Ace Update!

I don't know how many of you remember Ace, the little black gelding that lived with me for a little while in 2013. He was reportedly a quarter horse bought though I always suspected he might be a Morgan.  He started his riding career with a cowboy who was extremely rough on him and set him off on the wrong foot. From there, he went to a strange woman who rarely did much with him. Eventually, a girl named Casey fell in love with him and bought him off of Craigslist because he was pretty. It turned out that Ace had severe trust and fear issues. He refused to be caught. If you did manage to get a halter on him, he was liable to freak out and rip your arms out. As for riding, he had a wicked bucking problem.

Ace moved in with me in July and spent several weeks being completely restarted from scratch. We discovered that the mere sound of stirrups jangling was enough to send him into a fit. Somewhat amazingly, Ace actually made a ton of progress in three weeks. I even managed to ride him quietly in the outdoor without him so much as batting an eye at anything.

And then shit hit the proverbial fan. What started off as some funky goose steps before I even met Ace quickly escalated into full blown wobbling in the pasture. The usual neuro panel that I am so regrettably familiar with by now revealed absolutely nothing. The idea of spending a ton of money on diagnostics for a horse that Casey couldn't ride and was honestly terrified of was unappealing. In the end, Ace went home and I never heard another thing from Casey.

Some time later, I heard from Ace's old farrier, who happened to be at Booger's barn on the same day I was, that Casey had sold Ace. Apparently, he was off doing CTR. I found the tale a little suspicious. A neurological horse performing at distance rides? I didn't really buy it. Besides, if Ace had been at any rides in the area, I would have seen him, right?

Last spring, I took JR to Bunny Hop for a fun ride. While Mike and I were in the vetting area, I spotted a little black horse with a white snip. I commented that he looked like Ace, then thought nothing of it. At the awards dinner, they announced an Ace, but I wasn't sure it was the same horse.

It is now nearly a year later, and I had all but forgotten about Ace. I was still casually keeping an eye out for the little guy, but figured I would never know what became of him. Quite frankly, I feared he had been auctioned off and slaughtered.

Last night, I got a friend request from a fellow distance rider. We have about a dozen mutual friends, and I recognized her face from a few rides, so I accepted. I clicked on her photos to see who she was.

This was the first photo I saw:

The caption was, "Ace loves his new kicks! Thanks, *insert farrier name here*!"

I was crying before I even typed out a comment. I asked, "Is this Ace who belonged to a girl named Casey in Pennsylvania?"
His owner replied, "That was creepy, but yes it is..."
"I USED TO TRAIN HIM!!!"

I spent the next several hours chatting with my new friend, who had added me because FB suggested it, and she recognized my face from some rides. The horse at Bunny Hop last year was indeed Ace, and I'm kicking myself for not going up to him at that time to find out. Then I could have really been creepy.

I have asked his owner's permission to share these photos. She was thrilled to get filled in on his past, and she said it makes a lot of sense.

Apparently, after Ace left training with me, Casey tried to ride him a handful of times, but she got dumped again and just let him sit for nearly a year (conveniently the amount of time it takes damaged nerves to regenerate). When his new owner picked him up, she was given the full history on him, and knew she was taking on quite a project.

Luckily for Ace, his new owner does a lot of natural horsemanship. She told me that the desensitizing really stuck and it's one thing he excels at. He still has some trust issues, and he did buck at the start of Bunny Hop, but after a winter in full training, and a few more months to get to know his new home, he is really heading in the right direction.

"He is my heart and my best friend," his owner told me. "In fact, I rode him down the aisle at my wedding."

You guys, this is the stuff that makes my life so worth it.

I am hoping to see Ace out on trail some day.

Here are photos of what he's been up to in the last two and a half years:

The day his new owner went to meet him.

His new BFF.

Look at all the room he has!

Desensitizing in a rope halter should be pretty familiar.