Nightfall



Nightfall’s Story Sandy Huey at Emerald Valley Horse Rescue first found Nightfall (then called Adam) where he had been locked alone in a barn for over a year. He was very weak, malnourished, with un-kept feet and significant muscle degradation from being in a stall so long. According to the owner, he was an expensive, well-bred horse that had been sent to a trainer to become a saddle horse. The trainer sent him back and told them he was un-trainable and hopeless and maybe should be put down. So the owners left him in a stall and ignored him…. The trainer was a bronc buster from the old school. Sandy had heard of him and reports that he beat his horses into submission, bit their ears while mounting to distract them, hit animals on the head, and generally “broke” horses. Sandy felt that Nightfall showed promise, but was so traumatized he could not even be touched. He would go through a fence rather than let someone near him… Sandy gave the owners a donation slip so they could write him off on their taxes, and chased him into a trailer and home with her. She let him out with her herd of mustangs and was saddened because he was so weak he couldn’t keep up with the others and his hoof walls broke off in huge pieces until they were worn down semi-flat. CC and Lynda answered an email regarding him, and were amazed that despite what he had been through, he was still sound and still wanted to be near people, although not touched. They have had other draft horses and Parrelli training and decided to give it a try. So Sandy again chased him into her trailer and brought him to their place. They built a special pen for him, had a vet sedate him and check his teeth and give him his shots, and had a farrier work on his feet at the same time. While he was sedated we took off his halter and replaced it with a newer soft one – the halter he had been wearing was on inside out so the buckle dug a hole in his skin and had been there so long it was faded on the inside… Nightfall was with CC and Lynda's family for almost 3 years. It literally took them months to touch him and even longer to get him to allow them to catch him. Yet he never struck out at them or fought back – he just ran. He broke fences, bull snaps, lead ropes, and posts to get away. They tried all sorts of methods to get his trust and eradicate his fears. Once he panicked when CC approached wearing a cowboy hat. So they bought one at a garage sale to leave in Nightfall's paddock. By the next morning the hat was ripped to shreds and Nightfall was no longer afraid of hats.

We brought Nightfall home on June 21, 2009, hard to believe it's been that long. Having worked with him as much as we have, we are starting to see his personality, his characteristics and what he is truly afraid of. So far, it doesn't seem to be "things" that bother him, but people. He is really good with us, there are those instances where we find things he is frightened of and need to work thru, but that's the kind of stuff we need to know. Nightfall is allowing other people in the barn to lead him outside and bring him in, he has people talking to him all day long, coming by to see the big black horse, give him treats, try to pet his nose. He really likes the ladies! We found out the hard way and have since had to use a hot wire to deter him from giving too much attention to the girls. He is doing a great job at keeping his distance.

I would drive down to Corvallis and visit Nightfall about once a week for several weeks. On the days it was nice I would take pictures. Kt was with me this day and she helped by holding him. For never having met her, he did a fantastic job, and so did she. It was a good day.

As we were leaving that day, he trotted out into his field and watched us go.
	I know it sounds cheesy, but I took Boo down for a pony "play date". Nightfall wasn't so sure about sharing with Boo at first, but after Boo rolled, and Nightfall rolled, it was all good. The below pictures are Nightfall watching Boo and not quite sure what was going on, then thinking it wasn't such a bad idea, and then joining in. Afterwards they grazed together like best buds. Stop..................................Drop..................................Roll

Hearing that Nightfall was "un-trainable" and should have possibly been euthanized, it's simply amazing to me that every day he seems to learn something new. We have certainly taken our time, and will continue to do so, but this horse is smart! He lets me know when he isn't happy, he lets me know when he is afraid and he lets me know when he trusts me enough to walk up to me when he is frightened or unsure about something. He allows me to groom him, walk him around chickens and ducks and a large turkey, around broken down farm equipment, out around the scary bushes and things that could eat him alive and he trusts me as he follows. He is very stubborn though, and since he's so large and he knows it, if he doesn't want to go somewhere, he usually doesn't. I have tried to pull him....... so, I have had to think outside the box and get kind of creative! This first picture, Mike and Boo ponied Nightfall around the arena, Nightfall wasn't so sure, so Mike is letting him know it's alright.


This next picture is Nightfall with a surcingle and a bareback pad on. Supposedly the "trainer" that was trying to train him before was unable to saddle him. When I put the bareback pad on, he didn't even move, and when I led him out of the stall, nothing. And when I lunged him, not a single buck or blink of his eye. He had the same reaction to the surcingle, he really didn't care.
	There will be a video of him lunging, just need to figure out how to get it on here...... Just a little video of his first lunge with the bareback pad.