Hawk

A black beauty that came to us a few years back. Hawk the only name we know him by was born into the Paso Fino breed, supposing sired by Champion's. His owner/s assumed they would make a large amount of money off of him. Why and how he came to be with way he was is another story.

 I can just tell you he came to us skin and bones, a high amount of liver damage and at the age of 15 year he was not broke nor allowed out of an 8x8 stall for the full time of his adult life. From the stories I heard, as a yearling he was allowed to romp in green pastures and his food was abundant. I was told he was loved and well taken care of, yet when I seen him the first time he was old looking, tired and very wary of the world. He was starved days upon days, then given large amounts of hay when the owner could afford to feed him. Knowing he was underweight and a bit of a mess to look at the owner kept him hid from public eyes. She assumed there was always going to be better days. 

Better days never came for Hawk. He had an infection dripping from his sleath like running water. I was told that was common in his breed. Being a stud I had to isolate him by himself until I could get the vet to look at him so I housed him up on a hill all by himself in a shelter of 16X20 with a small fenced pasture of about 40X40 to get in and out of. 

The vet after careful examination put him on antibiotics, commented that it would be better to put him down, that if the infection didn't kill him most likely the liver damage would. Looking into his big sad eyes I didn't have the heart to say alright. I was going to give it my best shot. 

I began slow, talking to him 4, 5, 6 times a day I would visit him up on the hill, giving him only a 1/4 cup of grain in the beginning, and small flakes of hay. Over a couple of weeks he was able to hold about a pound of grain twice daily and a good double leaf of hay twice daily. Not to surprising he was happy to see me come up that hill, he could come out into the sunlight and meet me at the fence. I waited two weeks before I decided to clean him up. I began by brushing his massive mane and tail. I felt many times like giving up and cutting it off, the task of just getting the tangles out of the matted mess took many hours of many days, but finally it came out and goodness he still had so much left after my pulling and combing and brushing and pulling some more. I then tackled the bath. I am not sure he ever had a bath before, if he did it didn't show in his manor. He fought and reared and again many times that day I felt like tossing in the towel. The clippers that is a story in itself. I know he was never clipped.

   After making him look a little more presentable and his infection was almost gone, still skin and bones I decided to put him out to pasture daily hoping that he would enjoy being out and about maybe add a few pounds to his bones. So out he went twice a day, only for an hour here and there so as not to colic or founder. He loved it. So much in fact he would fight me when I went to bring him in. I pulled and pulled to get him to cross the yard with me back to his shelter. Firmly with his skinny little legs planted in a parked out position on the ground he would sway and sway but not move. How strong can he be I thought to my self he isn't that heavy or that healthy but we struggled and played tug-a-war. I did win, but not at my own expense. I was exhausted and sweating and down right fed up. Yet each time I went up on that hill and looked into his eyes, I saw something. 

I would continue to make excuses for him, it's not his fault I told my self over and over. Over a couple of months he did so well at least he moved around better, and the infection was gone. He ate full rations. Looks wise he still had a lot to be desired. I decided to let him live in the front pasture full time. A run in was there and the fence was wood post with 4 rails running around a 250 by 400 foot section of pasture. He loved it, and he could butt up with some other horses that ran in a 8 acre pasture next to it.

  Close to 5 months into his new life, he showed signs of being happy and putting on a few pounds. I too felt relieved that I wasn't making that struggle up the hill with him any more. I figured he could just live out his life down there in the front pasture. It happen one day that I was gone, I came home to notice that the front pasture was empty and that some of the fencing was down. "Oh no! I cried to my husband, that little Mexican made it into where the mares are", not to mention it was full of geldings also. Having to park the car and follow the field around to another section of land we found him. What a sight, he had half his mane torn off, all that work I did gone. Bite marks on him all over, and someone kicked him in his chest. He had two blood bags that swelled on his chest hanging larger than my breast. I can't begin to tell you how bad he looked. BUT, he was not fighting now and somehow he managed to get a little harem for himself. A little blond pony, a half Arab filly and a really big quarter horse mare was right next to him all lovey dovey.

