Being ridden at less than a year old!!!! Meet Triton.

I saw this Craigslist ad on Facebook with a comment, "can't someone help this horse?". There were lots of remarks and criticism of how wrong it was for these people to have anyone riding this horse at barely a year old.  Lots of snarky comments and a few people offering donations if someone would please just help.  But I saw no one stepping up to help. 

With a little research, I found the Facebook page of these sellers and even more pictures of this fine boned Arabian colt being ridden by different children.  We have erased their name, but noticed the comment with the photo that said "proud mommy". 

Yes, they are proud of the fact they have their pre-teen riding this yearling with a saddle while being ponied.  My heart hurt for this sweet colt.

Located in the western end of Phoenix, about 3 1/2 hours from me, I contacted one of our adopters named Monique, who has grown to be a wonderful friend and asked if she could go get him for us and help till I could make the trip down.  Her reply, "In a heartbeat".   So I contacted the sellers and set up time the following day for Monique to arrive.  Monique asked her friend Shannon to go with her and when Shannon learned the situation she offered to keep him at her house and provide help with initial care. 

Monique was shocked to find Triton much thinner than portrayed, there was a filly was not as bad, but her feet were over long and there were two additional horses on the property that were very malnourished, one bordering on total emaciation.   Monique offered to help those horses, but it was refused. So Triton was loaded on the trailer and at least one of the horses lives was changed for good. We will try again soon to see if they will accept any assistance with the other horses. 

Once safely at Shannon's they were able to really get a look at Triton and we were so sad to see his condition.  His top line is bony, ribs are showing, not much of a butt and he was a little lethargic. These pictures show his condition and you can see how depressed he looks.

For comparison sake, let's take a look at his sire, FA EL Shawan, 2010 Brazilian National Champion and 2011 Arabian Breeders World Cup Gold Champion who sadly died in January of 2013: 

And his dam (mother), Blue Spruce Amazia, who was recently purchased by Dr. Tarig Enaya, the Managing Director of Cisco Saudia Arabia and was shipped to Saudi Arabia the day before we rescued Triton:

These were not back yard breeder horses, these horses are worth tens of thousands of dollars. One has to ask with parentage like that, how does progeny of such a magnificent champion and exquisite mare end up how we found him, huddled in the corner of a make shift stall in the a neighborhood so scary that you wouldn't want to go there by yourself?  

Filly also on the property for sale for a huge amount

Well we don't have an answer for you.  Perhaps the breeder thought he wouldn't make the show circuit, perhaps they he was one of too many foals born that year, who knows.  I placed a call to the original owners who bred this foal and have gotten no answer. I can only hope they still care about him enough to return my call.  

One thing we do know is that he NEVER should have been saddled up and ridden when his bones are still that of a baby and he never should have been sat on like the pictures shown on the business Facebook page of the people who bought him from the breeder.  He is not a pony to be ridden at pony rides.  He was only six months old when they bought him and treated like this for the last year. Who can blame him for being depressed.  Well those days are OVER!

First order of the new day.  A bath and he was a very good boy. So happy to have the dirt of his old life gone forever. 

We have assessed his needs and he is on a special refeeding diet for malnourished horses receiving some alfalfa hay and my favorite, Purina's Enrich Plus.  In a few weeks we will deworm him and as soon as his weight is good and system healthy he will need to be castrated.  He will then come to the ranch in Snowflake to spend the winter to just hang out being a horse.  Next year as a two year old we can work on his ground training and in the meantime look for the perfect long term home for this sweet colt.

I doubt we will ever truly know his story, but we have bits and pieces we can put together and guess. The good news is he has a bright future and a long time before he will be ridden again.  Who knows, he may even be another one of our horses that competes in the Tevis Cup endurance race one day.

Most of you know we had to release Babee from the pain of her severely foundered feet on the 13th of September and then just a few days later I felt the call to save this baby.  Still mourning her loss and struggling through the day, I firmly believe Babee wanted us to help this 'baby' and give him the love and care he needs.

If you would like to make a donation to help Triton and the other horses at EqWBR you can see we will put them to very good use.  Checks can be mailed to EqWBR, PO Box 2722, Snowflake, AZ 85937 and if you want to use PayPal just click the donate button.  We are a 501c3 Public Charity so your donations are tax-deductible.

We thank you all very much for you continued support.   This is a team effort and you are part of a wonderful team.   Stay tuned for updates on Triton and the rest of the herd.

Love from Autumn, Danny, Duncan, Fancy, Gen, Gwen, Liam, Lucky, Ruby and now Triton!