We Welcome "Delilah" To Epona's Pastures - 13 May, 2010
DeLilah is a beautiful bay 3 1/2 year old STB mare who only stand about 14h. De Lilah has had a rough beginning to life and had only one start at the races before she was left behind at the track for the 'meat truck' to pick her up when she didn't prove fast enough.
This timid girl is going to take a some time to settle in and get to know her paddock mates and her handlers. De Lilah is a little shy and it may take some time for her to fully trust that the human touch will be kind from now on. Updates on DeLilah's progress to follow soon....
This timid girl is going to take a some time to settle in and get to know her paddock mates and her handlers. De Lilah is a little shy and it may take some time for her to fully trust that the human touch will be kind from now on. Updates on DeLilah's progress to follow soon....
DeLilah's Worm Infestation - 16 May, 2010
As with all new horses that come on to the property, DeLilah was given a worming paste before she was turned out in the paddock. The next day we came out to clean the paddock and were horrified at what we discovered. Poor little girl was infested with worms and I don't think anyone here had seen quiet so many worms come out of one horse. We identified four different types of worms from the various deposits she had left in the paddock, there were tapeworms, botworms, bloodworms and long fat white worms that I am not sure the name of. Below is a couple of photos from the clean up process....
Although it is hard to see on the pictures, all the small red specs on the photo are a mix of bloodworms and botworms as shown below.....
Please let this be a reminder to all horse owners to always be vigilant about their horse's worming programs.
Please let this be a reminder to all horse owners to always be vigilant about their horse's worming programs.
DeLilah Begins Her Ground-work Training - 28 May, 2010
After a few weeks of just hanging out with her new paddock mates while gaining some weight and getting back up to full health, it is now time for our newcomer to begin with some ground lessons.
This time it's Inger who starts with De Lilah in the roundyard while Seana gets to play the role of photographer...
This time it's Inger who starts with De Lilah in the roundyard while Seana gets to play the role of photographer...
With horses who have come from an abusive background it is important to find the right balance between respect and trust during any training that is done with them, Inger uses most of the first training day just to find the right balance. The aim is to effectively communicate with De Lilah in future sessions without putting any further fear into her while simultaneously maintaining respect as her leader.
DeLilah Begins Her Saddle Training - 10 June, 2010
We have spent several hours in the roundyard and felt confident that De Lilah was ready to head out in the big world under saddle for the first time. One of our newest volunteers, "Gill" has taken De Lilah under her wing and is now doing most of her ridden work. Below are a couple of pictures of Gill and De Lilah in the paddock before we head out for her first trail ride.
De Lilah has been out on five little trail rides to date and she is very relaxed and easy going out on the trails. We have discovered that she does get nervous if another horses rushes up behind her on the trail which we expect stems from her training in the jogger. Gill will be working on desensitising exercises, so that De Lilah will feel more confident with horses behind her.
A Dental Visit - 15 August, 2010
The week before last we had a visit from the reknowned equine dentist "Shanoon Lee" from Advanced Equine Dentistry who came to give our residents a full dental check. De Lilah was the first one on the list and Shannon found that she not only had sharp edges but that she had two wolf teeth that needed to be extracted.
In addition to the wolf teeth, De Lilah is at an age (3 rising 4) where she is starting to loose her baby teeth. Shannon carefully removed a couple of the loose baby 'caps' that were ready to come out and showed us where the new adult teeth were starting to come through.
It is important to remember with younger hoses that are usually being put under saddle around this time to be aware that a bit in their mouth may be causing great discomfort if they have loose baby teeth. De Lilah is currently being ridden in a bitless bridle and has taken to it so well that we don't expect to go back to a traditional bridle on her again.
It is important to remember with younger hoses that are usually being put under saddle around this time to be aware that a bit in their mouth may be causing great discomfort if they have loose baby teeth. De Lilah is currently being ridden in a bitless bridle and has taken to it so well that we don't expect to go back to a traditional bridle on her again.
De Lilah Hits The Town - 30 August, 2010
As part of De Lilah's ongoing training and assessment we floated her down to the nearby township of Tylden to see how she would react to being ridden around the neighbourhood. We joined up with our volunteer "Gill" who rides one of our previous residents "Hank" and they had the job as tourist guides for the day. Hank is not the bravest of horses so De Lilah had an opportunity to impress from the start as she took the lead and showed Hank it wasn't dangerous to cross puddles.
The ride continued through the back streets of Tylden, past barking dogs, rubbish bins, free range chickens, horses running along fence lines, street corner veggie stalls, cars with trailers and trucks on the road. We are pleased to say that it was a gloriously uneventful ride with a perfectly well behaved De Lilah who took everything in her stride.
The ride continued through the back streets of Tylden, past barking dogs, rubbish bins, free range chickens, horses running along fence lines, street corner veggie stalls, cars with trailers and trucks on the road. We are pleased to say that it was a gloriously uneventful ride with a perfectly well behaved De Lilah who took everything in her stride.
De Lilah is no silly little horse, she is a thinker and a fast learner so even on her very first visit to Tylden she already knew when we turned our noses towards home. Never did she try to run for home, but she had a power walk fit for the military. She never pulled on the reins or broke to a trot, but she certainly knew where the next meal could be found. All in all, she was nothing short of a little super star and she is living up to her nickname as the "Delightful De Lilah".
An Update On De Lilah - 19 February, 2011
De Lilah is one of the more 'spirited' horses that we have had through the program and it's lovely to ride a horse that is as eager and happy to get out on the trails as she is. At times when De Lilah feels a little 'too good' she may do a little pigroot in sheer excitement. We call her little 'Ms Personality" which she lives up to with a suprise at every corner. She needs a firm but gentle hand as she is now a 'teenager' she will sometimes want to check where the boundaries are, but once she learns to trust and know her rider she will give 110% of herself. Below are a couple of pictures of Gill and De Lilah on a ride a few weeks ago.
De Lilah Is Adopted - 19 February, 2011
Our beautiful and spirited girl has found the most wonderful forever home. Not only is De Lilah being spoiled like a princess but she has moved down south and has now become a 'Beach babe'. Her new mum "Lucille" is a caring and wonderful person who has years of experience with horses and was looking for that special horse to be her new best friend. Once again we have had the fortune of not only finding a wonderful new home for De Lilah, but we have found a new friend in Lucille. We went down to visit them both to see how they were getting along and Lucille took us all down to the beach where we had the most wonderful day together.
