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Scothaus Stables, Noonday, TX (2025)

05/28/2022

Just have to share a Before and After. Luke came to us chunky but not very muscled. Unfortunately, he lost a ton of weight in the first 6 months I owned him. He has EOTRH and we thought that once we had his 10 affected teeth pulled, he'd feel better. Well, he did, but he didn't gain any weight and we couldn't figure out why. He kept having hoof issues and finally, our amazing vet suggested we test him for PPID. We started him on a daily medication but he had already foundered. He had to have 3 months completely off and while he did gain weight, he lost all of his topline. He was cleared for light work on December, 2021.

These pictures are taken about a year apart (I think like 14 months) but here you can see what his medication, good nutrition, and a structured physical rehab program can do. He's gone from barely being able to walk to jumping over 2' and has developed much better muscle tone and even some fat deposits. He looks great for a cushinoid senior Thoroughbred (22 years young) with EOTRH.

Big thanks to our farriers, Angela Loehner and Taylor Bluntach , our amazing vets Dr. Emily Hood with Hood Equine Veterinary Services, PLLC , Dr. Jamie Ashbrook with BVEH Salado, and Dr. Nick Moore (who did his oral surgery). Also big thanks to Katie Biebs for his continued help with his rehab and our sweet kiddos for always loving him.

04/18/2022

Haven't posted in awhile but today we went up from 18" to about 2' on Nora with a single fence. Here's a glimpse into her progress and how I work with a green horse. Clips are in order. Once she did it without touching it, she was all done 🥰

02/09/2022

Lately, I've been able to start working with a client off property with their own horse and I realized how much I enjoy it. They've come a long way in a short time. He's only 6 and very much a playful, fun personality. He's had a handful of rides since October. I love his movement and he has alot of potential in Hunters and Dressage. His owner hopes to show him over fences in a few months.

01/26/2022

The green OTTBs have been spicy to ride because of the cold and the wind. Nora did a great job the other day but was a little spooky so after our ride, we played with the flag 🇺🇲 Overall, she did great. Here's some snippets:

12/31/2021

The baby is growing up. She'll be 3 in May and her brain is just so well developed, I asked Katie is she wanted to sit on her, while I was on the ground, to see what she would do. What did Stormy do? Nothing. She was more interested in the cat. I'm not sure she even noticed Katie 😂😂 She's also been getting brave (not like she wasn't already) but yesterday Rockit showed her how to play in the pond. Low level eventing in her future?

11/27/2021

I rescued these girls about 10 months ago. They were OTTB mares who had been racebroke and then sat - Lina raced until 2018 and then sat. Nora was broke and then sat for 10 years! They were crazy when they got here - nonstop pacing, eating disorders, underweight and undermuscled, and so incredibly anxious. Afraid of everything, from mini horses to their own leadropes. Tell me these two faces look anxious now 🥰

For those of you who don't know alot about body language, their ears are relaxed, eyes are soft/closed, and lower lips are dropped. These are relaxed ponies 💜

Photography Credit: Kara Mae Photography & Graphics TX

11/01/2021

Okay Lina. We see those changes 😍 Can't wait to see Katie and her on the baby greens next year 💚

10/19/2021

Let's talk about frustration. Anyone who's ever trained a horse knows it well, and if they tell you they don't, they're either lying or they've never really trained a horse. Patience only goes so far.

Poor Lina had a loading accident at the end of August. We gave her some time off but pretty much immediately started feeding her some grain our of the trailer. Fast forward about 5 weeks and we successfully get her on the trailer! Several times in fact. Feeling good! Fast forward again 2 weeks. Still getting on! And then....

Then there's a day that I get frustrated. It was a long week. It's windy. I'm already more short tempered than usual. She gets on the trailer! Win! And then the wind blows the trailer door shut. Lina panics, rushes off the trailer, and refuses to get back on. I get frustrated. We end on a sour note.

And now, Katie and I have accidentally taught her to be a circus elephant. She gets her front feet on and won't hop with her back legs. Today, we get her almost on. And then one of the barn cats jumps on a log, knocks it down, and scares the freaking horse again. Sigh.

It's a process and I know that Lina will get over her fear. She trusts Katie, she trusts me (sort of), and she trusts treats. But dang if I'm not frustrated 🤷🏼‍♀️

10/07/2021

GRIT has a new horse on trial and this was his second ride while here. It was the first time Katie rode him and I was able to watch. When bringing horses in, we need to evaluate what they know. This kiddo, Rockit, was coming from an eventing background. We knew he doesn't like his face being touched much but had to work to figure out how to get him to trot to fences. Enjoy this progression! It's fun being able to see where we started and where we ended 🧡

09/19/2021

with the horses! I took some leftover balloons from a birthday party at one of the barns I teach/taught at and put them to good use 😂 The thoroughbreds weren't thrilled. The paints (even the baby) and the halflinger were ✨rockstars ✨

09/07/2021

Lina has had some time off since her loading accident but that doesn't mean she's out of training. She got 6 days completely off but now she's back into work on the ground. Katie has been playing games with her and she seems to be feeling much better. Enjoy some brief videos of desensitization and nap time 💜

08/31/2021

This weekend, we planned to take three horses to horseshow. Catalina (7 year old green OTTB) was going to be ridden by Katie in Dressage Suitability and Dressage Equitation. I was planning to show SHS Quixotically Stormborne In-Hand Fillies and Mares and In-Hand Trail. I was also going debut Hendricks at Basic Level (Tests 1 & 2) in Western Dressage.

