Jollie

We are so happy to see the progress that Jollie has made in training. She is growing up very well and while still has a lot to learn, she is receiving an excellent foundation. One of the hard decisions SAFE has had to think about is that even through Jollie is now considered a riding horse, she still is not suitable for many of our adopters. The first months of riding and even the first year can be a very important part of their future. Green horses can become confused or frustrated which unfortunately can lead to poor behavior and issues that follow them for years. Generally SAFE gets horses that have troubles due to issues they had with humans who were handling them or riding them. The wonderful thing about Jollie was she was practically a blank slate when she came to us. Everything is new, so if her education is provided correctly and patiently, she should continue to be well behaved and untroubled.

We began to show Jollie once she had received 30 days of riding to potential adopters. Unfortunately we immediately could see that she was not far enough along in to understand new riders. Some of the things being asked of her began to frustrate her. While she handled the new riders okay, within a few more rides it would have turned into a bad situation for both Jollie and the potential adopters. By no fault of the riders or the young mare, it was evident she was not ready to move home with a new family.

SAFE had made the decision to give her another 30 days of training and then bring her back to SAFE to be ridden and shown with adopters on a case by case basis after that.

Jollie is a lovely 3‑year-old mare who is currently 15.2 hands with room to grow! This BIG bodied sweetheart has had basic groundwork foundation put on at SAFE. She’s also seen our farrier, had her vaccines and boosters, and, most recently, had her first dental. Jollie takes it all in stride! She will be getting her first rides put on this month (June) and should be available for adoption early July 2020. Fill out an application now if you are interested in meeting her! www.safehorses.org/adopt

Thank you to Casey A for this update about Jollie, who got to participate in her first Joel Conner Clinic* this month!

Jollie had a fantastic week! When she arrived at SAFE she hadn’t really been halter started, and she was quite pushy, so leading her to and from her paddock each day was a great opportunity. By Sunday, she led more confidently and was more respectful of personal boundaries. She also made great progress in the groundwork. Terry saddled her for the first time on Wednesday, and though she was a bit tight, she lined out pretty quickly. By Sunday, Jollie was moving with a lot of freedom and balance, and she had a great feel. We also worked on picking up her feet to ready her for the farrier. To do this we started with rope work. While I led her with the halter rope, Kaya used the rope to stop her with a hind foot. Once she understood the rope, Joel was able to get in to nip the flares off of her feet safely and without issue. Our goal is to get her started under saddle when Joel returns in June, so we’ll continue to work with her on changing eyes, freeing up her feet, bumping her up to the rail, and bending her to a stop on the ground. Jollie has a really sweet disposition, and I expect that she is going to make an awesome partner.

*the March clinic was cancelled but Joel still came to SAFE to work with our horses and our horsemanship volunteers. It was a great session, and we got so much done!