|
I
am writing this testimonial about Alice "Doc"
Nelson because I am a firm believer in her
skills and compassion for miniature horses
especially in relation to helping traumatized
and abused horses overcome their fears.
My
name is Paul Cole, previous owner of the Field
of Mini Dreams in North Carolina. We had a herd
of forty miniature horses prior to total herd
disbursal in 2000 due to divorce. Taylor and
Susan Uzzell purchased the farm and all of the
horses. I remained involved with the farm during
a transition period because the new owners had
no prior experience with horses. Alice provided
farrier services to the new owners.
One of the horses in the herd was Kegley's
Sunlight (Sunny). She was one of the most
beautiful horses in the herd. She was a chestnut
with flaxen mane and tail and had exceptional
conformation with a bright look in her eye. We
purchased her at an auction in 1993 (if my
memory isn't failing). Little did we know at the
time of purchase that this beautiful mare had
been traumatized somehow. When we first saw her
we thought that she had the "auction jitters".
It was only after we got her back home that we
realized that she had an intense fear about
being caught and having anything done to her
head or hoofs.
We
worked with Sunny for several years and made
some progress but it was still very hard to
catch her. Once I caught her she was generally
OK with being led on a lead rope. However it was
always difficult to cut her bridle path or trim
her hoofs. Since we performed all hand breeding,
we used a long lead line to give her a little
extra room for breeding with the stallion. This
was the only way that we were able to get her to
conceive. But it sure was worth it!
At
any rate, when Alice came into the picture she
took to Sunny and her trauma immediately.
Alice's ability to overcome the fear in horses
allowed her to easily trim Sunny's hoofs, cut
her bridle path, and give her vaccinations. I
was absolutely amazed at the trust that Sunny
had in Alice... a trust that no one else had
been able to develop over many years of effort.
Thank you Alice for showing this horse that she
can trust people again!
Paul Cole, August 2001 |
