TIER Success Stories

Captain & Jon


New pictures 8/16/99

Captain (Cappy) - #69. Chestnut QH type Gelding. Appx. 12-15 yrs. 15.1 hands. Sore in the behind. I do not know the cause of the soreness. Light riding. This horse would make a nice children's horse. He has been at the summer camps where he was ridden by children.

This cute little guy has a home and a buddy to travel home with! He has been saved by Sandy, who also rescued # 67! Isn't that great! Both of these boys will be living in horse heaven in Texas. They will be able to roam the pasture together for the rest of their lives. Thank you Sandy.

Knowing our plight at home concerning pens to put horses in until their new parents could arrange to have them transported, Sandy also donated funds toward the purchase of a pen. That pen was purchased, a divider put it and it stands ready to receive these two boys. Sandy, there aren't enough words to convey our gratitude at your generosity. This pen will help us to help more horses. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

UPDATE 9-9-99
Then we got Cappy. Through the grooming and saddling, he was Mr. Quiet. He did not twitch a muscle. We did not expect much from him as we expected him to know just enough to be a good kid horse as gentle as he is. Ray tried lunging him for about 30 seconds. Cappy did not have a clue. He does "whoa" great, but the part about going around in a circle just puzzled him, so Ray said that's OK and just got on. Cappy stood for mounting like a rock. Cappy walked out with a lovely western pleasure collection on very loose rein. Then he did that nice little rolling jog they like. Then he did a lovely little lope. We are beginning to suspect that maybe there is more here than we suspected. Ray sensed that he was on more horse than he had thought almost immediately. Ray used to train and show reiners. He tried a turn on the backhand, and Cappy gave it to him. Then, he tried a side pass. Cappy did not have a clue on the side pass. Undeterred, Ray picked up some speed and set Cappy up for a sliding stop. I have never seen a better stop from a canter. If Cappy had been going faster and had on sliding plates, it would have been spectacular. It was really good anyway. Keep in mind Cappy was also wearing the training snaffle. How many horses have you ever seen that will do a sliding stop in a light snaffle?? Then, Ray asked for a flying lead change. Cappy did drag the change in back a little, but it was a good, solid change. I have seen horses win classes with lead changes no better than that. The only thing that Cappy did wrong was he did not stand still quite long enough for Ray to get out his chew of tobacco. Ray had to say "whoa" so Cappy would wait long enough. Darn, and we thought he was the perfect western horse up until then. Since I don't chew, it probably won't be a problem! Toward the end of the ride, Cappy was having a little soreness in the right front. Ray could feel it, but we could not see anything from the ground. Ray got off, and we decided to give Cappy the winter to recover from all of his various sore spots that have been observed by you and the little bit of soreness he had when Ray rode him. We are pretty sure it is just that he was allowed to get way down in weight and was over used to a great degree. So, all we will expect him to do for the next few months is eat and be sweet. He is pretty good at eating and definitely world class at being sweet. He should not have a problem with that assignment! Both boys are still over at Tressia's being fed 3 times a day. Whenever she says, they will come here for the winter. Greg and I have visiting rights.

Update 1/6/00 - Cappy did something today that made me so happy. Even though he and Jon are buddies, Jon will run Cappy off of feed given the chance. Cappy always just goes on to another tub. Today, when Jon started to run Cappy off, Cappy actually kicked at Jon. Jon stopped in his tracks with a surprised look. Usually I don't reinforce that kind of behavior, but I gave Cappy a few "atta boys." He gave me a sort of "thank you" look and went on about his eating. You know a horse is coming around when they act like a horse should.

Also, Jon's leg has gone down a lot recently. I guess he is absorbing the scar tissue. It just seems to steadily go down. It is to the point that if he were not so refined, he would not have a thick leg. I have horses with heavier bone structure that have legs as thick as his is now. His other three legs are so refined though that the leg is still bigger in comparison to them. Or maybe he is getting more exercise trying to best Cappy when they play and that is making the leg go down!

