Let Me Introduce Myself

Hello! My name is Gabby and I am a volunteer at Trinity Rescue Inc. I started going to Trinity when my mom came home one day and said "I'm going to a horse rescue this weekend". I had taken riding lessons as a kid but I had not had a chance to be around horses since then. I love animals so of course I told her that she couldn't go without me. She had found out about Trinity through one of her elementary students that would always go on and on about his aunt's horse rescue. I'm glad that little Brian is a talkative kid because otherwise I would've never gotten involved in Trinity.

On my third trip to Trinity (2/3/13), I was bitten by a horse. That particular horse had been acting a bit weird that day. He was getting frisky with a couple of the mares. Also, he kept putting his head over the gate as if he wanted to be petted but when people tried to pet him, he would pin his ears back. When a horse pins its ears back, it’s a warning for you to back off. I was just standing in front of him when he suddenly bit me. He dragged me forward a little and somehow I was turned around and I fell, hitting my head on the iron gate. I immediately crawled away from the gate and sat against the wall. Josh, the son of the owner, and Michelle, a volunteer, ran over to me and asked what happened and if I was okay. I told them what happened and said I was okay. I stood up and went to the bathroom. I lifted my hoodie to see large red teeth marks on my chest. An oval shaped bruise was already forming. The next few days I laid in bed with an ice pack on my chest. As of this writing, there are still the remnants of teeth marks and a hematoma on my chest.

Cynthia, the owner of the horse rescue, told me that she thinks the mares are in heat and that must be why he was being so frisky with them and I may have gotten caught in the horse love triangle. She also told me that the man that this horse was rescued from used to stand in front of him and beat him in the face. Cynthia said that I may have accidentally posed a threat simply by standing there. She told me that the combination of his history and the mares being in heat must have made the unfortunate situation for me.

When I took riding lessons as a kid, there was a day when I had a horse a lead line. This horse was afraid of dogs and that day the neighbors' dog had gotten loose. The horse got scared and reared up, causing me to fall underneath him. I wasn't hurt other than a skinned knee, but I became afraid. I didn't interact with horses much until over a decade later when I started at Trinity. When I was bitten, I didn't want to be that same scared little kid. Of course being bitten was scary and gave me a bit of fear, but I didn't let myself stop coming to the barn. I just picked up my mother’s camera and discovered my passion for photography. With the camera in my hand, I could still be near the horses while also keeping some distance. I quickly became Trinity's photographer and even bought my own Canon Rebel T3.

At first, I was afraid of the horses. I hardly touched them and I jumped or flinched when they came near me. Being around these horses so often and seeing how sweet they are, I slowly gained some confidence with them. What helped me gain my confidence the most was being around Cleo. Cleo is a beautiful and sweet Tennessee Walker mare. She gained an interest in me because I had a weird box in my hand that made funny lights and sounds. She was very interested in my camera and then became interested in me. One day she walked away from being groomed, which she loves, just to come see me. And when I later started to leave the pasture, she blocked the gate so that I couldn't leave. She quickly became my favorite horse at Trinity. She was the first horse I had a lead line since getting bit. She was also the first I hugged, kissed, and groomed. I lost my fear of horse with the help of Cleo.

Working with horses is a never ending journey for me and in this blog I'm going to keep track of this journey.

Some of the beautiful Trinity horses 

Me kissing Cleo