Rufio was abandoned with his pal Sable at a general livestock auction. They were both impossible to handle and we had to herd them onto the trailer and into their holding pen. Time passed quickly and we could not tame them down enough to handle for basic care or to be gelded.

We asked Jonathan Field for his help and his whole team graciously donated their time for a session with the boys at Pipsqueak Paddocks.

It was amazing to see how quickly Jonathan managed to reel Rufio in and show him the beginnings of proper behaviour and that humans were not out to get him.

Rufio made amazing strides in that first session. The team then took Sable to their facility and transformed him. Sable was adopted soon after.

Then, it was Rufio's turn. Liz did a lot of the work with him at the Jonathan Field Horsemanship Centre. Rufio proved to be quite a challenge, but the team kept on working with him over mulitple visits lasting a week at a time.

Then, Rufio was invited to stay at the Jonathan Field Horsemanship Centre for a couple of months. The entire team worked with him and really brought him along beautifully. He is still "Rufio", but a much happier horse! He is actually enjoying working with humans now and can be handled and cared for properly.

Rufio came back to Pipsqueak Paddocks a changed pony. We were absolutely thrilled and relieved to see the difference in his attitude and whole outlook.

I had a sneaking suspicion that Jonathan and his team had grown rather attached to Rufio, and sure enough... two days after he came back, I got a phone call requesting that their pony come back home, for good.

... a few months later and it doesn't look like they are having any fun at all. LOL - here's Liz with Rufio. Photo credit: Robin Duncan