I have two rescue horses- one was a freebie, the other I paid to get him out of his situation.They were both very skinny and out of shape when I got them.
The OTTB toes out and had nasty skin fungus. He was pretty much lame for the first year I had him.
We pretty much made a habit of firing trainers once he was sound and healthy enough for lessons, because they all called him “junk.” He was not much to look at- his clearing skin infection had given him bald spots, and he didn’t have much muscle, and he was awkward moving in an arena, because he’d never done it before. I actually had one trainer recommend I put him down, because she didn’t think he would ever canter under saddle.
Oh, you mean, like this? http://www.flickr.com/photos/erniedubs/5637397487/ (ignore fuzzies- it was spring!)
When I bought the first saddle for him, I was standing at the register and made a crack to the friend standing with me that I was spending more on the saddle than I did on the horse. The cashier looked at me and said, “What kind of junk horse do you have?” I’m not even kidding.
The Appy is a long story, but suffice to say he’s had a long path, too. He was known on the local show circuit for being skinny and ugly (with his previous owner.) Four days after I got him back (long story), I took him to a show, ribboned in every class, and people asked me who my horse was. One girl even said he was the “most beautiful horse she’d ever seen.” Huh. Fancy that.
I get the mama bear thing, totally. People are awfully quick to judge the horses of others. Just as quickly as we say “ooh, I wanna ride THAT one,” we say, “Ew, but I don’t even wanna walk past THAT one!”
