Background

Gypsy sat on the Colorado kill lot for six weeks -- nearly unheard of. Her plain brown wrapper, and unattractive lot photos did not help her at all. At the last minute, in part of an effort to stop a full truckload from going to Mexico, we stepped up to offer Gypsy a safe landing. Her lot pictures state she is uncatachable. She is also very pregnant. She remains in quarantine and is not presently on the farm.

Rehabilitation Plan

Gypsy has no known health issues, but has experienced some extreme trauma. She is also pregnant. Her trauma shows in the fact that she is uncertain about humans. She has lost all trust but is not a wild girl. We feel strongly that at some point she was halter broke, and with a little time, we will get her there again. Meanwhile, we are waiting for her baby to make an appearance in this world.

Rehabilitation will begin with earning Gypsy's trust while we wait for her to foal. Small steps will get us there, and a routine, where she sees us as the lovely food providers, will help immensely. Our quarantine manager says it wouldn't take much to get her haltered, but she is currently in with another horse, and needs to be separated to accomplish things. She is not mean or agressive or frantic about her flight response.

After she foals, we will have to evaluate again. Protective momma instincts might make her revert to some degree (we hope not!) But when all-things-baby are finished, and she is able to wean the foal off, Gypsy will resume evaluation and training here on the farm.

Though we have a while to wait, we hope Gypsy will quickly come to trust us and we can start her on the way to saddle training. For now, we are only fousing on waiting out the foal she's carrying.

Generally About Gypsy

We know Gypsy is curious and shows an interest in bridging her mistrust. She is not afraid of humans. She has just been making her own decisions, uninfluenced, for too long, and the auction process combined with a kill lot were not good for her sense of self-preservation. On the lot, many people reported she arrived so sweet they could scratch her, and one regular visitor said they actually laid down with her and she let them snuggle. All this tells us Gypsy at one point had a bond with people. She just needs trust and encouragement to get there again.