02/24/2023
Hi everyone,
My dear boy Forrest has been nominated for a school horse award. Winners are based on the number of likes each photo gets by March 1st! All you have to do is go to:
Grand Prix Equine
(Grand Prix Equine on Facebook) and scroll to Forrest’s picture and then like him!
If you’re interested, here’s a bit more about him:
Forrest (aka Yasha Pasha - his Jockey Club name), was foaled at a large thoroughbred farm in New York in 1998. He was in race training, but if you ever saw him canter or gallop, you'd know why he never raced. He's just pretty goofy. Purchased by a local farm owner at a regional auction for use in Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans, Louisiana, he was intercepted before he could be sent back to auction and the kill pen buyers. When we acquired him, he was the lowest priced horse of the bunch because he was a thoroughbred. He was very thin, gaunt, bleached out and his tail had been cut off.
Upon meeting Forrest in 2009, we knew that he had been through alot and had been turned out with many horses who had to fight for food. He was so aggressive, we couldn't turn him out with other horses for quite some time. Initially, our intent was to retrain him and resell him as a project horse. After working with him for a while, it was clear that he was quite emotionally shut off and really didn't want to connect with people or horses, as he was just going through the motions. We kept working with him. We wanted him to feel safe and to feel loved.
After some time, we made small breakthroughs with Forrest. He began to acknowledge and interact with people. Yay! Forrest is now very well trained - up to about 2nd level dressage - however, the physical work is difficult for him. He has difficulty bending and using his body the way he needs to in order to be really good at dressage. We wish we could fill in all of the gaps over his life and he could just tell us what happened to him.
Because he is voice trained, we thought we'd try him out as a lesson horse. Knowing how good he was with me under saddle, we thought - why not? Little did we know that this would lead to a life changing career for him! This great big, clunky, gruff, thoroughbred is absolutely masterful with his students. He LOVES his lessons with true beginners and is as safe as any horse could be for students starting to ride. He has even helped me rehab after I've had some pretty serious injuries myself. I can say that he is a real partner during lessons and has come to know what is expected during certain parts of his ride. If a student loses balance, he quickly pulls up to a halt and stands patiently while they gather themselves to start again. He knows how to work in the round pen, the ring, on a longe line and off the line, etc. He has taught so, so many students how to post a trot! He is incredibly patient with them. Forrest has also helped kids to earn their horsemanship badges for the Boy Scouts. He's been featured during our Open House events and has always been a favorite of visitors.
Over the years, Forrest has finally bonded with us. We hope that he knows he has his forever home - it's been 14 years now. He's a bit spoiled and so dearly loved! On top of being such a great lesson horse, Forrest's arrival at the farm facilitated us to form our non-profit that is centered around thoroughbreds. He's one of the founding members and is a fixture at our farm. At 25, he's still teaching students a few times a week and loving life. He's truly a rock star!!
