RU Sassafras
"Sassy"View Photos
Photo by S. Ralston | - BLM Freezebrand 09606181
- Black 2-year-old Filly
- Mustang # 6181
- Born Summer 2009
- Captured from the Beatty's Butte HMA, OR on September 18, 2009
- Will be registered with the Wild Horse and Burro Association
- Sponsors: Dr. and Mrs. Bauer
- Students: Lesley Sun and Natalia Dziegiel
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March 2011
Sassafras has
been progressing quite well. We moved the horses from the old barn on Ryder's Lane over to
the Red Barn on Saint Patrick’s Day. This went very smoothly and Sassafras did
exceptionally well! She was a bit hesitant to get onto the trailer as she was
the first horse to go on, but once she was on she did not make much of a fuss.
Once at the Red Barn, Sassafras led off the trailer and into her stall very
well. There she was greeted with a little handful of oats and fresh hay, which
she thoroughly enjoyed! Once turned out that day, all the horses loved being
outside, running around and enjoying their new field. Sassafras still has a big appetite and spends most of her
time outside and inside eating. Ag Field Day sessions have started and Sassafras has two more students
working with her in order to prepare her for her Ag Field Day presentation on
April 30th. She has been working very well with her new students and has been
progressing very well. She still has sessions with Jose twice a week. We are
working on lunging, desensitizing her to her new surroundings, ground driving,
and trotting in hand. All of these skills will benefit her and will be helpful
for Ag Field Day.
Written by Natalia Dziegel |
February 2011
It is hard to believe that it is already nearly spring!
There are only a few weeks left before we end our nutritional studies and move
our mustangs over to the Red Barn. I am looking forward to seeing the Ag Field
Day students work with Sassafras and see how she progresses with unfamiliar
handlers. It’s easy to tell that the horses are clearly enjoying the
change in seasons: they are more anxious to be turned out and seem a little less
enthusiastic about coming back in. Even Sassafras, who always came up to be
brought in immediately throughout the winter, stays out in the field to soak up
some more warmth and sunlight. Along with the naturally later sunset, we have
also started the “lights out” procedure, where we leave the lights on until 9
PM. This is done to prompt the horses to start shedding their winter coats out.
Already we can see a difference with Sassy’s coat – every grooming session ends
with a slightly sleeker and darker horse and me attempting to brush more stray
hair off myself. With the weather warming up, Jose has been working with us
in the round pen once again. I think the fact that we were working outside and
moving around more made the sessions more enjoyable for Sassy. At the beginning
of the month, we introduced her to a horse blanket. She did throw a tantrum at
having an open blanket approach her, but by the end of the session, was willing
to stand and walk (still a bit apprehensively) with the blanket on. Just last
week, Jose helped me to continue to desensitize Sass to the process of
blanketing her and to the umbrella. While she really could care less about the
umbrella and wearing the blanket, it took more time and patience for her to get
accustomed to having the blanket actually being put on her. In regards to the nutritional studies, we noted that
Sassafras certainly gained a lot of weight while on the corn diet and, once put
back on the TMR cubes diet, lost some of that weight. On the tail of the corn
vs. TMR cubes trial, Dr. Ralston has started an oats vs. TMR cubes study. This
oats trial is essentially the same as the corn trial, just with different
concentrates. We are testing to see if the horses’ handling and reactivity
levels change when fed a meal of 0.2% of their body weight in oats versus an
equal amount of calories in the form of the TMR cubes as a “breakfast” 1 ½
hours before doing a standardized training test with them. Throughout the nutritional trials, Sassy was also a little
friskier and forward than usual, though she still performs superbly on her
behavior tests and in front of a crowd. At the previous public preview, she was
eager to greet the crowd. She certainly enjoyed the pats and the attention – she
was very reluctant to go back in her stall at the end of the night!
Written by Lesley Sun |
January 2011
Sassafras has been progressing quite well. During her
training sessions we have been working with desensitizing her to anything and
everything around her. From moving a metal trash can across the floor to one of
the empty feed bags, she has been introduced to it. The plastic bag was placed
all over her body desensitize her from things touching her. Jose has still been
working with her and she has been doing very well. He explains all of the
training very well and it helps me understand that subtle cues will either tell
the horse whether the behavior they are exhibiting is a good one or a bad one.
Due to the icy conditions, I have not been able to work with her in the round
pen just yet. Jose says this will help create a stronger bond between us, which
will aid in her training. Sassafras still has a big appetite and spends most of her
time outside and inside eating. This semester the mustangs on a nutritional
trial in which half of them get 0.2% of their body weight in cracked corn for
breakfast (1.8 lbs for Sassy!) and the other half get an equicaloric amount
total mixed ration cubes that they have been receiving since they arrived at
Rutgers. We were interested in seeing if the horses being fed corn would be
more difficult to handle or more reactive to novel stimuli, such as a person
standing on a foot stool. The horses are led by Dr. Ralston and the students
through standardized behavior tests about 90 minutes after eating. The tests
are recorded and graded by the two trainers Robin and Jose.
