Moshi

Of the Graham horses who came to SAFE, the majority were assumed (or known) to have at least some experience under saddle. A few, however, were wild cards. Moshi was one who fit into the latter category. Upon first glance, her small stature makes you think she is perhaps much younger than she actually is, but teeth don’t lie, and Moshi is around 6 years old, certainly old enough to have been started as a riding horse. But her initial assessment on the ground led us to believe that she had never been saddled before, so we worked on the building blocks to prepare her for that experience.

Lexee N spent the most time with Moshi in preparation for her saddling, and had the following to say about this cute little mare:

“Since day one this girl has been a sharp cookie. She gained understanding quickly, as well as some much needed confidence to be able to separate from her dear friend Poppy for work. It was clear that this mare had been used to pushing humans around and not respecting any boundaries set for her. However, after a few short sessions, her walls came down and she became much more open to learning a new way to respond to people.

Initially when roping her, she had a problem with changing eyes and pushing into pressure instead of away. But after a couple months of work things have been looking a lot better, and while those two issues are not 100% gone, she has been able to be successfully saddled.

It’s so exciting to see where this little black mare will go, and with her now wonderful disposition we expect her to go far.”

In the video below, you can see a snapshot of Lexee’s work with Moshi, practicing tossing the saddle up, as well as cinching her up for the first time. There were some bucks in there, and some concern with the outside stirrup, but overall she took the whole experience in stride. Like Lexee said, we are excited to see this little mare flourish under saddle.

Little Moshi is settling in well here at SAFE, and has begun work in our horsemanship program alongside volunteer Lexee N. Lexee has been putting Moshi through all the beginning pages of the ‘Red Book’ in preparation for saddling her for the first time. It is our belief that Moshi, unlike the majority of the Graham horses, has never been saddled, so we are working to prep her for it to make it as pleasant an experience for her as possible. Lexee has been having her change eyes on the rope and practice cinching her up by tightening the rope up around the area where she will eventually wear one. Moshi has proven herself to be a smart little cookie who learns quickly, so we are hopeful that her first saddle comes sooner rather than later.

The more outgoing of the little black mares, Moshi is curious and approachable. She has her moments of playing hard to get, but has been the more reliable of the two to catch in the paddock, and recently has had very little issue with people coming right up to her.

We do not believe she has been saddled before, so we are preparing her for what could be her first ever saddle. Moshi has been doing well with the flag and the rope. We have been throwing it over her back and tossing it around her belly, petting her with the coils, getting her accustomed to changing eyes on it. With the rope around her rump and touching above her hocks, she has kicked out, but this is a very common and understandable reaction to a new stimulus, and with each time she has to deal with it, she gets a little less reactive.

Moshi is nearly up to date on vet and farrier care. She has a dental float scheduled, where she will get a microchip and a teat cleaning. She is up to date on her vaccines. She was also dewormed upon arrival, as she arrived with a positive worm load. She is gentle about being groomed and is good for picking up her feet – she has been trimmed twice since arriving at SAFE, with a 6 week trim schedule set going forward. She gets daily thrush treatments to help combat the thrush all the Graham horses arrived with.

Moshi is turned out with her almost twin, Poppy, where the two are watched over by neighbor, Picasso.