Our Featured Horse of the Month for June is Shay!

Shay has been with us for almost exactly a year. She has been on a lot of people’s minds lately because she was one of our horses who contracted Strangles. We are very fortunate that none of our horses’ symptoms have been very severe throughout our outbreak. While Shay is no exception, she has been the only one to develop an abscess under her jaw. The silver lining for this is that she has been in good spirits the whole time, eating and drinking, and best of all, has been a most excellent patient. No doubt her willingness to cooperate with us for all her treatments will help her recover quickly.

Shay came to us on an indefinite trial period last summer and stayed with us for a long time. When her owner thought he might have another buyer for her this spring, we immediately knew we couldn’t live without her, so purchased her for the school. Shay will be turning 6 this year and is a beautiful black mare registered with the American Paint Horse Association. She is a little too big to be a pony, but not a very big horse – many in the horse world affectionately call her sized horse a “Hony”. She is reminiscent of some of the Lancer ponies from the 60’s and 70’s.

Shay is very laid back and doesn’t seem to get spooked by anything which makes her an ideal lesson horse. She is still a little green, so gets ridden by some of the more experienced riders, but has already had a few rides from younger riders and takes very good care of them. We know that one day she will be an amazing beginners’ mount, but for the time being the older riders are enjoying putting her through the paces. She is proving herself to be a pretty great little athlete on top of having a wonderful brain.

We are pleased to tell you that Shay is starting to feel better; we are doing everything that we can to ensure a speedy recovery!