Frida Kahlo Horse Mustang Willard, MO

Frida Kahlo, aka "Frida" or "Freeeeda," is beyond ready for her forever home! She is super smart, well-mannered, and has excellent foundations that will take her far in life! Frida has learned to love anyone who approaches with a treat bag & clicker - that said, she definitely bonds with her chosen people! She shows favoritism by whinnying when she trots to meet you at the gate, gently resting her head in your arms for snuggles, and keeping a watchful eye on you as you go about your chores on the farm.

FRIDA'S BACKGROUND

In June of 2020, Frida was rescued from a neglectful situation with her newborn filly at her side. They both had an uphill battle, but their firey spirits kept them strong through their rehabilitation and they recovered beautifully. Frida spent her first year at SKE getting back to health, raising and weaning her filly, and learning to establish trust with people.

We assume that Frida is an unbranded mustang (due to the numerous, distinctive mustang traits she & her filly both exhibit). It's unfortunately not all that uncommon for mustangs to end up in the slaughter pipeline before they are processed. Many mustangs are kept in holding after roundup/gathering for years or even decades - these mustangs are not yet branded and often find their way onto trucks bound for Mexico. These kill traders stop at auctions and "kill pen" scam markets along the way, where some of these horses are traded or listed for sale. An individual purchased Frida out of a kill pen scam - she was already pregnant, but did not receive the needed prenatal nor birthing care, so she & Cora were in bad shape when they were surrendered to SKE.

On top of the malnutrition and illness, Frida also had behavioral challenges that left her and her filly locked away in their stall without handling. "Feral Frida" had a reputation of aggression and dangerous behavior... Two years later, she was ridden for the first time, completely bridleless, by a 12-year-old girl! She's one of the farm's favorite lesson horses now, known for her gentle bridleless rides & easygoing, willing attitude!

FRIDA'S TRAINING

"Feral Frida" has learned a lot since her arrival, and has certainly earned the new title "Friendly Frida!" Her education has been 100% R+ (clicker training, fear-free). Her list of behaviors includes:

- Haltering
- Leading (with halter, off a target, or off body language/at liberty)
- Nose targeting (target stick & hand targets)
- Stationary targeting (at a cone, mat, or bucket)
- Body handling (for brushes, petting, vet, etc.)

- Reverse roundpen (walk with speed adjustments, trot with speed adjustments, some canter)
- "Go mat" (to a gym mat or rubber mat)
- "Go around" (a barrel or pole)
- "Go jump" (over a ground pole between standards)
- "Go touch" (to a cone station)

- Veterinary handling (checking eyes, ears, nose, teeth/mouth, teats, etc.)
- Cooperative injections (IV & IM)
- Cooperative oral medications (via syringe, though she will also eat medications in food)
- Cooperative eye drops/ointments
- Cooperative aerosol spray (like aluminum spray / aluspray)
- Cooperative fly spray
- Trailer loading (both ramp & step up; turning to walk off & backing off)

- Saddling
- Lining up at the mounting block
- Mounting
- Taking reinforcements under saddle
- "Walk On" / kissy noise
- Steering via hand targets under saddle
- Steering via target stick under saddle
- Cone, jump, and mat behaviors under saddle

Frida has an amazing foundation! She is incredibly intelligent and learns super quickly. She LOVES working for jackpots and solving puzzles & brain games. She would definitely excel with speech/word buttons, too, though she's expressive enough you likely won't need them! She would make an outstanding trail companion, is extremely talented with liberty & trick training work, and she has also been known to jump some seriously tall fences in her "Feral Frida" days, so she certainly has the talent to excel in performance sports, too (provided her partner has the same passion and love for the sport that they want her to match!).

FRIDA'S HEALTH HISTORY

Frida is estimated to be around 13 or 14 years old and is 14.2 hh tall. She is an easy keeper - she will stay nice and round all year, she's the sleekest shiny copper in the summer, and she's the fuzziest wooly mammoth in the winter!

Frida has nice, strong mustang feet. She much prefers to have me trim her at liberty than to have a stranger handling her feet, and is very nervous about hind hoof handling. She's had two full trims with sedation (one at intake, once she was healthy enough for sedation, and one once she had weaned her filly & was beginning training). Since then, she's gotten good with front hoof handling but is still anxious with the hinds. We're continuing to build her confidence with this, but she will be most successful with someone who can help continue her fear-free training with a kind, patient farrier and/or trim her themselves. She does manage nicely when left to "self-trim."

Frida has not had any lameness issues since intake. Upon intake, her kidneys were very stressed and she was obese but malnourished (due to being fed "stock grower" cattle feed), as well as severely dehydrated (due to the feed combined with lactation & limited water access). All of these issues were resolved entirely within her first few months at SKE.

At SKE, we always get diagnostic spinal x-rays prior to riding our rescue horses. Frida does have mild kissing spines, but does not present with any clinical symptoms. As a result of her diagnosis, she will likely not be able to carry heavy riders (we've estimated a max of 150 lbs + lightweight, well-fitted tack). She is in a regular program with 3x/week riding currently and has no issues.

HOW TO ADOPT FRIDA

Frida is available for adoption through SKE for $3500.

SKE seeks adopters who have good intentions & good core values to direct them on their horsemanship journey - plus the knowledge, resources, & facilities to provide a great life to their adopted equine. If you feel that describes you, we would love for you to provide Frida with an amazing home!

Transportation is available in the US & most of Canada.

Contact SKE with any questions or concerns:
stephkequestrian@gmail.com
417-763-1925

Thank you so much for considering this outstanding little mare! She is so amazing & will certainly make someone very, very happy!