Bandit

If you were to stay at the Brandy and Bandit Bed and Breakfast (only fun to say because of all the alliteration, and goodness me, try saying ‘Brandy and Bandit’ ten times fast), you would find that grass is newly on the menu. These two ladies have been spending a bit of time separate as of late, in paddocks that neighbor one another but are not connected. This slight separation has been good for the two of them, as they have been quite herd bound since their arrival at SAFE, and being in sight of one another but not attached at the hip has meant a bit more emotional stability for the both of them. Recently, the volunteers who work with them have even been able to separate them quite a distance without a complete meltdown occurring — that’s a huge change from where they started! But I digress, I mention this separation only because now that the ground is drying up and our grass fields are opening again, these two ladies get to enjoy their shared backyard together. During this time, they nose around the yucky buttercups (a plague upon our pastures at the start of every grass season) and graze alongside each other happily. But once the timer rings, they are quite content to mosey on back to their individual rooms and return to their individual interests, promising to meet same time, same place the next day.

As though returning from a long holiday, these two noble ladies have come back to SAFE. For many months we watched their experiences at their foster home from afar – frolicking alongside their foster siblings, enjoying a summer of grass, making friends with neighboring alpacas and dogs.

But circumstances change, and as we slid into fall, we welcomed the girls back home through the gates of SAFE. It had been a while since we’d seen them in person, and the careful care their lovely foster took of them was apparent from the moment they stepped off the trailer.

These girls may be on the older end of the spectrum, but they are so full of life and personality! There’s nothing about them — well, ok, maybe Brandy’s poor teeth and Bandit’s stiff legs – that scream ‘senior citizen,’ and something tells me if they could speak English they would firmly reject the term.

The ladies are quite attached, and therefore their stall accommodations include a half wall so they can see each other all through the night, which works out well for Brandy, who can beg Bandit for hay. Given the poor state of her teeth, Brandy is on a mash-only diet, but still tries her best to finagle some hay snacks once in a while.

Sleepovers every night!

Since their return to SAFE, these two have stepped a bit more firmly into our horsemanship program, and volunteers have been able to both learn from and teach these gals a few new tricks. They were participants in November’s Joel clinic, where they worked on being a bit less pushy and finding comfort in their human handlers when the physical distance between their horse counterpart grew.

While we are enjoying having the girls back at SAFE, we are holding space in our hearts and minds that they might find a permanent foster situation. While all horses need time and attention, there are some – these two included – who would really benefit from being an ‘only child.’ With up to 30 horses under our care here at SAFE and only 24 hours in the day, logistically we cannot dote on all of them to the degree they deserve. To place them in a foster situation where they can be given the lion’s share of attentiveness would be an amazing gift to them. If you are interested in fostering these two, shoot an email to adopt@safehorses.org to start up a conversation.

In the meantime, we continue to delight in feeding these two their daily pill-pocket stud muffins and watching the funny way Bandit’s lips corkscrew when you find juuuust the right spot to itch on her withers.

Brandy and Bandit have arrived at their foster home with long-time SAFE volunteer, Sarah V! A group of SAFE volunteers spent a sunny weekend day putting the finishing touches on the girl’s new home, and then it was time for the pair to arrive. They had a lovely first day at the farm, exploring and grazing in the sunshine alongside their new neighbors – a herd of alpacas. The little herd caused quite the stir with both girls, especially with Brandy, who watched them for hours.

A few days later, the girls were introduced over the fence to Duke, their foster brother, and expressed towards him the same curious, friendly energy. They even got to enjoy some turnout in adjoining grass pastures together. 

Another foster brother for them: Hopper the dog, just one letter away from sharing the name with their previous paddock mate, Topper the pony. Hopper provided them with a warm welcome, bringing his rawhide treat as an offering to the girls. According to his mom, this is his seal of approval! 

Overall, the girls are settling in very nicely at their new home, and we look forward to continued updates from their foster mom!

We’ve spent quite some time getting to know these two mares since their arrival at SAFE in October, 2021. We’ve observed that both have a “been there, done that” wisdom about them. They seem like two old ladies chuckling to themselves about days gone by and all the mischief they had gotten into together. Brandi is definitely the herd leader and Bandit is completely happy to follow her lead. They are both gentle to groom and handle. After being at SAFE for some time now, Bandit is easy to halter and enjoys her grooming and neck scratching sessions. The two are sweet enough to participate in volunteer grooming sessions and are no trouble when haltered and groomed. Both of them seem to enjoy the human companionship and are becoming favorites among the volunteers. 

When Bandit came to SAFE, previous caretakers reported she was difficult for the farrier and needed veterinarian sedation for trims. She has now successfully been trimmed twice with our farrier, without sedation, and each time she became more relaxed. During the most recent trim, our farrier was impressed with Bandit’s progress and commented that Bandit seemed very relaxed and well-mannered. The farrier’s initial concern that it might be difficult for Bandit to get past her anxiety with hind leg trims faded after this session with Bandit’s good behavior.  

Both mares’ teeth have been examined by our veterinarian. They have very little tooth available to be filed down and both were stressed by the equipment needed to perform the procedures. Because the exam indicated that not a huge amount of work could be done, we decided best to not cause them too much anxiety and did not do dentals. Going forward we will watch their weights and, due to the lack of grinding surface remaining on their teeth, supplement both with senior complete feed as needed to maintain good weights. Both mares have exhibited reluctance to be separate stalls, particularly Bandit. For the future, they will do best in a living situation that allow them 24-hour access in and out of shelters and where they can keep an eye on each other. They are currently content living as SAFE, sharing a run through shed and large paddock.  

We are currently looking for an ideal foster home that will keep both mares living their best lives together. They are advanced in age but not in spirit, and we look forward to giving them a lovely retirement together.