My little dark shadow

 I have to admit it but since I've had Shadia, I've watched as she has transformed from being a nasty, angry and frightened little shadow of a horse into a more confident happier horse. I rarely now see her with her ears flat back, or trying to cause problems with the other little horses she runs with.

When she first arrived, Shadia was a shell of a horse, who didn't even know how to act around other horses. She made herself a real bundle of hell, fire and brimstone until Ranger and the old man put her soundly in her place. She was kept out of the group by both the larger geldings until she had learned her place. She's so much more trusting these days. She's still wild, and shaggy looking but I don't mind taking my time to turn her around. There's been a 100% improvement in her attitude. She's realising that none of us here on the farm are going to hurt her in any way.Abused animals always remember a bad experience, undoing her problems will take a lot of patience and time. Eventually I guess we will have a great little mare. I would be heartless to send her on to anyone else. We are her last chance. I think somehow she will die of old age here, rather than elsewhere. That will be a very long time. I really like her a lot. I just wish people who breed these little horses, put more thought into their decisions about breeding for the sake of breeding. The tragedy is for horses like Shadia, is that they end up with people who don't know what they are doing. and the result is a badly handled, poorly treated little horse nobody even wants to take on. Mini horses are beautiful, and need the right handling just like a bigger horse does. One thing I do know about this little horse. She is worth the time to get her right.