Ruckus
2012 black Breed Pony gelding
Type of Rescue: Owner Surrender
Intake Date: 5/11/22
Adoption Date: 7/19/22
Length of Time with SAFE: 3 months (the 2nd time)
ADOPTED!! by Lauren and Bryan
Ruckus was one of five horses surrendered to SAFE in 2016 after their owner passed away unexpectedly. He and his friends came to SAFE in good health, but with very uncertain futures. Ruckus quickly became a volunteer favorite, and we delighted in the way this tiny horse conducted himself among his much larger herd mates, each of whom clearly adored him. He was adopted fairly quickly in April of 2017 to be a companion horse for the family’s 15 yr old racehorse. The two were quickly best friends.
In May of 2022, due to personal circumstances, Ruckus’ owner needed to rehome him and another SAFE alum horse, Artie. Because of the short timeline the adopter had to find them a new home, we happily took the two back and continued the search for a new family. It wasn’t long at all before he caught the eye of Lauren and Bryan who have already adopted 3 SAFE horses! Phoenix, King and Sinatra were now about to get a fourth pint sized buddy. Lauren and Bryan were very impressed with how relaxed Ruckus was around their two little boys. This was a match made in heaven!
Ruckus is Adopted!
Ruckus was one of five horses surrendered to SAFE in 2016 after their owner passed away unexpectedly. He and his friends came to SAFE in good health, but with very uncertain futures. Ruckus quickly became a volunteer favorite, and we delighted in the way this tiny horse conducted himself among his much larger herd mates, each of whom clearly adored him. He was adopted fairly quickly in April of 2017 to be a companion horse for the family’s 15 yr old racehorse. The two were quickly best friends.
In May of 2022, due to personal circumstances, Ruckus’ owner needed to rehome him and another SAFE alum horse, Artie. Because of the short timeline the adopter had to find them a new home, we happily took the two back and continued the search for a new family. It wasn’t long at all before he caught the eye of Lauren and Bryan who have already adopted 3 SAFE horses! Phoenix, King and Sinatra were now about to get a fourth pint sized buddy. Lauren and Bryan were very impressed with how relaxed Ruckus was around their two little boys. This was a match made in heaven!
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- Ruckus meets his new family for the first time
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- Ruckus gets along great with his new brothers
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- Ruckus was pals with Sparky before being adopted so quickly
Artie and Ruckus Return
Due to sudden life changes, Artie and Ruckus’ owner needed SAFE’s assistance in rehoming them. We commit a lifetime of safety to each and every horse who passes through our care and we picked them up this week.
Artie had many fans before leaving SAFE last summer, so many of the volunteers will be happy to see him peeking out his former shelter window, where he enjoyed flipping his hay bag out to enjoy dinner with a view. Ruckus, having been adopted in 2017, doesn’t have as many fans… YET! However, when everyone gets a peek at his small stature and adorable blue eyed face, his paddock will be sure to become one of the most visited.
The two are settling in nicely and seem to be the best of friends. When fed, they prefer to share one hay bag, even though there are two options. We look forward to reacquainting ourselves with these two cuties and beginning the search for their next lucky adopter.
Cold Weather is Coming!
Our Alumni’s get the best treatment! With the cold temperatures going into winter, we’ve had some cute photos sent to us with horses all snug in their mid weight blankets. In their previous lives, many of these horses had to fend for themselves during harsh weather conditions. Now they have wonderful families who add a little coziness to their lives which not only keeps them warm, but warms our hearts.
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- Artie, with Ruckus
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- Ruckus
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- Checkers
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- Breve
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- Kat
Alumni Update: Ruckus
We recently checked in with Ruckus’ adopter, Jacquie. She said he sure is a smart boy. They’ve been working with a driving apparatus and are hoping to add a cart in the future.
Busy Bee update
another brilliant update from Ruckus’ family:
Hello hello,
Here are some pics of Ruckus is his big boy bridle driving and also with his new fly sheet for this season with the cutest bee print ever 😂 We are calling it the “Busy Bee” very fitting for little man Rucky. He’s done super driving at the walk and jog, I hope to get him cantering once I get him a little more developed on the lunge line so I can collect him a bit. But he should be ready to drive in the big arena soon! He seems to like it, he was very natural at it.
Enjoy!
What’s New, Rucky Bleu?