Written by Natalia Dziegel |
December 2010
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All of our mustangs had their hooves trimmed for the first
time at the very end of November – some of them desperately needed it too!
There was a lot more action than usual, as some of the horses had just started
learning the “lift” command – picking their hooves up when asked. Even though
we could pick her front hooves up with relatively little resistance, Sassafras
still showed enough fight with her hind end that Dr. Ralston administered 1 mL
of Dromosedan to sedate her. She stood very well for the farrier soon after the
administration of the drug. Recently, Dr. Jim Kenney came to adjust several of
our horses. While he didn’t get a chance to adjust Sassy, Dr. Ralston has
arranged for another veterinary-chiropractor to come and help the remaining
horses. I am very excited to observe Sassy’s adjustments as she appears to have
some sensitivity in her back.
Sassafras certainly enjoys her time outside, exploring every
nook and crook in the paddocks and socializing with the other group of horses.
She obviously enjoys her inside time – she is almost always the first one to
come, sometimes trotting up to the gate to be caught. I have my suspicions that
she is eager to come in because she knows all the food is inside.
Her most recent accomplishment was being introduced to a new
scale and getting weighed. We encountered some technical difficulties with our
usual scale and had to bring in a smaller, more portable wooden scale. Sass
showed no fear, just a lot of curiosity when she stepped up to it. She spent a
few minutes sniffing and licking the scale before a few hand-held cubes enticed
her to step onto it. She stood very nicely and very still, just long enough for
us to get an approximate weight – a whooping 850 pounds!
Overall, Erin and I have been refining Sassafras’ ground
manners. She stands for grooming and can lead on a loose rope well, walking and
stopping with the handler, though she still gets distracted by little things in
the aisle. While she lifts her front hooves on command, we have been having
difficulties asking her to lift her back hooves – Dr. Ralston believes that
this may be due to her back sensitivity. We have also been applying “Skin So
Soft” oil to help deal with her dermatitis. Sass certainly enjoys the scratches
and relief – and we get a great-smelling horse as a bonus! Sassy has
also been continuing her training sessions with Jose. Recently, we have come to
the conclusion that Sassy is at her best when being worked. Jose enjoys working
Sassy in the round pen, being able to work with her on the lunge line and at
liberty. Erin and I have been able to do the same with a happy horse and good results! Written by Lesley Sun |
RU Sassafras is a very opinionated
yearling mustang who has been interesting to work with over the last few
months. As she is the first mustang I have ever worked, with I expected there
to be a little bit of a challenge. After a good start, we encountered some set
backs, but now she seems to be coming along quite well. She is wonderful at
leading and thoroughly enjoys being groomed. She can be a little mouthy, but I
assure you that both Lesley and I are working on correcting that behavior.
Lesley,
Sassy and I have continued working with Jose Romero-Bosch on training Sassy and
desensitizing her to all sorts of novel objects and situations. Just recently,
Jose and I were able to lead Sassy down the “scary aisle” of the barn. She did
beautifully and was only a little hesitant, but calmed down quickly and was
able to walk back down the aisle without pulling me the whole way. We are also
working on picking up her feet. It is still a work in progress but I expect her
to be a professional at it in no time.
Written by Erin Koci |
October 2010
RU Sassafras is a bold and
friendly youngster. She was captured in the Beatty’s Butte Herd Management Area
in Oregon mid-September last year. Originally Mustang #6181, she quickly proved
to love her food and scratches in a very forward manner in the stall. She
showed quite an attitude when I got too close to her feed bucket the first day
we mucked the stalls, earning her nicknames “Sass” and “Sassy.” With some
reprimanding and more time spent in the stalls, she now knows that when humans
come near her feed, they don’t mean to steal it. Sass rather enjoys having us
humans around to feed her and to provide her with room service and scratches. Along with her big
personality comes her big stomach. It has been a trend to pull Sassy’s feed
bucket out of the stall and have it licked clean. She can eat over 15 pounds of
alfalfa cubes with each feeding, just as much as our big two-year-old geldings,
RU Koda and RU Santana. This means she has been filling out her sides quickly,
and is no longer the skinny little yearling we picked up at the Sussex County
Fairgrounds. I am looking forward to working Sassy in the round pen to give her
a chance to stretch her legs and exercise a bit! So far, Erin (her other student) and I have been able to scratch
and rub her all over (she likes her face and poll scratched in particular), as
well as lead her around the stall by the halter. We have been working on
leading her by the lead rope and, being the smart filly she is, Sassy has been
getting the hang of that too. I led Sassy (with a lead rope!) out of her stall
for the first time last week, just for a quick circle in the aisle way, and she
was nothing but curious and eager to explore. In fact, it took a little bit of
convincing to lead her back in her stall. Recently, we have introduced her to
grooming tools. She was slightly suspicious of the curry comb at first, but
when she realized that curry comb meant scratches, she wanted nothing but
grooming time! She accepted the body brush and comb after only a minute’s worth
of wariness and sniffing. Written by Lesley Sun |
Equine Science Center
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