I'll take mine with a side of baggage please....

So, when I bought Sora I knew that she came with some baggage. I felt confident that the issues that she did have were things I could deal with and didn't conflict with what I wanted her for.

Now, I know that compared to most rescues Sora's few problems would be considered small potatoes but remember that I was looking for a training project with fairly little training experience on my part and I was looking for an unbroke two-year-old that was halter broken etc. and not a horse with any problems.

When I went to visit Sora she was tense, she carried her head high and her eyes were pinched. Despite this the trainer had just trimmed her hooves for the first time and had just trained her to stand still while he sprayed her with flyspray. She listened to him but she also seemed to be terrified of him. I think the reason was that he was a Quarter Horse trainer so he was used to having to motivate horses that weren't quite as sensitive as an Arabian. He kept mentioning that although he didn't like Ay-rabs she was really smart and picked stuff up right away.

During that first meeting the trainer told me what he thought had happened with Sora. He told me that Sora had been stuck in a pasture with a bunch of other yearlings and not touched until she was about two. She wasn't handled at all during this time so when they decided to sell her they chased her into a stall, knocked her down and eared her to get her clipped up so she looked like she had been handled. The woman I bought Sora from bought her from these people. The woman I bought Sora from than turned her out in one of the trainer's huge pastures while he started one of her other horses. Eventually when it was time for him to start Sora they couldn't get near her (hm, I wonder why). Soo... the trainer roped her. Yeah, that won't leave any emotional baggage on an Arab *rolls eyes*. They got her in a stall and got a halter on her somehow. After that he started working with her and made tons of progress.

Because of all of this Sora had some issues when I got her. She was hard to catch, didn't want anything going over her head(I think from the roping experiance), wouldn't let you get even close to touching her ears (especially her left one), and was nervous about letting people behind her. By now almost all of that stuff is in the past. By the end of the first day she was happy to be caught and by the end of the first week she was letting me touch her ears.

Once again I realize that this stuff is nothing like the hard core issues horses come with out of rescue but it made a two year old that should have been completely loving and happy a tense, nervous unhappy horse.

Finally, before and after pictures :~)
Before,

This is the trainer coaching me on how to catch her. I really think he thought I was going to have major trouble with her. :~)

Sora is NOT convinced that she wants anything to do with me :*(

She looks really excited about being handled doesn't she.
Later,


Can't keep her away to take pictures lol! Note the relaxed eyes and ears.

Dorky I know! This was three months after I got her. My sister and I went into our local town and trick-or-treated. Sora was great and didn't jump around even with my white skirt blowing between her legs.
Finally,