Listen When They Speak

We are celebrating the remarkable rescue horse in the month of May on YourDressage!

Did you know that dressage riders who choose a rescue horse as their dressage partner are eligible for special awards through the Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards program, as the International Rescue Horse Registry is a participating organization?

A rider from Region 2 tells us how, by listening, she and her formerly neglected horse were able to uncover the key to their successes.

By Shana Canre; Photos by Agustin Canre Johnson.

I am an adult amateur rider, and I have been an equestrian for 17 years. I started out in jumping, and made the change to dressage about 11 years ago. My riding partner, Legacy, is a 14.2-hand, nine-year-old Arabian x Appaloosa cross that I adopted from Horses Haven in Michigan about two and a half years ago, and this is our story!

In January of 2023, my senior horse, Image, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. He was my first horse, and we were together for 11 years, so my heart was shattered. It also left my other horse, Red, alone, and he was beside himself with grief. My veterinarian recommended I contact Horses Haven to find a companion for Red, so I reached out to the adoption coordinator in hopes of finding him a friend.

I was heartbroken, and the last thing I wanted to do was look for a new horse to add to the family, but I knew I couldn’t just leave Red alone. The adoption coordinator was so wonderful in helping find a match for both me and Red, and when she sent over Legacy’s adoption profile, I just knew he was the right one for us.

Legacy was rescued in 2021 as an unhandled stallion, and he was gelded soon after arriving at Horses Haven. He was part of a law enforcement seizure in a neglect case, so the rescue put lots of time and work into getting him healthy. Legacy was backed in October 2022, and I adopted him three months later.

When I went to meet Legacy for the first time, he was so incredibly sweet. It was really nice being able to groom him and spend time with him on the ground to get to know his personality. He just lives for attention, follows me around everywhere, and he would absolutely be in my pocket all the time if he could fit. Our trial ride went well, and he was very much on the lazy side, which I knew would be different for me since I’ve always owned hot and forward horses. Horses Haven had put a great foundation with some walk-trot in on Legacy, and he just needed to build off of that.

My coach, Sue Cavalli, has spent the past 11 years teaching me how to train my horses myself. She does not do the work for me, but instead, makes sure I have all the tools in my toolbox to be successful. I was very excited to get Legacy going and bring him up the levels myself.

I brought Legacy home, and we did lots of groundwork, and everything was going great. When we started under saddle work, he didn’t want to move forward, and I chalked it up to him being green and confused. The next ride, he started pinning his ears and swishing his tail when I asked for forward. And by the next ride, he began backing up and kicking out. He would move forward with someone on the ground leading him, and he would also move forward on a lunge line, but I could tell he just wasn’t happy.

Nearly everyone I spoke to told me he was just being bad. I kept hearing “He’s just being a jerk,” “He’s taking advantage of you,” “He’s got Appaloosa in him and they’re a stubborn breed,” “You just taught him that he can buck and you’ll get off,” “You need to make him do what you want,” “He’s just being lazy.” But my gut was telling me that something wasn’t right, and I had a feeling it was gastric ulcers.

I scheduled a gastric scope with my veterinarian, and we found horrific, Grade 4 bleeding ulcers. This sweet boy was in so much pain, and the worst he did was tell me “no.” We treated his ulcers, which cleared up in 30 days, and we resumed his under saddle training. He was immediately so much happier and more willing now that we had his pain treated. I had shown Legacy that he could speak up, and I would listen.

We have been taking our training slow, as Legacy gets a say in everything and will politely communicate when he’s reaching his limit. It is very important to me that my horses have a voice and are happy partners. Horses are always speaking to us; we just have to take the time to listen to what they are saying. Legacy has discovered he can communicate with me anytime something is causing him discomfort, which is one of my favorite things about him. He knows he can be polite and subtle, and that he doesn’t have to be loud in order to get me to listen to him.

We have had lots of ups and downs over the past couple of years, one of them being the discovery that Legacy is chronically prone to ulcers due to his prior life before rescue. But over time, he’s gotten more comfortable, and he lives a very ulcer-friendly lifestyle, so he has been ulcer-free for a year now that we’ve figured out what he needs for maintenance.

One of my biggest challenges with Legacy has been getting good forward motion from him. He spent so long living with ulcers that he always carried himself stiff and sucked up in a way to prevent acid splash. And even after being treated, he still carried himself that way and struggled with the confidence to go forward. But we took things slow, allowing Legacy to figure out in his own time that forward motion wasn’t going to cause pain anymore.

We started cantering under saddle last summer, which was a huge milestone for both of us. In 2022, I had been in a riding accident where my senior horse had tripped in the canter and fallen on top of me, resulting in a concussion and broken ribs. I always ride in a helmet, but now I also wear a safety vest because I realized that freak accidents can happen. I lost a lot of confidence and didn’t canter a horse again for two years, until Legacy’s first canter last summer. He has been a wonderful confidence boost in helping me get back into the groove of cantering again.

Legacy is always happy and willing to try new things, and he approaches new exercises with an attitude of, “This is no big deal, I can do it!” I don’t have an indoor arena, so we ride in whatever weather Michigan throws our way. Rain, snow, wind – Legacy does it all with a positive attitude.

I enjoy attending local shows, but due to Legacy being ulcer-prone, it’s just not something we’ve been able to tackle yet. Instead, we started participating in virtual shows last year, and it’s been a great way to still get valuable feedback, have some extra fun, and, of course, win some pretty ribbons. We entered virtual shows at Introductory Level last year, and just started entering Training Level this spring. He’s been scoring very well and has earned lots of blue ribbons. In the future, I would love to start taking him to some local in-person shows, as long as he can stay happy, healthy, and comfortable with doing so. If not, then that’s okay, too, because we still are having so much fun together.

Legacy is such a special horse, and I’m so incredibly lucky that he chose me as his person. I’m excited for what the future holds for us, as he is so smart, and we’ve taken the time to build trust in each other. It’s been really nice watching his confidence grow, and Legacy knows he is in his forever home. It’s been a very rewarding and fulfilling journey, and I’ve already decided that my next horse will be adopted from Horses Haven as well. There are so many wonderful and talented horses at rescues waiting to be adopted, and they all deserve a chance.