Joker’s Reno Sun, aka Joker is gone

Well the journey was safe and uneventful — I’ll give it that, lol. Thanks to hitting work traffic coming home, I ended up spending 12 hours to the minute on this venture. Had I come straight down 65 thru Nashville, I still might not be home🤐

I didn’t pass on Buckshot but I didn’t commit to him either. I was really impressed with how great he walled a couple hundred feet of gravel drive and never missed a beat, even though his hooves need trimmed. He is a very fast walker for a little QH/ mix. He’s a lot thinner than he appears in his fotos.

I asked to see his teeth. It’s a good thing the young lady had hold of his head because he gave a violent jerk upward. He could have been hurt pretty bad when the dental work was done, or he has not had his mouth handled much. At 26, if he hasn‘t had much handling in that regard it’s a worrisome thing.

I will say, of three aged geldings I looked at, Buckshot was by far the healthiest. @george the mule thano’s for heads up on the possibility of stringhalt, I didn’t pick up on that.

I also Looked at the Rocky that I was sure has metabolic issues. Boy was I spot on. He also has Cushings. What a shame as he is gentle and a dead broke trail horse. People probably surrendered him because they didn’t want to be bothered caring for him, plus all the expenses. He looks to be very well bred.

I also looked at Buckshot’s buddy, a Paint named Moonshine. He broke my heart. He was once a winning show horse for a young girl —- until he developed some sort of issues in his backend and they were done with him. He has trouble walking - reminds me of how Joker walked when he needed the chiropractor.

The day wasn’t a total loss because I haven’t discounted Buckshot yet, but I do have a few local leads to check on.

I do know this— if I were to bring Buckshot home, I’m leaving here at 6:00 AM. Not only to get home before dark but the last 20 miles of road to that place are unreal. The road is narrow and the sides are washed out to where a vehicle could roll over if it goes off the edge🤯🤯

But the farms are gorgeous and many many acres. Unlike the Horse farms down here, folks up there are hanging on to their land.

Much to think about. Maybe my expectations are too high - until I think about all of my Keepers and how well mannered all of them were. Even onery 28 yr old Rusty has more manners

Anyway that’s how the day went. The car was very comfortable on my back and hips, but it guzzled gas - maybe I shouldn’t have been driving 80-85 every chance I got - except during rush hour traffic - THAT was the pits 👽👽

@Acadianartist , you’re probably right that I’m comparing other horses to Joker. When the handler took Buckshot into the arena, there was a cute little (and too young) Palomino mare waiting to be visited by a potential adopter. She wasn’t tied, in Joker’s image, she walked right up to me and put her nose in my hand. I had to move her so the handler could get Buckshot out of the gate. I put my hand on her chest, asked her to step back and she did! Had she been a gelding and older, I would have wrote the check on her back😘

Shortly after that was when Buckshot jerked his head to the sky when we tried to look at his mouth, so it didn’t do much to win me over. I know he’s been ripped out of his home when his elderly owner could no longer care for for him and he has a right to be on guard and nervous. They also feed sweet feed because, as a rescue who relies solely on donations, sweet feed at supper time is better than no feed. The horses are mostly out 24/7 in good sized-to-big pastures with roundbales. The more I watched Buckshot and how he reacted, the more I’d bet money he is part Arab.

If it’s meant to be, he will still be there after my trailer is fixed - another brake spring broke and it seems the two axles are from two different companies, making finding brake springs doubly difficult🤐

@carshon thank you very much for your kind thoughts. I googled River Side Equine and Livestock, and Safe Harbor Sanctuary in Cottontown came up. I have been watching them too. They seem to have all mares ATM. I really hope to find a gelding as Rusty can be on the studdy side with mares. I learned that when our fence neighbor brought In a couple of mares, when we first moved here. That horse made a fool of himself🥴🥴

@walkinthewalk , one of the local-to-me rescues that I really respect has just taken in two small herds from two different elderly owners who could no longer take care of the horses. One was a Morgan herd of around 10 horses, and they offered me the sweetest teddy bear looking 31 year old little mare. A couple of weeks before, I had arranged for a 20 year old mare from Fizz's breeder to come home with us just as soon as we can get a trailer on our road, and I don't want to go back on that offer. Still, my heart strings are torn on saying no to that sweet little senior mare who just needs a soft landing...but I really don't have the set up for 4 horses right now. I am also selfishly not sure that I can prepare myself for the likelihood of losing another horse so soon; she is healthy for her age and circumstances right now, but realistically, she's an old lady. She's in a good place right now, but I still feel a pang of guilt saying no to the people who asked me to take her. The rest of her herd is younger but sadly are rather feral right now because they had not had much human interaction for quite some time. It's a really sad situation. While there are certainly some rescues with questionable practices, the ones who are doing the right thing the right way really do take on difficult situations for the good of the horse.

