The handsome fellow in the photo below is someone I’d like to introduce you to, as he will probably be appearing some more on my blog this fall! This pretty paint is about a year old. His name is Colt 45 and he currently lives at Serenity Spring Sanctuary, a farm animal sanctuary in North Texas.
I started volunteering at the sanctuary about a month ago, and will be doing some basic training with Colt 45, as well as a few other of the equines at the sanctuary. (I visited the sanctuary with a friend last April, but wasn’t able to start volunteering until now. You might remember, though, when I posted about the clicker training I did on that visit with Willy Wonka the pig.)
Colt 45 got a pretty rough start in life. When he came to the sanctuary last spring, he had a very nasty injury to his left front knee. Fortunately, with much doctoring and care, the wound has healed, although he will probably always have a scar on that knee.
photo by Kristi Johnson
This great photo of Colt 45 is by photographer Kristi Johnson. I met Kristi during one of her visits to the sanctuary. She captures wonderful photos of the animals and the day to day happenings at the sanctuary. The photos often make their way to the sanctuary’s Facebook page, where they help share the stories about the sanctuary residents. I encourage you to visit Kristi Johnson’s Facebook page and website to see more of her great photos.
Colt 45 has had quite a bit of handling because his injured leg had to be treated daily for most of the summer. However, he had very little (if any) handling or training before coming to the sanctuary and, having to receive medical treatment daily for an injury isn’t always very fun for a young horse. So, while Colt 45 accepts basic handling, he still has many important things that he needs to learn.
In particular, Colt 45 has become acquainted with several of the people who interact with him regularly, but he is still pretty skeptical and unsure about new people. I’ve worked with him enough that he likes me now and accepts me in his circle of friends. However, when my friend Maasa came to the sanctuary with me, Colt 45 wasn’t sure at first if he wanted anything to do with her. The photo above captured some of Colt 45’s first interactions with Maasa.
I’ll share more as we continue working with Colt 45.
No comments yet.