(photos by Kira Hawk)
The work just starts when a horse in trouble is brought into a rescue. That horse, those horses, need to be fed, mucked, groomed, conditioned, and more than likely trained. The time comes when someone must take each horse for a "test drive" to assess if they are ridable and/or establish training goals. For Charlie, that someone was Jerry Boots.
Jerry is the owner (along with his wife) of Hillcrest Stables in Loleta. He is also a registered trainer for the Extreme Mustang Makeover events and a volunteer with HRHR. The man has a special place in his heart for mustangs and volunteered to see how Charlie would respond under saddle.Charlie took the bit like a pro. When it came to ground work, Charlie clearly had some advanced moves. Long-lining? No problem!
Getting saddled? Hmmm, not so much. Charlie had some serious sideways evasion when it was time to tighten the girth.
Having Jerry on his back? Ah, not really liking this. A little bit of back humping. For a minute by-standers were worried that Charlie was going to blow. But then he settled and stood still.
And stood.
And stood. What happened to Charlie's go-button? Folks were left wondering if Charlie had been a driving horse, or maybe ridden a very long time ago. Next week he will go back to Hillcrest and Jerry will work with him for a few more days.
