Izzy is our first mini horse. We rescued Izzy and her Thoroughbred friend in the summer of 2011 from serious neglect at the request of a veterinarian. We didn’t really have the space and planned to rehome both once they were healthy. Izzy it turned out was not really re-home-able because of her inability to get along with any other horses. She was aggressive with every horse she met at our sanctuary. On her hind legs, mouth open, never minding that she is a third the size of every horse here. Her trauma socially, emotionally, and physically has healed slowly. Her healing has been slow and profound and matched by our mini horse learning curve which has been steep and compelling. She has found her place, has made two best friends and a couple of good friends within the group and she coexists with everyone else. Our lessons in Izzy School started the day we removed her from her neglect and asked her to get in the trailer. Let’s just say her answer was “NO!” on that hot summer day and we had to dig deep to find successful communication – she was at liberty (we didn’t have a halter for her) so we did it on her terms. We have continued to do things on her terms and we have great respect for that.

Izzy is a wonderful addition to the herd. She can be less intimidating to work with and she always surprises people too. Because of her size, we humans can think she is more like a dog than a horse. Izzy loves to set them straight. She requires us humans to show up, pay attention, be sincere and respectful and then she will consider cooperating. Such great lessons on how to be in mutually beneficial relationship no matter one’s size or age. 

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