Hope your next companion appears sooner rather than later. I agree with Acadian that it doesn't sound like Buckshot feels like the right next partner.

@egrogan I am so sorry you find yourself in such a heart wrenching dilemma. My heart hurts for the 31 year old mare and also for her herd family who have not been handled and this puts them at huge risk for a good adoption.

I am finding this is not uncommon amongst the elderly. Being elderly myself, I would love to know what these folks are thinking when they keep putting foals on the ground and don’t have the strength or the resources to get them properly trained - just let them grow up and become pasture pets without a thought to their future when the owners are gone. My farrier knows of a small herd of Arabs in a similar situation.

****
DH never carries his cell phone so he missed what was probably a stellar Kodak Moment between Freyja the Rottweiler and Rusty.

DH gave Rusty his supper while I was gone. Rusty was getting a drink before coming in the barn and I guess Freyja was walking around him, studying him. When Rusty had enough water, Freyja went to the tub and drank, which is not that normal for her. While she was drinking, Rusty put his nose on her back and gently sniffed her from one end to the other. Then he shook his head and walked away. Maybe that meant “you still smell like a dog but ok”.😘

Acadianartist said:

Is there any chance Rusty will adjust to solo life given that you have other animals on the farm? I'd be tempted to go slow, take my time... when the perfect horse comes along, go for it, but in the meantime, maybe Rusty needs time to mourn too.

Click to expand...

I am wondering that myself. When Duke (November 2014) and Streeter (May, 2015j passed, he was beside himself. It took him a year to venture into the far pasture and he never would go on the high ridge, until I let Joker in with him, during Joker’s last 2-3 weeks.

Rusty is a lot different this time. It seems as if he has accepted everything much better now that he is older. He chooses to keep his routine the same, so I do my best to honor that. As has always been the routine, he is at the barn fence by dusk, waiting to come in for supper. His stall is open to the 24 X 100 paddock (as it always has been), so he has plenty of room to move. He lays down to sleep in his stall and he sleeps quiet. I’ve got him on Succeed and will keep him on it until???

Rusty is the horse that never did engage in mutual grooming - he was invited time and time again by Streeter and Joker, all he did was bite them. So I think he can go it alone, at least for awhile.

He would call to Joker when Joker disappeared on him, when they were separated, but he clearly understands Joker is not coming out from around the barn this time.

Mom always told me that “a watchpot never boils”. I decided to just stop looking for a companion for Rusty, because I’m not running all over creation and Rusty does seem to be doing ok. However, my conscience at leaving him alone at night continues to bother me.

So, having a strong theocratic background anyway, and being retired in the South, I have done what all good Southerners do, I prayed about it.

Turns out Duncan’s owner has been doing the same thing - praying about finding him a nice retirement home east of the Mississippi.

His owner & her husband divide their time between Middle Tennessee and Southern California and would rather he was here. He is at a place where there are 400 (yes that’s four hundred horses) and he is stalled 22 hours daily when she isn’t there to get him out. His stall is 12 x 24 but still — he can’t be a horse and that is not how she wants him to live out his life.

We hit it off right away, when she came to the farm for us to interview each other. Lovely lovely woman who wants the best for this horse’s last years but in the predicament of business taking her back and forth, so not having the property nor the time to do manage Duncan’s last years herself.

This is Duncan, a 24 yr old Warmblood, who was a winning H/J horse in his younger years. He is the same height as Rusty, in good health, barefoot, and very gentle natured. Duncan looks small framed for a Warmblood but then my knowledge of them is slim. I had taken him more for an Appendix bred QH, which the owner said he has been mistaken for one.

Duncan’s passage is booked but the shipper has to wait for a full load, so it may be 7-10 days before he gets here. He will arrive at a drop point outside Shelbyville, where I will pick him up as a semi could never in this lifetime get up my road. Pickup time could be anywhere from 2:00 AM forward, lollol. Good thing DH has my trailer back together.

The owner shared videos of him round penning at liberty and he seems to be very calm and good natured. My big thing will be getting him acclimated to pasture. She doesn’t think he has ever seen a real grass pasture.