Hi,
So I've run into a problem in the last few weeks and it is really hard on me. I'm not sure who to ask for help but my mom had no suggestions so I figured I'd ask Reddit. This has really been eating at me and makes me cry every time I think about it.
My best friend moved in to a house with roommates in a country area where everyone has horses. One of his roommates has a horse. The horses cage is small, one of the square shaped normal horse cages (?). He never gets let out to walk or run or anything at all. If she is home she is inside and never goes out except to feed the horse. His other roommate said the horse has not left the cage in the four years he has lived there. He has a disease possibly from not moving.
I can tell the horse wants to be sweet but he is a little scared of people. He has a sad look in his eyes and I can't just let him rot to death in there. My friend told me not to say anything to his roommate about the horse and not to ask if I can ride or walk him. He said if I found somewhere to take him just to let him out and say he escaped. My friend is on the horses side but the horses owner is sensitive about the subject (well maybe because you're guilty of how you treat your horse?!). He wants to avoid conflict.
Is there a horse rescue or something I can call or am I being dramatic because the horse is fed and has a little roof to sit under? Horses are meant to run and be free I thought?? I need advice Please!!!!
So, I recently got myself a Norwegian Coldblood Trotter. She's a 15 year old former harness racing horse and she has had 3 foals. Her last foal was born in 2016 and she hasn't been used for anything since that.
I rode her for the first time yesterday. She's a great horse, just... not a riding horse. It became quite clear to me that she hasn't been ridden nearly as much as the previous owner claimed. She's skittish and stressed, obviously uncomfortable with me as a rider and very sensitive to my legs. Any pressure I'd put on her would certainly have her shoot off like a rocket.
She doesn't walk - she trots. That makes sense, seeing as how that's what she was bred for. I mean, she won't ever be a high class dressage horse, but I'd like for her to at least be comfortable with me as a rider.
Runa has a very smooth and clean gait, and is very soft in the mouth, in another life I'm sure she could've been a pretty decent dressage horse. That train has unfortunately left the station now. But I have high hopes for her in terms of turning her into a riding horse. The only problem is... I have no clue as to where to start. My first thought is definitely to have her saddled up and double line lunge her. Without a rider to start with, I think.
I'm no expert - this is new to me. And it's new to her. We definitely have to build trust for this to work, but how? And where do I go from there? Does anyone have any advice for us? 😄