Alumni Update on Ruckus from adopter Jacquie:
April marks one year since we were matched with our spicy Farm mascot Rucky Bleu. It feels like we’ve been together forever in a good way! Getting to know his personality, Ruckus is smart, spicy and sweet all wrapped into one. We call him the Thoroughbred Pony because he is quite hot, full of go and can be quite the handful. This also makes him THE MOST FUN PONY EVER! Being a Thoroughbred person I absolutely love what makes them tick and how the mind works, so Ruckus is awesome for me to work with! Such a highly intelligent little beast. He LOVES to work! He is a driving/in hand Dressage Pony. He’s brilliant, he is able to collect and extend his trot, leg yield and shoulder in, and can bend through his rib cage and stretch his top line while staying on his outside shoulder each direction, can you say supple pony?! We are working on his canter and asking for a little extended canter back to working canter, he’s getting stronger! But oh my god he is a Dressage pony genius! And he enjoys it!! He will leave his friends no problem and get down to business. He is quite the confident little thing and I think the Dressage really stimulates his mind. I’m hoping to incorporate everything into more ground driving once he is more proficient and who knows maybe get some piaffe and even some little pony passage steps in there. I am SO impressed he is absolutely brilliant and a pleasure to work with! He is my little pony dream come true!!! Not to mention the most handsome little devil too 😍
We absolutely love him so much and his energy around the farm is awesome. He is more of a lead personality and that has really helped our other horses feel comfortable and confident. TEAM RUCKUS! I think I need to start a blog 😁🦄
Ruckus’ New Home
We received this great adoption check in report on Ruckus and wanted to share it with you. What cute pictures too!
“Ruckus got a fly sheet and a matching rain sheet with Aurie. He is pretty proud of his new wardrobe. They are totally best friends for life they make the best pair. And Aurie is so good with him and gentle with him when they play together. Rucky is keeping him active! We got him his own nameplate leather halter and we put his name as Rucky Bleu. That’s his “show” name since he wants to be a big horse too. He is doing really great and loving all the extra attention. We can’t say it enough how much we love that little man.”
Ruckus is Adopted!
Meeting Aurie for the first time
Congratulations to the Hiner family on their adoption of Ruckus! The Hiners were looking for a companion for their 15 year old retired racehorse, Aurie, also known as The Great Face. Aurie and Ruckus have developed a wonderful friendship, and the two are inseparable! We are so happy for our little friend and wish him the best in his new life!
Joel Conner Clinic Report: Ruckus
SAFE’s volunteer riders and their horses spent last weekend working with Joel Conner. Here’s a report from Terry about her session with Ruckus:
When I found out SAFE was getting another mini, I thought we would be thinking of him as a companion only. Sunny and Shasta are the only minis I had ever worked with and they are SO tiny. But when I met Ruckus, he was totally different…he stands at 10 hands and weighs 400 pounds and acts more like a horse than a mini. I thought maybe we should see how he would do in the groundwork clinic with Joel.
So there I was with my little buddy standing at my side in the arena with 11 large horses towering around us, thinking what the heck did I get us into? To my complete surprise Ruckus was a ROCK STAR!! I took things slow since I had done nothing with him to prepare with him for the class, we were literally starting at day 1! I would offer him the “good deal”, maybe have to turn up the ask just a little and he would respond. He was willing to go along with what I was asking of him with a good expression and little fuss. I was very surprised at how little I needed to ask for things like the back up off the halter knot to have him respond to my presence and light aid. The first day was a lot of information all at once, but we just took it in little bite size steps. He was a bit out of shape so I didn’t ask for too much and while we has willing I could tell that he was taking in everything around him and his focus trailed off to the other horses frequently.
Joel helped me saddle Ruckus for the first time at SAFE. We were told that he had been saddled and ridden before but had no idea what he might act like now. He didn’t even bat an eye! Super gentle about the whole endeavor. We worked for the remainder of the morning with the saddle on without any trouble. One of the things that Joel said Ruckus will needs to do really well if kids are going to ride him is be able to stop on the one rein. I spent a good amount of time on this Saturday morning and felt some good changes.
On the second day I realized something amazing: I was officially working with a little genius! He remembered everything we had been doing the day before and we were able to build way beyond what I thought we would be doing in just 2 sessions. Now when I reached for the rein to bend him, he was reaching back for me. Little Ruckus was doing things that some of the larger horses it takes weeks to accomplish. He was 100% more focused Sunday morning, looking to me for what to do next and where to move his feet. After just one try, he was doing the half circle exercise like a pro. Granted I am totally bragging on how great this little guy is but seriously IMPRESSED! We still need a little more work from right to left but with just a small correction he was figuring it out.
While he looks just CUTE AS A BUTTON in the kids saddle, he is not ready for a rider yet. I want to spend some time working on his stop and getting him a bit more in shape. We have a few very light adult volunteer riders that are willing to sit aboard when he is ready. Honestly, if I do my work right it should be a very uneventful pony ride! We will keep working at it and see what Ruckus tells us about this riding thing… He might just be the whole package: beauty, brains, and bravery!
Here are some photos Jessica took of us at the clinic. Enjoy!
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- What? I just wanted to taste test it…
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- Yummy!!
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- Look at that little front end yielding!!
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- HUGS!!
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- Learning to bend to a stop.
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- Boo!
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- Peek a…
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- Most important part of the training… Pets and Peace!
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- Teaching the big horses a thing or two!
Intake Photos
Prince, Rico, Vida, Rosie, and Ruckus were surrendered to SAFE after their owner passed away unexpectedly from cancer. The five horses were transported without incident to a SAFE foster home, where they will remain until their quarantine period is over. We’ve been told that the four full-sized horses are well started under saddle and some are very easy to ride. They all seem to be very well mannered and reasonably healthy. The five together make up a lovely little herd, and we’ve really enjoyed watching them interact with each other.
