You may be right, I may be crazy...

You know sometimes people do all the right things, but it still turns out wrong.


The story here is Slick. He is a black and white tobiano gelding, 13 years old.
His owner was a slight and non robust man, but he loved Slick. Unfortunately he had a bad scare on the horse and even though he made sure Slick had his shots (right ) and his feet shod on a regular basis ( right) and he was kept in a nice stable (right ) and he was fed all the yummy alfalfa he could eat ( not so right), he didn't get Slick out of his stall. (Wrong.) Poor Slick has been standing (mostly) in his 12x12 metal stall with only one small window to peek out of for the last five years.
You would think that any horse asked to spend his life in nearly total isolation would be territorial and mean. You would think that his poor horsey mind ( never a strong point in any horse) would be totally fried.

I tried to buy Slick a few years back. I kept Desi in the stall next to him, but the stalls were like ovens in the summer(literally) and I had to get Desi out of there. The owner said he wanted to sell him, but he refused my offer. I moved Desi out and for the last three years, when the temps would soar, I would be haunted by the thought of poor Slick standing sweating in that hot box.
I got an e-mail from one of the boarders of that barn a couple of weeks ago. She wanted to know if I wanted Slick- the owner had finally been convinced to let him go.
Now, usually when someone offers me a free horse, I say Thanks but No. Free horses are NEVER free.
But I said maybe this time and went out to meet the owner and talk to him.
I warned him that some people come to get free horses and then take them to the killer, and to be careful. He said he understood. I told him that everyone knew me and to check around and be sure he felt comfortable giving me his horse.
I didn't hear anything for while. I heard through the grapevine that the owner had sold Slick to someone else.
Ok, that's fine. I hoped the horse got a good home. Then two days ago,out of the blue, the owner called me back, said I could have Slick- for $1.00.
I picked Slick up today.
He got right into my trailer, and when I got him to the temporary digs he was so happy!  Imagine seeing the sun and feeling the fresh air in your mane after being in solitary for years!
He has a buddy- Charlie- in the paddock next door.
Evidently the owner tried checking into the background of the other people and found out that they didn't have the stables they had said they did, and some other shady type stuff, so he nixed that deal and called me.
I'm glad I warned him to check things out.
So now I have a project horse.
Slick is about 150-200 pounds overweight.
His mind is not fried- as a matter of fact he's a sweetheart. Flapping bags, other horses, trains whistles- nothing has phased him yet.
I'll put him on a diet and start doing some basic ground work. Then we will see how he reacts to riding.
Hopefully he will be as willing and happy as he was when he saw his new paddock today.
He's not taking place of The Colt- oh no- I have my heart set on that. But hopefully I have rescued Slick from a unhappy situation ( for him) and can find another good owner- but one who will use him as he was intended, as a riding partner and friend. 
I'll post some pictures in a few days.
Crazy huh?