How the tragic death of a Champion Reining Horse has given a hopeless horse hope.

February 16, 2009 was like any other day for Leslie Sawyer.  Her reining horse Rock (Hard Rock Siemon) had a minor injury to his eye and she was trying to decide if she should take him to the vet.  She shared the issue with friends on a popular horse forum and everyone agreed.  Take him to the vet and have them flush it.

She drove to the vet and wondered if his injury would cause issues at the upcoming Pinto World.  At worst case, Sawyer thought, he would lose the eye. 

She was wrong.

Sawyer drove home with an empty trailer and her beloved Rock was gone.

Rock had a reaction to a medication incorrectly administered and the horror unfolded in front of her.  Within 20 minutes he was gone.  Sawyer is comforted that she was with him but the hole in her heart was unimaginable.  "You don't take your horse to the vet when they have never been sick and come back with an empty halter."  explained Sawyer.

In her grief she tried to decide what to do in Rock's name.  "He was a two time Pinto Reserve World Champion so I thought of donating a trophy but then decided no one would really get what he meant to me" said Sawyer.  "Then I thought of giving a trophy at a local club but they always had issues with people giving it back after they had it a year so I decided I did not like that either."

She was not sure how to memorialize her multiple reserve world champion reiner.  He was not a household name - but he was incredibly important to her and she wanted to do something meaningful to make sense of his meaningless death.

Finding the right spot

A friend introduced her to Bluebonnet Equine Rescue and at first she was skeptical.  "I had heard stories of some rescues and was afraid it would be over-run with unusable horses, crazy 14 hand Arabians."  Sawyer was surprised to see how many horses Bluebonnet had that were rideable and even more amazing stock bred as well.

Bluebonnet does a great job rehabilitating horses, what they don't have is enough expertise in getting these horses, many surrendered by their owner, to a point of being adoptable as rideable.  Approximately 70% of Bluebonnet's horses come to them with little to no training.  This makes placing horses difficult.  With limited funds it is difficult to send all of these horses to qualified trainers.

The economy has not been kind to horses.  In 2008, Bluebonnet received 86 horses, in 2009 through July they already have over 100 surrendered.  They desperately needed to take these seemingly unadoptable horses adoptable.

To rectify this, Bluebonnet started a Rescue Challenge.  People would be able to sign up for a category (professional, novice etc) and in 90 days they would be judged on how far their horse had progressed.  At the end of the 90 days the horses would then be put up for adoption.  This competition peaked Sawyers interest - she could give another horse a chance and keep her competitive edge.  This is how she could make The Rock's tragedy into something meaningful.

After a rigorous review to ensure she and her facilities met their criteria, Sawyer was approved.  "It was not easy to be approved" explained Sawyer "They were not impressed with my World Show wins on Congress Top Tens, they are not show people and had no idea what all that meant.  All they cared about was making sure I would keep my rescue horse safe."

Enter Max.

Max is a Quarter Horse - no doubt about that.  As with many rescues, his papers are gone.  His heritage is gone due to the ambivalence of his prior owners.  They had decided he was a stallion prospect so they felt he did not need training, they also neglected him and his handling was minimal.  When he was surrendered his owners said that he was bit by a rattlesnake on his penis, Sawyer thinks they incorrectly gave him Ace, regardless the damage was done and Max was sent to Texas A&M to heave his penis removed and gelded.

"I think he is embarrassed because we have never seen him go to the bathroom" laughed Sawyer.  "But he is the best of both worlds, he pees like a mare and acts like a gelding."

In the real world, an untrained, grade gelding with "strange" plumbing does not have many options but Sawyer is determined to change that.  She picked Max up from the foster home and was surprised at how good natured he was.

"On the way home we saw a guy with a trailer broken down on the side of the road and we stopped to help" explained Sawyer.  "Ole Max just stood there as patient as could be."

It was not that he had more training than expected, it was just despite abuse Max was a smart, willing horse eager to learn.  "Honestly I was afraid I was behind in the competition because I got him late, but he learns so quick we are way ahead of where I thought we would be."

Sawyer taught Max to lunge, then she drove him and then she decided to hop on.  Max took it all in stride.  It was not until they asked him to trot that the scars of his old life came to life.

"My Mom was on him and tried to get him to trot.  He is so lazy that she tried to push him forward and flicked the end of the rein on his shoulder" Sawyer explained. "Max flipped out and bucked my Mom off.  He was terrified."

Sawyer immediately got on him and he was fine.  Sawyer went back to the drawing board.  She realized that Max would have to learn differently, so she taught him voice commands.  "I clucked to make him trot on the line and he picked it up really fast."

The next time she rode him and asked him to trot, Max immediately jogged off.

Sawyer and Max are only thirty days into the 90 day competition and Sawyer wants to make sure Max has the best chance for a good home. She is trying to get him ready for things that may attract a potential adopter.  "I have never been on a trail ride but for Max i will try it" laughed Sawyer.

She is working hard, she was two young colts of her own and works full time.  "My own babies stand in the paddock many days, but Max always gets worked.  I owe it to him to give him a chance at a good home" explained Sawyer.

At the end of the 90 day period, Max and Sawyer will compete in a trail course and then will have a five minute demonstration period.  Sawyer is deciding how best to showcase his talents, he needs a special home that will over look his cosmetic issue.  She also added a bit of The Rock.  She is teaching Max to bow.  Sawyer is not only enjoying giving back she is recruiting people to do this next year. She also hopes that she can convince more people to assist rescues.

"It is so hard for the rescues to get qualified trainers to help these horses"  Sawyer said.  "I know that 30 days for one of these horses would help them become adoptable."

At first Sawyer thought of buying Max herself but decided that he deserves a child to love him.  "I picture him with ribbons in his mane, carrying a flag in a parade and being loved.  He deserves to be someones pet."  She has already decided to do the Rescue Challenge again and has vowed that whoever adopts Max will need to be approved by her as well - she is very attached to him.

It seems Max is lucky, with Sawyers assistance the little gelding with the strange plumbing is closer to a home thanks to Leslie Sawyer and The Rock. 

TQHQ will be updating our readers on Leslie and Max.  For more information click to learn about Bluebonnet Horse Rescue.