I again caught him and tried as I might I couldn't get him to budge. I had to take the quarter horse and pony in just so he would follow us. I bathed him up, fixed the bites and brushed his hair all the while he neighed and neighed for those mares he now thought of as his. I took his side once again saying to my husband. "He is already beat up, they can't do much more to him. If we take him away not he might just loose it all together, I don't think he can breed with that infection and he isn't really tall enough to get up on the mares anyway. He found his pecking order so why not just leave him out there". It took some skill to talk my husband into it, after all he was the fence mender, but Hawk could stay loose. 

Oh boy did he enjoy that, not only was he free he had some girls to hang out with. He happen to have the herds head mare backing him. They looked like Mutt and Jeff together, Hawk just over 13.2 and that mare just over 16hh. What can I say she was in love. So Hawk became the stud in the heard and he ate first, came in second, only behind his mare, went out second behind his mare and slowly over the winter his heard grew. He kicked a little butt, and if he couldn't kick it his mare could, and did. We laughed many times over the next year as we watched him and his three mares run the heard, soon the geldings were running with him. He finally came into his own. Looks wise he was looking up but still I never thought he would get to his full potention.

Two years past, I was watching him one day and thought to myself that he would be better off if he was broke. He was close to 18 years old now, but still he needed to be broke I said. I set it upon myself to break him over a summer. Actually this was the easy part, he liked it. The attention he all of a sudden enjoyed. He loved being brushed, and groomed and touches. He even settled down for the clippers. I was smart you know. I sat one of his mares right in front of him in the beginning. My mother didn't raise any dummies. Even when the saddle time came he broke easy enough. Before long I had him going down the road.

Three years after he came to us, he was looking what I thought would be his best for the rest of his life, so I decided to try to find him a home. Another mare came into our pasture belonging to a boarder and guess what, she was PG, you know what that means don't you. I had to explain to my boarder how this little Mexican looking Paso got her prize mare bred when I guaranteed her he is impotent. 

  We looked around and put up a couple of ad's, nothing. No one wanted him. I thought for sure I would be his keeper for life. While giving a neighbor of mine a riding lesson, she mentioned she was looking for a SAFE horse for her and her daughter to share. I said...BINGO ...what about Hawk. She said "Joanna do you think a stallion is the ok thing to buy first"? I again guaranteed him, saying well in this case yes, he is gentle, loving and looking for a home where he can be the center of attention. He won't bite, buck or give you a hard time. Taking her to look at him she pondered for about 30 seconds saying Ok I will take him but what will it cost me? $150.00 dollars I said and I will deliver him to your door. 

Happy, excited and anxious to get him home, we together with her daughter walked him across the road to his new home. It's been three years, Hawk just turned 21 other than him getting loose a couple of times a year and coming back to visit his mares, he is doing great. He loves it there with Patty and her family. They pamper him, gave him acres and acres to pasture on. He has a new 160 foot riding arena this year to work in. He goes down the road, brushes , handles and they can't believe their good fortune they found such a star. Did I mention he produced a colt from that prize filly. We named the colt Midnight, needless to say the mares owner was not happy with the outcome. So we had to find a home for Midnight also. Guess what, Patty and Megan fell in love with Midnight the minute he was born, came over every day and when Midnight was weaned from the mom, guess where he went. He and his father run together, the colt did get gelded, but not Hawk. Yet, he is typically the gentleman, he lets Midnight eat first, go in first and come out first. They roam 80 acres together with a third party named Teddy that was picked up from us. 

I stopped by today to visit the three, found Hawk not only looking good but down right FAT. He came right up to the fence and let me pet him. I looked into his eyes and no longer did I see that sad sigh, I saw a smiling, gentle stallion, that is truly a black beauty.

      By Joanna Goodall Sept 4, 2001

(Stay tune for a second chapter. I will tell you about Teddy and how he came to me.)