We are overjoyed to update everyone on Ginger’s progress! This girl has made such a wonderful transformation under Kim Lacy’s training. When we contacted Kim about taking on a SAFE horse to foster she happily accepted and offered to donate her training services and start Ginger under saddle. I was able to go visit and ride Ginger earlier this week and believe me, I am ecstatic! Not only has Ginger come a long way from the timid girl we took in last June, she has blossomed into a beautiful riding horse with Kim’s guidance.
It was very important that we took our time with her and allowed her to accept and enjoy what was being asked of her. Her physical transformation is also something to smile about. Her conformation looks amazing and we can really see how bright her future is as a riding horse.
Ginger is as sweet as ever and very well behaved. She stood quietly for grooming and saddling up and loves all the attention! Kim said she was a good girl right from the beginning for clipping and pulling her mane. She stands nicely for the farrier and has great hooves and overall conformation. She is still a little cautious but is very willing to accept a person’s leadership and direction. She does share her mare squeals when other horses pass her stall when she is in season but Kim said she had no bad rides or behavior as she came into heat. She’s been turned out with geldings and has no problem sharing the field with others.
At this time, Ginger is ready for adoption to a confident rider who can help her continue to mature and build her self-confidence. While she is very easy to handle and work with, being just 3 months under saddle it would benefit her to continue working with someone who can pick up what Kim has so nicely started. Ginger came to SAFE holding a lot of tension in her back, very strong lower neck, afraid of almost everything because it was all so new from the sheltered quiet field she was living in. Her confirmation was described as upside-down, with a hollow back and head held high. Now things are looking much different. She continues to improve her relaxation with a rider and while it took time, she is now moving over her back and stretching into a lovely frame. She is still very green and will do best for a little while longer with someone who has experience. Her kindness and gentleness tells me that as she builds self-confidence, she will become a very talented horse for someone.
After watching Kim ride Ginger, I had the chance to try her out. Let’s be honest, you couldn’t have stopped me! I had a big smile on my face the whole ride as I explored her “buttons”. I was amazed at how fun she was and how well she listened to my aids. Although she is a smaller horse, at 14.1 hands, I loved how big she felt to sit on. Not a “twiggy” Arabian that can feel like there is nothing under you but instead she filled out my legs nicely and I felt comfortable one her. I also was very surprised how safe I felt on such a green horse. While she had some unbalanced steps here and there, she easily listened to my rebalancing aids and felt nice and even. She is still working on the canter but was very honest and picked both leads up for me nicely. She has spunk but if directed well she is a very willing and able partner. She is a forward moving horse and took very light aids. I love this! She has a lot of natural beauty to her gaits but as she learns to sit and bring her hind quarter more underneath herself she is going to have some really spectacular lift in her shoulders. There is defiantly some already there, along with lightness and self carriage that you can feel is being developed.
We cannot begin to express how grateful we are to Kim Lacy for her generosity to SAFE and Ginger. As we look to Ginger’s future it is very bright and much of that is to Kim’s credit. There are wonderful things in this mare’s future. Now let’s find her a wonderful person to love her and continue with her on this journey.
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