Rosie

Once in a lifetime horse ~ Rosie needs a forever home! Rosie is one of the smartest horses Steph has ever had the pleasure to train. She is incredibly intelligent, sensitive, and super willing when it comes to all things clicker training! Whether you want a stunning mahogany thoroughbred to decorate your field as a clicker training pet or you want an athletic partner to take eventing with 100% R+ training - Rosie is your gal! ROSIE’S BACKGROUND Rosie is a registered & tattooed OTTB mare, foaled in 2007 (she will gladly smile to show you her tattoo, if you'd like!). She had a rough start to life, but overcame everything with the grace and fire of a true thoroughbred, which allowed her to become the amazing, trustworthy, & impressive mare she is today! Racing was torture for Rosie. After only five, very slow starts, she was labeled a “BE” case - meaning she was sentenced to death because she was so “dangerous” & “aggressive.” She wasn’t humanely euthanized, though. Instead, she was sold to slaughter, bounced between kill pen scams & rescue groups, and eventually wound up in an overcrowded/hoarding situation, where she was taken in by Steph in 2018. Steph took in Rosie, along with several other rescue horses, while coaching for the UBC Dressage Team in Canada. She intended to rehabilitate them to be used as school horses Rosie was successfully rehabilitated with Classical Dressage methods and competed at training level in 2019, earning scores in the 80’s. She successfully schooled through first level canter work and second level trot work at home. Rosie is a horse who has never had her spirit broken - she fought back and defended her boundaries, even when saying “no” got her labeled as dangerous, dominant, and aggressive. The gentle Classical Dressage methods gave her the ability to say “no” safely, and didn’t ask her to do things that were uncomfortable, painful, or scary. As a result, those dangerous behaviors began to melt away. Rosie was ridden on and off property by a variety of amateur students, ranging from beginner to advanced riders. She was kind, safe, and gentle - already beginning to overcome those labels of “dangerous” or “aggressive.” Rosie played an integral role in Steph’s transition to R+. Rosie is an excellent “teacher horse,” meaning she is highly driven & willing to participate in training, while also being very sensitive and communicative. She used her body language and communicative expressions to teach Steph how to properly apply R+ training to equines, and did the same for countless students in Steph’s lesson programs. She doesn’t get frustrated or anxious when her handler “messes up” or is unclear with their cues, but is sensitive enough that she helps her handlers learn to be precise & effective with their communication & timing. Rosie did lessons at SKE from the fall of 2019 until the summer of 2022, with 100% R+, force-free methods. In that time, she did everything from bridleless show jumping to beginner pony rides. She was always trustworthy with students of a variety of ages & experience levels, doing everything from beginner liberty work to advanced riding. She also competed at several local shows both on & off property, and won champion & reserve ribbons everywhere she went! In the summer of 2022, Rosie was adopted along with another SKE rescue mare, Anna. The two of them have been living happily as pasture pets since then. Unfortunately, through no fault of their own, Rosie & Anna need to find a new placement. They are available for direct adoption from their current home now, and if none is found by May then they will be returning to the SKE rescue facility to await adoption here. ROSIE’S TRAINING As mentioned above, Rosie has a strong background in Classical Dressage work that she developed before her R+ restart. Since transitioning to a 100% R+ approach (clicker training, fear-free), she has learned A LOT! Her list of behaviors is LONG - too much to fit in a single post - and includes: Basic Foundations: - Leading (with halter, off a target, or off body language/at liberty) - Nose targeting (target stick & hand targets) - Stationary targeting (at a cone, mat, or bucket) - Body handling (for brushes, petting, vet, farrier, etc.) - Reverse roundpen (walk with speed adjustments, trot with speed adjustments, canter with some speed adjustments) - "Go mat" (to a floor mat) - "Go around" (a barrel or weave pole) - "Go jump" (over a jump obstacle) - "Go touch" (to a cone station or other target) Cooperative Care/"Life Skills": - Veterinary handling (checking eyes, ears, nose, teeth/mouth, teats, etc.) - Farrier/hoof handling (held & on the stand; pulled forward & from the bottom of the hoof) - Cooperative injections (IV & IM) - Cooperative oral medications (via syringe, though she will also eat medications in food) - Cooperative eye drops/ointments - Cooperative aerosol spray (like aluminum spray / aluspray) - Cooperative fly spray - Trailer loading (both ramp & step up; being lead & self-loading; turning to walk off & backing off) Riding Behaviors: - Saddling/tacking, self-bridling, & self-bitting - Lining up at the mounting block & mounting - Taking reinforcements under saddle (by hand & via bucket stations) - Targeting under saddle - Walk, Trot, & Canter under saddle - Speed adjustments under saddle (increasing/decreasing her speed through faster/slower and through larger/smaller steps) - Steering via hand targets, target stick, & weight shifts - Steering & stopping via neck rope, bitless bridle, and bitted bridle Specialized Training: (done both from the ground/liberty and under saddle) - Jumping (basic hunter courses up to 2’6”, complex jumper courses up to 2’) - Dressage (self-carriage, turn on haunches & forehand, lateral over / leg yielding W/T/C, shoulder-in W/T, haunches in W/T, half-pass W) - Trail Obstacles (bridges, water, narrow spaces, gates, mailboxes, carrying & dragging objects; she doesn't love trails but she will gladly hack around a property where she is familiar) Rosie is super familiar with consent cues & start/stop buttons. She is incredibly intelligent & communicative and has an amazing foundation in addition to lots of specialized training. She LOVES working for jackpots and solving puzzles & brain games. Rosie has had tons of positive experiences in a wide variety of situations. She has competed extensively in The Equine Clicker Show, achieving scores in the 90's; she hauled from Vancouver, BC to Missouri and was extremely well behaved the whole time; she's done great with lessons & kids games and she's been dressed up for Halloween. She was always the first to greet you when you come to the farm & won the hearts of so many students & trainers at SKE. She would make an outstanding competitive or casual equine partner. She has the athleticism for jumping and the sensitivity & precision for dressage work. She will gladly match your competitive passions or relax into a casual home setting. She loves consistency & builds meaningful relationships with those around her. ROSIE’S HEALTH HISTORY Rosie is a somewhat-easy-keeper** **For an OTTB! She requires quality pasture and/or free-choice alfalfa hay to keep good body condition. She did great on SKE’s feed program (free-choice alfalfa hay with buffet style trace minerals) and is currently thriving on quality pasture with a daily mineral balancer in her adopted home. That said, beyond the quality forage and good mineral balancing, she does not need additional fats/grains/other high-calorie supplementation. Rosie is easy to trim & great for the farrier. She is barefoot sound. She had some sensitivity early on in her hoof rehab and we utilized Scoot Boots to keep her comfortable on harder ground. That’s since resolved and she hasn’t needed them in several years, but she's happy to wear boots if needed. Rosie has not had any serious lameness issues since arrival. She has had some more mild/moderate comfort issues, all of them relating to either footsoreness (managed with boots until resolved) and/or her Kissing Spine condition. Rosie has moderate Kissing Spines, which has limited her to only carrying riders with a maximum weight of around 175 lbs, and required careful attention to saddle fit & quality of movement/carriage under saddle. She also has mild hock arthritis because of her back problems. She doesn’t require any supplements or additional management to stay comfortable in the pasture & with light riding, but SKE has always given her some herbal supplement blends (white willow, etc.) during more intense ridden work, to help prevent any possible discomfort. SKE is happy to share vet records & x-rays with potential adopters, and a PPE is also welcome. HOW TO ADOPT ROSIE SKE seeks adopters who have good intentions & good core values to direct them on their horsemanship journey - plus the knowledge, resources, & facilities to provide a great life to their adopted equine. If you feel that describes you, we would love for you to provide Rosie with an amazing home! Rosie is available for adoption through SKE for $3500. Rosie also has tack & equipment that can be purchased to go with her to her new home. Rosie is located in Willard, MO, USA, and delivery is available in the US & Canada. Start the application process by filling the adoption application at skequine.com/adopt Contact SKE with any questions or concerns: [email protected] 417-763-1925 Thank you so much for considering this truly amazing mare. She is absolutely wonderful & will certainly make someone very, very happy! **We have tons of video we are getting together & publishing as we have time! You can view the videos on her YouTube playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHTLjXzz3Q5