A Loose Horse Is A Loose Cannon

  • Bay Morgan Gelding
  • Entry Date – 12/21/10
  • Type of rescue – Abandoned
  • Special needs – None

Bravo was an abandoned horse in the winter of 2010 when the Sheriff’s Department received a call that he was roaming around the North Medford area. Residents said he’d been loose for days and had tried to get into a field with several mares. Since the Sheriff’s Department has no facility for housing large animals, they asked the Equamore Foundation to provide a temporary shelter for this blood bay Morgan horse until his owner could be found. When no owner came forward, Bravo was accepted into the Foundation permanently.

The day after his arrival, the staff was surprised to discover that Bravo was still a stallion. Since he had been running loose and behaved well compared to a typically unpredictable stallion, it had been assumed that he was a gelding. Still tense and aloof, however, Bravo is now a gelding.

Unfortunately, Bravo encountered some problems out in the gelding field after Woody’s arrival. He got along with the other geldings until Woody challenged him. When Bravo responded submissively, Woody terrorized him and kept him isolated from the herd. The Equamore staff had no choice but to separate the two horses. Now Bravo spends time with his new buddies Joe, Pete, Topaz, Dusty, Mister, Arlo, and Tebow.

For several months, the volunteers tried to train him to be ridden, but he bucks as soon as he feels the girth tighten. Most horses have a similar reaction when first saddled but, eventually accept both the saddle and a rider. Bravo’s violent and unpredictable reaction to saddling makes it unsafe for even the most experienced riders. Although he will never be ridden, he has mellowed out since his abandoned days and feels more secure at the Sanctuary.