Pegasus Project - Horse Rescue

I became aware of another horse rescue group, God bless 'em, located in East Texas, about 70 miles east of Dallas.....The Pegasus Project. You can find the Pegasus Project page on Facebook and see pictures of their rescue and fostered horses.

The Pegasus Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and placement of neglected, abandoned or abused horses in East Texas.

Pegasus says they are much more than a horse sanctuary. From their website: "We work closely with other animal welfare organizations to respond to horse cruelty complaints and conduct investigations and seizures of neglected and abused horses with the assistance of local law enforcement. We then take these horses into our program and bring them back to health. We dedicate our resources to rehabilitate, as well as retrain rescued horses, using natural and traditional horsemanship techniques, so that they may be adopted by carefully-screened, loving, forever homes. Each horse we place frees up space and allows us to conserve our precious resources and continue helping those horses most in need. For a few special-needs horses, The Pegasus Project will remain their life-long home."

"Care of neglected horses is expensive. Before we can transport them to our facility, rescued animals require veterinary care, blood tests, de-worming, and immunizations, expenses that can easily exceed $300 per seizure. All of our horses receive (at a minimum) bi-annual veterinary examinations and immunizations, annual dental care, as well as farrier care every 4-6 weeks. Routine horse care maintenance costs include the purchase of feed, hay, bedding, and any special-needs supplements. Typical monthly care is approximately $300 per month for a horse in fair condition. And then, of course, there are those expenses that arise with unexpected illnesses, injuries or emergency care. "

"There is good news in all of this. All of the horses we have rescued to date have been able to return to normal lives. Our equine residents are handled daily, taught ground manners, trained to trailer-load, stand tied and to stand for the farrier. Those horses broke to ride receive professional training to build a strong foundation. We strive to make each and every horse easy to handle and ready for adoption, ultimately becoming loving members of their new families, living long and fulfilling lives."

"The Pegasus Project, Inc. is an organization comprised of volunteers, united by their love of horses and their desire to alleviate suffering. We operate with the utmost efficiency on a modest budget. The Pegasus Project relies ENTIRELY on private donations. Currently 100% of donations goes directly to care and development of horses. "

As with all non-profit rescue organizations, Pegasus can use help in the way of donations - both money and supplies, volunteering, spreading the word, and fostering rescue horses. Pegasus accepts donations through their website via caredit card or pay pal or by check to: The Pegasus Project, Inc., P.O. Box 26, Ben Wheeler, TX 75754.

So please help if you can. It's easy enough to visit their web site, like them on Facebook and tell people about Pegasus.

Caitlin's Tennessee Walker - Jake

I received an e-mail from Caitlin who had boarded a couple horses and when she returned to pickup her horses she found them in degraded conditions (see picture left and video below). The property owner had also let a Mare die, who had just foaled, and Caitlin rescued the foal. Since then she is having behavior (buddy sour) problems with one of her horses.

Caitlin wrote “I recently came across some of your videos on you tube. They are so helpful and informative. I was particularly interested in the video about buddy sour horses. We recently moved our horses from a barn that was seriously abusing them. If you watch the video it will explain what they were stuck in and not allowed to get out. "



"But now since they have recovered and are at our place, my Tennessee Walker is incredibly buddy sour. I have tried the techniques you suggested. I have used these in the past when a horse has an issue. My walker has turning VERY headstrong. But now a horse that has never bucked and has never been flighty, is almost aggressive to get back to them. He is bucking when I try to correct his behavior or get too far from the others. Do you have any thoughts on this? Any resolutions? I love the horse so much and he was always such a pleasure to ride. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for being there to help people and horses! :)”

Caitlin, Excuse my language, but when I saw the video I was highly pissed off,….nobody should treat a horse or any other animal that way. You are lucky your horse did not founder. I hope everyone in your area knows about these abusers. I have seen many situations like that, mostly malnourishment, you never get used to it, and, you just can’t believe even a half smart human can do that. Good for you to rescue the foal and your horses when you did.

Glad to hear that your horses have recovered. A Tennessee Walker is a great horse. The paint horse in my website header was a Tennessee Walker and QH mix, and a great horse until I lost him. He too went to crow hopping and bucking when he was separated from other horses at first. There may be some other subtle issues with your horse as well. Does he try to walk off as you are mounting and/or before you get your seat?

I would start over,…..always a good place to go too. I would work him in the round pen each and every time before you ride him. Doesn’t have to be much, just to get him focused on you and for him to be seeing you as the leader. Some ground exercises,… lateral and vertical flexion exercises, disengaging his back end (which is essential to take away his "drive train") and other tasks and checks,.......like a pre-ride check.

I think this buddy and barn sour problem is going to be a bigger problem if you only ride him once a week. Then when you ride out either by yourself or with other horses try this:

By yourself. Ride him or even lead him in hand away from the barn and other horses and before he starts to show signs of buddy or barn sourness, turn him around and walk back. Control his gait and walk back. Turn him around and do it again. Maybe each time you get a little more distance away. If you let the horse hurry back, at a fast walk, trot or canter, then he make think you’re buying into his anxiety away from the herd. You may only make micro improvements. Again, harder to improve if you only ride him once a week. If you are feeding him yourself, then you can do this each day and leading him a roper halter may also work.

When you ride with others they have to be on the same sheet as you and considerate of what you are trying to impart to your horse. Anyway, stop your horse and let the group walk feet ahead of you. The group needs to stop before your horse gets too anxious. Then you walk, and I mean walk, not fast walk or trot, to the group. Keep doing this leap frog thing trying to increase the distance between you and group each time.

If you are correcting your horse while he is separated from the herd it is easy to get to the point where you are also increasing his anxiety,..so now he’s away from the herd and getting some pressure. The other day I was riding a horse who was a little buddy sour, so when we were separated from the other horses and started to move back to them, he wanted to trot,…..I would stop him and have him walk off again. I was trying the lightest pressure possible and he got his release when I let him move again, albeit at a walk. Pretty soon he figured it out that I wasn’t going to let him hurry up, and more importantly that he didn't have to hurry up to catch up.

Take a look at his feed too. Make sure he isn't getting too much protein or carbs/sugars....this can make him a bit hot and ansty.

Horse also have a great sense of direction, so if you and the group are cantering back to the barn you may also be giving in to their anxiety about getting back to the herd or barn. Do you trotting and cantering away from the barn, and go back at a walk.

Safe journey,

Postscript: The Colt that Caitlin rescued and her Tennessee Walker, Jake: