I want to share something with everyone, which I hope will get passed around and shared again and again. The importance of riding with a helmet! I am guilty of leaving mine at home on a really hot day when it feels like I’ve wrapped a heat pack on my head.  Or when I’ve been in a hurry, and just jumped on, thinking I would just do a short ride. Even though the proof is all around us; horse related accidents on the jumping course, rodeo arena, trail rides, etc.  It has been the furthest thing from my mind during … Continue reading PLEASE READ!!!

Hello Everyone! Thank you for your patience during Pandas R&R, and this terribly rainy weather.  We have started our training back up, and boy is she ready! Sunday and Monday I worked Panda in the round pen.  We recapped what we had been working on last month, and also added a few new things to the agenda. Panda is one of the most eager horses that I’ve encountered!  She can’t wait to please, and doesn’t have a defiant bone in her body…yet!  All of her issues are fear related. For these two lessons, I refreshed her memory on moving off … Continue reading We’re Back!!

When I approached Panda in her paddock for her second lesson two days later, I wasn’t sure how she would react. We had ended the first one on such a great note of her giving me two eyes, that I hoped she would remember it for when I approached her with the halter. I began with the basics again.  I caught her eye, and then turned away.   I took a few steps towards her, then turned away again.  Then I reached my hand out to her, and when she leaned in to touch it, I walked off.  She absolutely LOVES this … Continue reading Lesson #2 – Panda

As I’m sure that you can see from the photos, Panda was EXTREMELY underweight.  She had every rib and hip bones exposed.  Her feet were in terrible condition, and I could hear her teeth catching on themselves when she ate.  She definitely needed some TLC. Whenever I bring a new horse onto the property whose history is unknown, we quarantine for thirty days.  During that time, I don’t mess with them.  I let them relax and settle into their new surroundings.  If they are tame, we’ll groom and fly spray, etc. but all grooming tools are bleached, and all buckets … Continue reading Lesson # 1 – Panda

When you purchase a kill lot horse, every moment counts.  I’ve heard horror stories where people have purchased a horse from a kill buyer, and attempt to make transportation arrangements for their horse.  In the meantime, if the slaughter bound trucks are low in weight, they’ll grab the closest horse they can catch.  If the horse is already sold, they just refund the purchasers money.  It’s heartbreaking for the buyer who gets their hopes up on their new family member, and the poor horse whose fate is all but humane. So, when I decided to invest in “Panda”, I  knew … Continue reading Picking up Panda

If you’re unfamiliar with a kill lot, you’re not alone.  Before April, I was under the impression that slaughter in the US was non-existent, and was blissfully unaware that up to 1,800 horses every week are shipped from a single “kill Lot” in the United States. This rude awakening began with that sweet woman  I met at the Clinton Anderson clinic who shared the Facebook page with me.  That same day I saw a precious face listed as “URGENT – ON KILL LOT!”  It was a beautiful little pinto pony named “Indy.”  When I saw this, I thought that someone … Continue reading Kill Lots

This blog began because recently, while attending a Clinton Anderson clinic, I sat beside a woman for breakfast that had a wonderful story to tell me.  She was also attending the clinic, and we were wearing the same T-shirt – … Continue reading Finding Smart Lil Panda

Hello! My name is Summer Davis, and I am thirty years old ( that’s a scary sentence to write!). I inherited my love for horses from my mother, who grew up in Los Angeles.  When she and my father married, he purchased her a gorgeous black Arabian named Kallany – her first horse.  I was one at the time, and always thought he was the most breathtaking horse I’d ever seen in person….Still do.  Kallany honored us with his companionship until four years ago, when he passed away at the age of thirty-three. Due to my Mother’s love of horses, we … Continue reading About Me