likely done before. You can see just exactly how much the process phased him in the video below. If anything, he was likely unaccustomed to a back cinch, but took the whole thing in stride.

Ranger comes with a built in friend, and no, we don’t mean Mabel. Between his eyes, the points of two ears begin, tapering down to a mule-esque face that ends at the mid-point of his nostrils. It even boasts a cross-shaped star. Luckily, these two share a mouth, meaning Ranger’s friend is just as fed as he is.

How does one call an equine-shaped marking, if not by name? We are taking suggestions, just as long as it sounds good alongside ‘Ranger.’

Ranger has many other things that make him special. We have been chipping away at getting to know him since his arrival, puzzling out what he does and doesn’t know, teaching this old(er) dog some new tricks. He is a sweet guy, for one, always game to greet you at the gate. We’re in the process of exploring his comfort wearing a saddle, for while we can make an assumption based on his age and relatively gentle nature that he has been around the block as a riding horse before, you know what they say about assumptions. So far, so good. If he does turn out to be riding-safe, it will likely be for easy-going jaunts.

Despite his newness to our horsemanship, his good nature has already seen him acting as the teacher to some who are also just getting their feet wet. He is amenable to this position of teacher-learner in the groundwork realm, and even more amenable to the brushing that proceeds it. While sweet, he also can be a bit on the pushy side, so we’ve been helping to show him that he can feel just as comfortable, if not more so, when he gives his handler a bit of space.

Ranger arrived with a weepy ear that we are still puzzling out with the help of our vets. Flushes and antibiotics and x‑rays have thus far led to no improvement and no clear answers, so we may need to consider more extreme measures. But in the meantime, he is learning to tolerate, if not quite enjoy, warm water compresses.

Something that certainly hasn’t helped the state of his ear was an incredibly high ACTH level we unearthed upon running intake blood work. He has since been started on Pergolide, which has reduced his levels back to normal range, and will help his body fight infections better.

It has been great, getting to know this soot and snow colored guy. Ranger has been a lovely addition to our herd — him and his facial friend.