Update 3-24-00 - Cappy is doing great. He is getting a nice butt on him as well. He is so sweet. Definitely one of those that gets to you really quickly. He is so patient and lovable. I believe that when he finishes shedding, he is going to be considerably darker than we are used to. Some more of that feeding well stuff. He looks more and more like the poster child for the working Quarter Horse! He certainly makes a world class pasture ornament, whether I ever do anything besides love him or not!

Jonsau Nim (Jon) - #67. Bay TB gelding. Appx. 15 yrs., 16.2 -3 hands. White around coronet bands on both front feet. Star. This horse is really broke to ride. Big, nice horse. His problem? He has cellulitis in one of his hind legs. This causes the leg to be much thicker than the others/swollen. It is my understanding (I am no vet!) that a good exercise program can keep the swelling down, but it will not go away. At present it is somewhat stiff when he first moves out, but after some moving around he limbers up quite well. Exercise would help the present stiffness. Light Riding. Intermediate rider.

#67 has found a home with a lovely lady and her son in Texas. He will come to TIER until their own hauler can come to get him in a couple weeks. He will be a welcome addition! In fact, because TIER cannot afford to purchase any pipe corrals for the horses right now, this lady has offered to buy a pen to keep this beautiful gelding in! When the gelding goes home, she is donating the pen to TIER! Thank you so much Sandy for saving this wonderful horse and helping TIER to house another horse in the future! Who knows, maybe we will be able to bring Rio or Easter home!

UPDATE 9-9-99
We all knew that Jon was/is gorgeous. As he puts on weight, he gets even better. Cappy is the true ugly duckling story. He is turning into one of the most beautiful horses I have ever seen. He is a deep golden sorrel, and it would be hard to beat his conformation. He is becoming as beautiful outside as he already was inside. We finally got around to a test ride. I meant to take pictures, but I just forgot. Here is why. Ray volunteered to test them for us as he is really good at detecting even the slightest discomfort, etc. We got Jon first. During the grooming process, he was a total gentleman except for proving he is a TB by setting back once. (Jennifer has a theory about that. She says that a lot of horses that are kept in big barns are used to being cross-tied. When they are tied straight for the first few times, seeing the rope in front of them is scary to them. In Jon's case, I would bet she is right. He was watching the rope, and he did settle right down. Something to watch for. You know how horses are about anything different. Different = BAD in the horse mind.) Ray petted on him and talked to him, and there was no more problem at all. He was his gentlemanly self. Now, keep in mind it was pretty hot that day, and Ray only intended to putty tutt around enough to test out soundness. First, we discovered that Jon has lunging down pat. When you say "whoa," he is a statue. Reverses are perfect. He moves great. Then Ray gets on. Jon stood perfectly still until Ray asked him to move off. Also, keep in mind that Ray would have one believe that he is a good-ol-boy cowboy, but he is one of the best English riders I have ever seen. He had a very light training snaffle on Jon, too. Jon moved off in the prettiest collected walk I have ever seen. Then, it got better. Jon side passes. He two tracks. He does a flying lead change that is perfect. His collection even at the canter would do him proud at the Olympics. We are sure he knows more about dressage than all of us except maybe Ray. The only thing that stopped Ray from going further was the heat and not wanting to stress the horse in any way. Jon is absolutely awesome!!! There is no telling how high a level he was in dressage, but there is no doubt that is what he did for a living. We were all totally blown away by the beautiful performance. He could easily walked away with a blue ribbon in a Training level class. There was a bit of humor in watching the ride. Ray was on his western saddle he uses for training and he was wearing his cowboy clothes. There the western stopped though. The riding was no doubt English!! Ray's guise of Mr. Cowboy was totally blown!!

Update 11-2-99 - When I read that you are going into the hospital, I knew it was time to get some updates to you on Cappy and Jon. They are more awesome than ever. Their sweet personalities are sweeter than ever, yet both have developed a contented attitude along with a bit of that horsy sense of humor. I love seeing that because I know that it means they are doing well in their souls as well as their bodies.

