General Mayhem

#250 Chestnut TB Gelding. Blaze. Appx. 7-8 yrs. old. Appx. 16 hands. Looks like he might be a Running Quarter? This horse also drives (as you can see from the light colored spot on his mane where an ill fitting collar was!) A nice young horse with potential. He would require an experienced rider.

5/5/2001 - He has a home, a new name and a new mom! His new name is The Red Baron. Annie, his new mom, will be escorting this lovely horse to his new home with plenty of friends and plenty of pasture. Thank you Annie for reaching out to this beautifuly guy in his time of need! We are looking forward to updates and pictures in the future.

Update 5/8/01 - Well, I am emailing you to let you know that after a VERY long drive, we got our boy home. 9 and a half hours there, about 20 minutes exchanging cash and putting on the shipping boots, and a 10 hour drive home....phew! I am
TIRED!

He did great - hopped right in the trailer, whinnied and whinnied almost all the way home because the big dummy wanted to go BACK, and hopped out at the other end to the light of the full moon and a deserted stable yard at 1.30am. He trotted up lame on his right front, but he'd pulled off a shoe before we got him, so Joe the farrier took the rest off next day. Everyone's congratulatory about finding such a GORGEOUS guy. WHAT could be wrong with him? He's a big, athletic, kind guy.

Next day he had a bath, and a walk round the farm. Of course I couldn't resist it, so when we were fitting him for a saddle, I just had to hop on and have a feel for the new "driver's seat" while Laurie held him. He took it in stride, but there were a few bouncy bumps that made me get off pretty quick: we're going to go back to lungeing and the basics in a week or so, when he's settled in. He's a lot of horse :) I renamed him too: General Mayhem, (or "The General"). It fits his regal and yet bouncy air ;)

And what a butt! I think I may make a jumper out of this one if he likes poles!

Today the vet came out to see him and gave him a strangles vaccine, a Coggins test, told us he is more likely 6 years old, and congratulated us on a great horse. The General was quite sore on all his feet today, so he got a shot of bute, and we'll get his shoes back on as soon as possible. Then he's going to be quarantined for 3 weeks. Then we're going to start lungeing!

OK, got to go: thanks again Gail - I feel very very lucky: he's a WONDERFUL horse and I don't mean "for a rescue"!

Annie

Update 5/11/01 - So The General is doing great: he has 4 shiny new shoes now and hopefully should feel less tender on those poor feet. Today I bought a nice new saddle on ebay.com so hopefully it fits him! Then I am picking up a bridle and I ordered some boots for him because next week, depending on how his feet are, we are going to start lungeing! It looks like at the young age of 6 he has been lacking 2 things in life: proper foot care and LOVE, but we are making up for it as quickly as possible.

I'm going to treat him as if he'd never been ridden and go slow. I can't wait to get on him! I am so proud of my brave handsome boy - he's a delight to be around and everyone loves him to bits. The farrier was even very complimentary, and this man doesn't mince his words!

I am so happy Gail - this is the horse I've been waiting for for so long: who knew I'd find him in a feedlot and pick him up one day before he was due for that long, fateful one-way trip. I am so excited I can hardly sleep at night, and my friends are all bored to tears with my non-stop horse talk - but then they all know I've been waiting so long for this one special horse. Laurie and I are looking forward to a long summer of fun with him. Thank you again :D

Annie

Update 5/19/01 - He's doing fantastically: we are learning more and more every day about each other (like: he's scared of the smell of hoof oil, he's a sensitive little petal who doesn't like rough brushes, only baby-soft ones - haha).

We have been lungeing 2 days on, one day off. He's great! We walked in hand over poles, then lunged over them - no problems at all. I also met a trainer who'll be with me when I back him, but I just know he'll fly though it all ;) I put his training diary up on his site at http://www.xanthoria.com/The%20General/thegeneral.htm too ;)

His feet feel much better, and he was turned out yesterday for the first time with Sailor - they're great pals! It was really heartwarming :) He'll go out in the big pasture to stretch his legs on monday after the 2nd vet visit - I know he want's to meet all the others badly - he whinnies and whinnies to them!

cheers ;)
Annie

New photo 10/16/01

Update 5/16/02 - Just wanted to update you on General Mayhem's progress, since it is almost a year since I got him.

We just went to our hunter pace together and came 4th - I am SO PROUD. I adore this guy, and so does everyone else who meets him.

So, now he has a stable name and a nice big ribbon, and we're going to another show in June for some more ;) I've enclosed 2 pics from the hunter trial.

Update 1/1/03 - He's a star - we're going to do some hunter paces and little events this year, his dressage is coming on in leaps and bounds, sometimes literally ;) and my trainer loves him too! He has absolutely made me so happy in the last (almost) 2 years.

Update 6/11/04 - Just a quick update on General Mayhem, previously known as #250 at the feedlots.

Last month he won the Dick Collins Perpetual Trophy for first place at the Los Altos Hounds Point To Point! (The attached pics show him crossing the finish line, plus his ribbon.) He blistered around the 2 mile course (jumps around 3'3") in 4 minutes 27 seconds!

He's also been galloping on the beach about once a week, improving his dressage, enjoying the trails and just being a total love to be around. We even located his half brother, Barron, out in Maryland!