Unfortunately, Lina had a loading accident. I knew better but I tied her before I shut the divider and she set back. I also use breakaway or leather halters when I haul but this time the halter didn't break like it was supposed to. Lina got her back legs out of the trailer, broke the clasp on the lead rope, and flipped over backwards. She's doing quite well, considering. Sore withers and some scrapes. Today, we started making the trailer a happy place again by feeding her in it. Step 1.

Stormy did quite well and only refused one obstacle (the bridge) after going 2/3 of the way over it. Hendricks scored the lowest he's scored but he accomplished pretty much everything I wanted him to for his first canter classes.

07/25/2021

Katie has taken on most of the training for Catalina and today they did their first canter approach crossrails. She's been building up to these for the last several weeks and attempted them last ride. Lina wasn't totally sure yet and Katie did a great job with praise for every small improvement. Today, she barely hesitated and listened to Katie when she tried to help her with distances. She's such a good baby!

Sorry about the video: Nora didn't want to stand still 🙄

07/17/2021

Sonora's first ba****ck W/T/C and she was great. There was a chainsaw going and my neighbors were cutting down a large tree on our fence line. Did she care? No, not really. Her confidence has come a long way in 5 months.

Did we canter right on out of the arena? Yep. Was she confused about her right lead? Yep. Did my leg slip back twice and cause her to have a tantrum? Double yep. But did she also do everything I ask? Yes. She was surprisingly calm and listened quite well. My position was a bit of a hindrance but these were taken after our tantrums and I was forward on my seat bones in case we had another. But her tantrums literally consisted of her tossing her head and hopping a bit and were in no way dramatic or dangerous, just a green horse doing something new. 💚

I recently found out there was some discussion in my horse community about the appropriateness of my having and retraining two OTTB mares and I think their continued progress in training speaks for itself. Want to know what I want from my green OTTB? A solid ba****ck ride followed by a walk on the buckle while chainsaws are going. Couldn't be more pleased.

07/11/2021

Oh Kizzy. So Kiz belongs to a friend of mine and didn't have a job. I opted to take her on as a project for my therapeutic riding program. She's a cute large paint pony with minimal training. When she got here, she was difficult to catch and would run from you in the pasture. She wouldn't let anyone touch her ears and was almost impossible to bridle - she would shoot backwards. Poor Kizzy couldn't figure out how to canter on a lunge line or under saddle. It was clear these were all fear based responses and not sass, like a certain halflinger we have.

Both Katie and I started working with her on the ground and Katie did all of her under saddle work. It took 9 months of slow, relatively consistent work but now: she's easy for anyone to catch in the pasture (unless she's *just* been turned out), she lets kids and adults pet and rub her forelock, right ear, base of the ears, and poll but she's still a little hesitant about her left, she's consistently easily bridled, and this week, she did her first canter under saddle!

Sometimes training is a slow, methodical process. Due to Kizzy's fearfulness, sometimes we had to start over at the most basic building blocks of confidence. What's fun is also seeing her self esteem grow - she seeks out attention from humans now, has a horsey best friend, she works in lessons with little kids comfortably, and when she makes a mistake, she can keep going instead of completely shutting down.

06/20/2021

Big day for the TB mares. Catalina did her first canter out and Sonora did her first canter approach. Very proud of the girls!

Is it perfect? Of course not. Catalina landed on the wrong lead on her first attempt (though she did swap on her own) and I'm sharing Sonora's first trot approach from the left, where she dodged the jump.

Sonora also took off with me today - I came off balance and lost a stirrup and she flew but I managed to stay on and slow her down after about 8 strides. Wish there was a video of that 😂

06/09/2021

Lord have mercy, was it hot today or what?! Like 90⁰ and 80% humidity. But we had some fun with the ponies! Sonora had her first ponying experience and Misty was such a rockstar. They're both boss mares so they argue in the pasture at times.

Sonora also continued to work on her trot cross rails! She dodged the crossrails 4x overall but also had 4 nice ones. When they're this green, there's obviously no punishment for being unsure so we just come around and try again, patient and calm. Sometimes I get a little more assertive but if you get aggressive, horses may shut down or freak out, neither is a good option.

Scothaus Stables