Tabitha has completed 30 days of training to restart her with Benjamin Hannan. She was ground worked at SAFE and Joel Conner put the first 3 rides on her. After seeing that she was a bit troubled with a rider, we felt it was best for her to go to Ben for a solid month of professional training before making her available for adoption. Throughout the month we consistently received good reports on her progress. She was ridden outside and even went out and herded other horses in off the fields. As Ben put it: he would be very comfortable taking her out and doing a job with her right now, whether that would be at a branding, moving cattle, or simply out on a ranch checking fences. She has a good mind, wants to please, and is eager to answer what is being asked of her.
Tabitha is back home now and we’ve let her settle back into the routine at Safe Harbor. She and Asha found each other again and there was lots of talking and calling out to each other. Overall she seems happy and relaxed to be back home. Terry has been able to ride her a few times but she’s kept the work light due to the poor air quality in our area the past few days. From what she’s observed, Tabby is very sensitive, has a lot of try and forward thinking. Terry spent a great deal of their first sessions getting her to relax with a new rider and not to worry that she would get her into any jams. Each day she showed a great amount of improvement and they carried over to the next sessions. She is a very rewarding horse to work with because of the amount of change coming through in each session.
It will be a little time before we take her out on the trails but with a buddy horse along we think she will do great. We are picking up where Ben left off and will continue what he started getting her freed up in the front end and more balanced off of her forehand, One thing we would really like to see is her hooking into “feel” more for downward transitions. If she can listen to her rider’s energy and come down to a walk and halt when they relax, she will have made a huge leap forward in her trust of people and partnership with her handlers. This is something Terry worked on with her before she went to Ben’s in the round pen and at liberty. In the beginning she was so panicked, she couldn’t feel of a request to stop. It isn’t surprising this is something she struggles with as a riding horse as well. Small changes everyday are leading to a transform in her relationship with people. We have high hopes this mare will make it and will soon be ready to partner up with a new owner. We are taking applications now. She is currently appropriate for an intermediate rider who can continue to support her as a green riding horse.
