Belle Star

She's Back - #233 Chestnut QH mare. Appx. 14.2 hands. Appx. 10 -12 yrs. old Rides well and would require an intermediate rider. Possibly ringbone in right fore. This mare was previously in the feedlot and is now back due to the fact that she limps. The ringbone seems to have fused and does not cause pain as she was ridden quite a bit while she was gone. At one time, this mare was used to gather wild cattle. She also now has a Mexican brand on her.

Update 6/13/01 - This lovely girl, named Belle Starr, will be headed home on Sunday! Mom Catherine and family are anxiously awaiting her arrival. Thanks to the generosity of Lynne who will be transporting this Chestnut beauty to her new home, arrival time will be soon! Thanks to all who helped to make this happen for Catherine and for this lovely mare! We will be waiting to hear of Belle Starr's arrival, subsequent settling in, and teaching Catherine what it means to be owned by a Starr!

Update 6/19/01 - She is being such a good girl. I gave her a bath today. She was great. Very still for the water and got a little scared when the soap didn't rinse out and I had to MORE water on her. The scraper was unsettling too. She stuck it out like a real trooper. I talked to her the whole time and let her sniff everything first. I gave her a treat bucket and she kept looking at it like "are you sure this is for me?" She took a few very tentative bites and then those taste buds took over. All to soon the bucket was empty. Thank goodness I had a horse cookie in my pocket. The poor thing was wasting away. LOL! Lenny a cat at the ranch has already greeted Belle with his fence climbing and meowing. So things are going well. I gave her some turn out and she walked to the far end of the arena. I didn't notice a limp. But still the vet is coming out next week for a tune up and worming. I heard from one of the other borders that she already begs for treats! She calls to people when they walk by. She likes to sniff my face. Today when I had to leave she followed me to the stall door and wanted to follow me out. Then she walked down the side of the stall watching me.
What a joy she is.

Update 7/14/01 - Belle has new shoes!! She has bar shoes on the front with pads and regular shoes on the back. She walks more fluidly already. The english trainer where I board even commented on her limp reduction. She liked the shoer. He took his time to see how she moved and look over her conformation and injury. He had some ideas about her treatment before he lifted a hoof. I really like that about him. She got in a bit of a scrape with a very unstable 3 year old gelding. He went at her no holds barred. I was scared as all get out. I had to lead her out of her pen through his and he just went bezerk!! When it was over, neither one had a scratch. Amazing! I had to clean his pen and her's so that I could switch them. That way I wouldn't have to go through the hassle and anxiety of facing him every time I wanted to take her out. Well, there was added excitement when we realized that the pen hen was still sitting on a clutch of eggs in the feeder. Belle was taken aback but soon the call to eat over came any apprehension. She is in general population now. Her arrival did not go unnoticed by a charming arabian gelding, Shalomar. He is quite taken with Miss Belle, much to the dismay of the 4 year old tovero gelding Tex. Tex beat Shalomar up pretty badly over her (before she was in the big pen with the others). Tex got moved out and now all is fine. Belle and her beau took a nice long stroll when she was let in. He is a very friendly guy. I couldn't have picked a better match. ( love is in the air, everywhere I look around.....every sight and every sound ) The western trainer is going to give us an assessment of what we know and what we don't know in a few weeks. I want her to settle a little more. Here are some picts of her new shoes and hooves. The farrier said that she had been walking on her toes.

rear legs on the left and front legs on the right.
Just for fun, here is sunset at the ranch.

Update 8/5/01 - Belle is a gem to ride! She pays very close attention to the cues that I remember and does exactly what is asked!! To think they didn't want to keep such a well mannered and fine lady is just beyond me, (.....but not so beyond me that I want them to have her back, nope she stays put) She has new human friend of mine that she likes. She does well with her snaffle and the bareback pad. What she really wants is for me to move in with her and take her everywhere. I get the feeling that she thinks she's a dog or a lap horse. hmmmm, what on earth (carrots, cookies, apples, grain, bathing, talking, etc.) made her think a thing like that? hahahaha

Update 1/4/02 - It's been a while! With a brief break in the chaos I wanted to let you know how Belle Starr was doing. The shoeing is amazing. There is no sign of any injury. The Vet is impressed. She got kicked ( she's the belle of the barn) in a scuffle over her affections. IT was a good crack on the outside of her left knee. The Vet came out and luckily nothing was broken. That was about 2 months ago. She healed up very nicely. She is so funny. If I've been to long between visits, she pouts and won't play with me. Then the next time I come it's as if my infraction never happened. She likes to play hide and seek in the small eucalyptus (sp?) forest. My mother is one of her favorite people. The stand together and just look around. She and I go and look for the cows too. I tell her to go and take a look and see if the cows are in the front pasture. She and I walk up to the end of the arena and peek out. She lifts her head up high and snorts.
Catherine