McElf
#234 Bay
Arabian Stallion. White on left hind. Appx. 14.2 hands.Unbroke
has been a backyard horse with #235 below. This guy is adorable.
Friendly boy.
#
0502761 Foaled: 4/29/91
. . . *ESKIMOS
McELF
. . . AZHCINIDAN McCOY
McElf
has a new mom named Jodie!! This lovely boy will be leaving the
feedlot shortly to journey to his new forever home with his new
mom! He will have some other adjusting to do as Jodie intends
to have him gelded as soon as resonably possible. Thanks Jodie
for reaching out to help this lovely, lovely boy!
Update
5/23/01 -He did great recovering from surgery, no problems
whatsoever! Yahoo! Don't know if I told you but the Doctor says
he has to have some
dental work done. The top teeth are much too long. So that will
be next on the agenda....
I put he and
Spirit out together for the first time today. Spirit of course
had to do his "I'm all that" act and McElf just stood
there and watched LOL. He is so good with Spirit, he lets Spirit
be the boss but doesn't let Spirit push him around. They were
happily chomping on grass together just a minute or two after
I let them out. They didn't leave each others side the whole time.
(They were probably talking about their lives and their rescues
I imagine LOL) And when I brought Spirit in first McElf was not
happy to be left alone. They are so cute together! I definitely
will get a picture of the two of them together soon! I did tell
you they are blood related didn't I? They really are--I think
that is funny!
I have been
working with McElf on lunging (since we had to do that after surgery
anyway). He is doing great, tries hard to please. Really there
is no way in the world I could have gotten luckier when it comes
to getting a 10 year old stallion from across the country with
no training and very little background information. He's fantastic!
The lady helping me train Spirit is totally impressed with the
bond we have formed already. I keep you posted! :)
Jodie
New
pictures 5/25/01
Here
is a body shot I took today. I was hoping for a clean shot, but
you know how it goes, first thing you do outside is roll when
you're a horse. Oh well, anyway you can see he's added a little
weight. Slowly but surely he'll get there, he is being worked
up on his amount of grain, but he gets all the hay he can eat
(which is a lot! LOL) I can't wait for him to look all healthy
like he should, the vet said she thinks he has been this thin
for a long time by the way his body has adjusted to it. So with
a little more time we'll have those "fat and sassy"
photos. (Well not too fat...but most definitely sassy LOL)
Update
2/6/02 - I will get them I promise! But we had a ROUGH day
with the farrier yesterday. Seems he has not forgiven or forgotten
about the dentist being here last week. Although he has been progressively
doing better with the farrier, things went back to square one
yesterday. Except worse because he has gained weight and strength
since the beginning. My farrier is a saint! He never once has
threatened not to work on him and he says everytime--he'll get
better. He really likes McElf he wants to see him get over his
fears and prove people wrong.
After
yesterday I decided we need some help in getting past his fears
and understanding what to do and what he is thinking. So we are
going to a Bryan Neubert clinic. I guess he works with the wild
mustangs a lot and I have heard a lot of good things about him.
He has worked with Bill and Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt. I'm so
excited and I'm praying he can help. I hate to see this much fear
in a horse and not being able to do anything about it. I won't
give up though! There is not a mean bone in this horse's body
just a lot of fear because he wasn't brought up right.
Update
4/15/02 - Whew! We just got back from a 4 day clinic with
Bryan Neubert. What can I say but WOW!!!! I would not believe
it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. He really liked Mac and
thinks he is going to turn out to be a great horse. I have pictures
I will have to get on the internet to show you all. Mac took to
riding like a duck to water and his confidence level in people
has grown unbelievably. He loads himself, does his feet like a
pro, and will even step over obstacles with a rider. Now we will
just have to keep up the work. I am so excited! I have to run--I'll
get the pictures on soon!
There
were a lot of people at the clinic that came up and told us how
much they liked Mac. He had a whole cheering section. Even Bryan
Neubert told everyone he was a nice little horse more than once.
