Isis, an introduction.

I volunteer as a feeder at the horse rescue across the street from us. I started last winter, since the highway out here sometimes closes in the early mornings when it snows, and the horses get fed at 7am. It takes about 3 hours, in winter, to slog the golf cart full of hay around to all the pens, mix feed, and slog the now bucket-laden cart back around, then rinse the buckets in freezing hose water, and prepared the soaked feeds and throw new bales into the cart for the night feeders. It's hard work, but it's so peaceful. I love it.
Last Thursday I called the barn manager and asked if I could help out in any way with groundwork. I don't really care to ride, but I do miss the interaction and a lot of the horses at the rescue could use some more mental stimulation. Turns out, she started a 'handlers' program last Sunday and I had missed the e-mail! Two of the more challenging horses, however, were not being used because none of the volunteers were experienced enough for everyone to feel comfortable about it. So Saturday I met with Emmie and we started talking about Isis. I don't have time to give her story now, but I will write it up later. Suffice it to say, she's a 7 year old mare who's pushy and occasionally bites, and she would be having a wonderful riding career right now if people didn't suck so hard.
So, I spent a couple hours with Isis, working through some personal space/ boundary issues and giving her a good grooming. She's such a love, all she wants is to be in your lap. But she does get bored easily, and she expresses this boredom by pacing, pawing, biting, and physically knocking her handler around. I'm looking forward to having a horse to play with on a regular basis, and I really think some tough love will go a long ways towards getting Isis into more amiable behavior patterns and thus upping her chances of being adopted.

I intend to write about how much I loathe PETA later, so stay tuned!