Kota is on lease from Hope. She has a rough start in life. She was started incorrectly and misunderstood for the first part of her life. After things really fell apart for her, she was rescued by El Shaddi Ranch. They didn’t know how to train her and help work through things. She’d had some mental and physical trauma with her previous owner. The ranch didn’t know how to retrain, but they did take good care of her. She recovered well and came back to health. Then Hope adopted her and spent 7 years training her. It took a VERY long time to help her work through her fears and past trauma. Since her abuser was an adult, we found that she really likes to work with children. So, we decided to see of pony rides would be a good career for her. Turns out that she loves this new job. She is very happy and comfortable working with children now 🙂
Kota is the boss mare on our farm. She keeps all the other horses in line. She can be cranky with the other horses, but she really love smaller animals. She takes care of the donkeys and gives them special treatment. She also is extra nice to the goats and lets them climb all over her food pile!
Kota loves to work with Wesley. They’ve formed a bond and she really trusts him. There are a few other handlers that she works well with, but we do try to keep things consistent for her comfort.
Kota is a great choice for pony rides. She loves this job, and she big enough to carry up to 200lbs, so works for small and bigger riders. She has beautiful coloring and is great for Western themed photo-shoots!