Pretty good for an older Ay-rab (ex)stallion from the feedlot.
My husband and I were so proud. You all don't KNOW how bad I wanted
to come back home and rub it in the face of those who thought
I should just "get rid" of him. It still makes me angry
just thinking anyone would say that to me.
McElf's
Website
Update 12/19/03 - Here's
Mac's story...
How McElf
came to us:
In May, 2001,
Jodie rescued McElf from the feedlot in California, with the help
of Gail. McElf had many issues, having been a stallion for 10
years and having had no handling. Jodie made good progress with
Mac, taking him to a clinic and working with him. However, Jodie
had a second baby and just didn't have the time to work with Mac
as often as he needed to be worked with.
Emily and
I had followed Mac's progress from the "Horses In Need"
page on TIER's website. While reading the message board, I noticed
several posts where Jodie was beside herself wondering what to
do with Mac. He couldn't get his hooves trimmed without having
to go to the vet and get tranquilized. Jodie was determined not
to get rid of Mac, but she didn't think he was in the best situation
for him.
After reading
Jodie's posts, I emailed her and suggested perhaps Emily and I
could take Mac. After all, Emily was just 13, and had all the
time in the world to spend working with Mac. After emailing back
and forth and talking on the phone many times, Jodie decided that
it would be best for Mac to go to Emily. The search for a trainer
was on! Wow, what a challenge. But, long story short, Jodie found
the PERFECT trainer in Indiana. I just want to give credit here
and now to Lee Follett of Sundance Stables in Auburn, Indiana.
He is so wonderful. Words can't describe his kindness, patience
and skill.
Things take
time when dealing with horses, and horses don't have watches or
calendars! Emily got impatient waiting to get Mac, so she and
I packed up and drove from Maryland to Indiana to visit Mac, meet
Jodie, and work with Mac and the trainer. Meeting Jodie was like
seeing an old friend. We had a wonderful time! It's so funny how
a connection like horse rescue can make strangers into life-long
friends. That was in October.
Emily had
off a whole week for Thanksgiving, so we went back to Indiana
for another visit with Mac, more work with the trainer and another
visit with Jodie. In the 5 weeks since we had seen Mac last, the
difference was amazing. He recognized Emily right away and really
seemed to bond with her.
Finally, through
the efforts of Lee (the trainer) Jodie and everyone in Indiana,
Mac arrived here in Maryland on December 18. We were so excited
we couldn't stand it. He was hesitant to get off the trailer,
as it was dark and he was in an unfamiliar place, but he heard
Emily's voice, pricked up his ears, and walked right off the trailer
to her. He was home!
I know Jodie
was saddened to have him leave, but I want to thank her from the
bottom of my heart for doing what was best for the horse, not
what was best or easiest for her. That takes real courage, compassion
and love.
Mac has excellent
bloodlines. Jodie had offers from some trainers to take him, but
she knew they would train him and resell him and that there's
always a chance he'd find himself back in a bad situation, so,
for her, selling him was out of the question. Emily and I have
taken Mac with the understanding that if anything ever happens
and we can't keep him, or if we die, or whatever (you can never
guess what odd circumstances might arise) he will go back to Jodie.
I have to
say this has been one of the best experiences of my life. It is
so uplifting to meet such wonderful people. From Gail, to Jodie,
to Lee, even to the people that hauled Mac for us, everyone has
done it all "for the horses."
Peace to your
heart,
Kate
New
Photos 12/27/03
Update
12/22/05
- Wow! It's hard to believe we've had Mac for 2 years now.
He's doing wonderful. He's put on loads of weight. :D Can't
believe the vet said we'd never be able to get a lot of
weight on him because he had been underfed for so many years!
It's amazing how smart he is. Both of his trainers have
told me how willing he is, and how quickly he learns. I've
been riding him (all by myself YAY) and he is currently
learning the spanish walk. We'll turn him into a dressage
pony yet! I attached some pictures of him and my 21 year
old quarter horse mare (Mac thinks she's his girlfriend,
Jesse thinks otherwise).
|