Ray (Tressia's, the kind lady that received the boys, husband) gave Greg some basic riding lessons on Jon. Ray is a wonderful trainer who believes in true training with many more positives than negatives. He is the only one I know that may know as much as Jon!! Greg and Jon do wonderfully together. Now everyone wants to ride Jon, but Greg has become quite protective of his baby. I have permission to ride him once. No one else has permission to do anything but pet him and give him treats. I feel honored.

Jon is the type of intelligent, sweet horse that recognizes that he has an adoring admirer. He loves Greg and does things like trot along beside Greg out in the pasture. No halter or lead, just the two of them trotting along together. Horses are definitely food for the soul.

Cappy is also doing great. He is almost as big as my big Quarter Horse mare that I had to have put to sleep last summer. He is pushing 16 hands and is developing a nice, big Quarter Horse butt. We have made the decision to let him just be a pasture ornament until spring. Sometimes, when he plays with the other horses in the pasture, he still has a hint of a limp in his right fore. Although I have not noticed it at all in the last couple of weeks, I am going to stick to the schedule. We have plenty of horses to ride and the weather often reduces available riding time to the point that grooming and petting is the extent of our winter horse activities anyway. He has become a lovely pasture ornament.

I forgot to tell you. We did bring them on home over a month ago. Greg put the finishing touches on the super job Tressia did of getting them started on the road to good health. Not only is their weight good, they are both considerably darker colors than they were. Amazing what a good feeding program will do!!

Speaking of good feeding programs, Greg is the sort that does his homework on anything he tackles. In researching what would be the best feed for the boys, he somehow ended up with his very own Purina horse nutritionist at no cost. The nutritionist wants to come out and see the boys after they have a chance to gain lots of weight and look really good. The Purina people are considering using them in a national ad campaign. Now wouldn't that be something?? We shall keep you informed as to how it goes. It would be this spring before they do anything.

I looked out the other day and saw Jon and Cappy standing under a tree, head to tail, dozing. They were the perfect picture of horsy contentment. Know that they are happy in their new home. Pat yourself on the back for your good work with these two beautiful horses. We knew they have beautiful souls, now their outside matches their inside!

Update 9/4/2000 - I have been meaning to write and update you on Cappy and Jon. Basically, both boys have the difficult job of walking in from the pasture at feeding time, being petted on, and making lovely pasture ornaments. They are really good at all three. All of the horses have decided that it is too hot to frolic in to be fed. Unless it is really early, the temperature is already over 90 in the mornings. Our lows have been in the upper 80's. I can't wait to watch them when this heat wave snaps. They are going to be so full of themselves.

I still need to get some pictures to you of the boys. They have such beautiful color now that they have been eating well for a while. Cappy is a lovely golden sorrel and Jon is a rich, dark bay. Both are lovely horses.

Update 12/23/00 - I have been trying to find the time to get pictures of the boys, but pretty weather and time off don't seem to want to match up this winter!

I am sure you remember Cappy and Jon. Well, they are doing great. Cappy is even getting a fat butt like the true Quarter Horse. Jon is such a classy yet sweet boy. He continues to be enamored with Kally, his big buckskin sweetheart. They make a lovely couple as she is almost as tall as he is.

Jon is finally getting the round look to his butt that Greg has been striving for. We have to feed him a mixture of sweetfeed and Strategy. He does not like any feed that is not sweet. He loves the sweetfeed. He will walk away from the Strategy by itself and won't touch Equine Senior. So, under the heading of you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink, Jon now gets sweetfeed mixed with his Strategy and some supplements to get him to gain weight. It seems to be working nicely. He is a gorgeous boy.

Cappy does not act surprised about being fed every day like he did for a long time. I honestly don't think that horse was ever cared for very well. He does come by and get a pat before going to eat as if he is saying "thank you" in his own horsey way. He is so very sweet. He certainly deserves the best we can do for him.

I hope you have a lovely holiday. You are a Christmas angel the year around.

Love,

Sandy & Greg