Annabella – A New Rescue Story

Annabella, ‘Bella’ came from an Appaloosa breeding farm – but not your typical breeding farm that handles the horses and provides regular care and maintenance. Poor Bella was pastured at a farm with 3
other stallions and the horses were not handled much – her feet were rarely
done (if they ever were even done at all). The owner of the farm passed away,
which left several lovely Appaloosa horses with no homes. The family of the
owner connected with Heaven Can Wait Equine Rescue, which ended up taking three
of these Appaloosas. Heaven Can Wait Equine Rescue and Lindsey Forkun
Equestrian have partnered together, through the Horse Rescue Series, which has
allowed Bella to come to Lindsey for training.

Bella arrived Saturday July 3. She is about three years old and stands around 15H. She arrived looking a little skinny and with hooves that looked as if they had never been trimmed. She was very
pleasant to lead and bring into the paddock. She joined her new herd (Tuff,
Fenix and Lakota) in the paddock and it took no time at all to see that this
little girl is the submissive type. Bella was pushed around by Tuff and Fenix.
After Lakota arrived, she quickly made an alliance with her.

Lakota began to keep Tuff and Fenix away from Bella, protecting Bella from being pushed around. The pasture is quite large though, so it is easy for Lakota and Bella to stay separate from Fenix
and Tuff. It was nice to see Bella have a friend to help her out.

On Sunday July 4 it was time to play with Bella and see what she was all about. It turns out she is an absolute sweetheart and suck for attention. Bella hangs out by the fence line and enjoys cuddles and
rubs from the boarders. She is super easy to lead and move around and wants to
be very trusting of people.

I had been told Bella was not good with her feet and was unable to receive a trim before leaving Heave Can Wait Equine Rescue, so I decided to focus on that issue. While in the paddock, I ran my
hand down Bella’s leg… when I got to the knee, she started to walk away. I
simply asked Bella to stand still, and once Bella was standing still, I pulled
my hand away (retreated) and rubbed somewhere else where she was more
comfortable. I did this a few times until I could touch her front legs.

What I like about working with Bella is that she didn’t try to run away or fight when I was touching her legs. She was nervous about it, but she just calmly walked forward as if to say “Please
don’t”.

My goals for Bella are: to accept the saddle, learn how to do circles, and to pick up her feet easily. Bella has such a sweet, trusting, and friendly personality that I think she will learn quickly
and can accomplish these goals within a month.

Stay tuned for more Bella updates!!

To see pictures of Bella and see more Bella updates please visit here: http://www.lfequestrian.com/RescueBlog.php?category=4