Today we'll be sharing all of the initial posts the trainers have posted as their horses arrive and settle in.
#showdownteamlucy is doing a great job figuring out where they are starting! Lucy is an approximately 11-12 year old mare who was a transfer from another rescue to potentially participate in the Showdown last year. We found she had extreme separation anxiety and possession that would show itself through aggression. Instead of sending her to a trainer, we sent her out to pasture with our main herd and spent the past year just letting her decompress and learn how to be a horse in our herd. We let the horses teach her that humans are nice, friends can leave and come back, and helped her find her own inner confidence, while also slowly working on handling and human interaction without pressure. This spring she had made excellent progress, was seeking out attention and making multiple friends, able to leave the herd and come back, and ultimately was ready for training. Last year's grand champion Kaylee Peel of Lazy K Equine & Livestock had met her before, and as her training grows is asked to take in more and more difficult horses, so thought Lucy would be a good fit to challenge herself and help her be able to say yes to more horses with problems. Given how they are doing in the first week, we are really excited to watch this pair!
