MEET THE RESCUES

Zera came to us July 31, 2023 from a rescue in Wyoming. We had originally paid for Zera from the kill pen in Colorado, but we were instead sent her mother “Birdie” now known as Athena. Zera was instead sent to the rescue in Wyoming that had originally paid for Birdie. We were contacted as informed that the two have been together all their lives and may be bonded. Zera was supposed to be bred, with an unknown due date, and if she was pregnant would not do well foaling in winter. Zera finished quarantine in Wyoming, and we arranged for her transport to us for evaluation and rehoming. Our goal is if Athena and her are indeed bonded, we would like to rehome them together.

ADOPTION STATUS: Zera is pending adoption.

We are no longer accepting applications for her.

AUGUST 2023 UPDATE: Zera received her vaccinations, and we had an ultrasound performed. Zera is NOT in foal. Zera seems to be a very strong willed mare, she is very matted and fearful. She is hard to catch. At this point we are unsure if she has ever been handled, or if she was handled, it was not nicely as she has zero desire for contact. We are slowly working with Zera on haltering and working on building connection. This is one that we are taking our time with, and every interaction will be intentional.

NOVEMBER 2023 UPDATE: Zera’s rehabilitation has been coming along wonderfully. She leads around like a champ, and is letting us do more and more with her. She is officially ‘ungrounded’ and is in with the other horses in the pasture. She is easy to catch, and has been a perfectly behaved citizen.

DECEMBER 2023 UPDATE: Zera has been such a good girl that we were able to have the vet out to do her teeth finally. We were not sure how she would handle working with someone other than Valorie, so we delayed the floating. The vet said our timing was perfect as she was just starting show so affects from some sharp points, but not bad at all, so someone took care of her prior to being sent to feed lot. Her upper teeth said she was about 6, and her bottom teeth said she was about 9, so we are going with the 7/8 year old range as that is what we were told she was to begin with. This girl is starting to seek out attention and will be starting to do more training sessions as weather allows!

MARCH 2024 UPDATE: Zera has been growing leaps and bounds! She is trying so hard to be a good girl. We are lunging beautifully and teaching her how to connect. She has started to approach people in a friendly manner, and is genuinely curious about things as of late. Our next goal is to be able to groom her without ANY ear pinning. While she doesn’t try to bite us anymore, she still doesn’t enjoy it yet, but we will work on grooming being a positive interaction!

APRIL 2024 UPDATE: Zera is learning clicker training, also referred to as positive reinforcement training. She is such a smart girl, and is picking it up very quickly. She is now allowing us to brush her, we are still working on her feet. We have found that the only time she is uneasy is at dusk and dawn, not sure if it has something to do with the lighting, or with her trauma. We continue to take steps in the right direction with her!

MAY 2024 UPDATE: I think we have figured out Zera’s issue and why she comes at us at times, and doesn’t during others. Zera is very stuck in “predator"/prey” mindset. She hits a point where she expects you to come for her, and ‘I am going to get you, before you get me’. We have been more consistent with her working, and start every session with the “claim your space game”. After that, she is very willing and cooperative, and she has even started letting me touch her all over, including her feet! We are not to the point where she will let anyone do it, but it is a start!

JUNE 2024 UPDATE: Zera has been a very good citizen. She is letting us groom her, clean her feet, and is coming along very nicely. Gaining her “good citizen” label means she is available - to the right person. We are going to be very selective on the person she goes to, as she doesn’t trust easily, and will need to be someone that is willing to give her grace and patience. We want the partnership to be successful!

JULY 2024 UPDATE: Zera is doing so good! She is thriving with consistency. I am actually getting the feeling that she has been broke out, we have been working her in a saddle, and she couldn’t care less about the saddling process. She is present, and unphased by it! We are still working with her feet, as that seems to be her biggest issue still, but she is letting me hold them and clean them without making it a big “to do”. We have also accomplished a bath! I thinking doing “normal horse things” with her, and treating her like a normal horse will continue her progress well. She has been participating in our events like read to the rescues, and camps (just in her stall), and she seems to be enjoying it! She REALLY loves to be read to by the kids!

Zera had some set backs this week. We work with “the horse we have that day”, and Zera has decided she really doesn’t like the farrier. We were not able to complete all 4 of her feet, which means we have to take a few steps backwards and work more on that. So, we will be working on this from a different angle, and she will be relisted when she is back to behaving consistently. Horses like Zera are difficult, as they are so hard to trust, and for us to trust in return. She really will take the right person.

SEPTEMBER 2024 UPDATE: Zera is back to doing well. She does require consistency. She has learned that she doesn’t HAVE to be caught, so can some days take a minute to catch, but then seems very agreeable. She still is one of those horses that choose a person- and then THEY become HER person. She is still not easy to trust, but if you take the time to get to know her, and are patient - she is worth it!

OCTOBER 2024 UPDATE: Zera is making great progress, she is being curious about new people- and doesn’t go to immediately defensive mode. She is giving them a chance! The vet has been fantastic, with zero issues, and the farrier is making progress. We were able to work on her front feet with very little push back- and that push back was NOT her normal “blow up” level. It was more of a polite “no, thank you!” Today, she actually came up to me and was asking to be haltered and for attention. That was NEW! She is absolutely ready to find HER person!

NOVEMBER 2024 UPDATE: We put Zera on mare magic, and she seems to be much more agreeable to being caught. It has been the easiest is has ever been. We will continue to work with her saddled and her feet to see how the mare magic has helped.