Tal's Horses

[Talia Ezra]

MIDNIGHT FLASH

Registered Name>> Midnight Flash
Barn Name>> Jaffa
Age>> five
Sex>> john (castrated)
Breed>> Appaloosa Mule
Breed Registry>> ADMS (American Donkey & Mule Society)

Coat Colour>> bay apoloosa
Stable Colour>> Terracotta
Height>> 15.3hh

Personality>> There are always some drawback to being hand-reared, and Jaffa's drawback was that he often thought he was an overgrown dog when it came to being petted and once you start, it often hard to convince him that he's had enough - at least he's cute about it though.
He has great ground manners, though he does try to nip at whoever is doing the girth up - not in a nasty way, but enough to give anyone who isn't ready for it a fright.
He's the best one to turn out with unsettled horses as he loves everyone and strangely they all seem to love him too - which is the same attitude he takes toward people too - and as he doesn't appear hostile toward even horses he doesn't know, it seems to put them at ease.
There is the odd day that he doesn't want to be brought in from the field, but peppermint quickly convinces him that he really does want to be other places.
The one thing he truly hates is to be yelled at, raise your voice at him, with defensive body language, and Jaffa will turn tail and walk away (if the person holding him is doing the yelling, he will just stop moving).
"Mules are not really stubborn. They can seem lazy because they will not put themselves in danger. A horse can be worked until it drops, but not so with a mule. The "stubborn" streak is just the mule's way of telling humans that things are not right. Mules are very intelligent and it is not a good idea to abuse a mule. They will do their best for their owner, with the utmost patience."
Quote comes from here
Caution Around>> Spooking horses - he's pretty good at playing the copycat
Don't use spurs on him - he had a close encounter with a rose bush while out on a hack.

Basic History>> Orphaned at eight weeks of age from his dam colicking, Jaffa was abandoned at Robert's workshop - unbeknown to the mare's owners, Robert knew who owned the foal, but he decided against confronting them unless they said something first.

Tal hadn't long started with Robert and instantly took to the young Mule, who Robert repeatedly put down - something about him not being a whole horse - but she knew that her mentor was just having fun, as he would have got rid of the foal had he really not liked him. Once he was weaned off the bottle at six months they castrated him, in case Tal had any crazy intentions of showing him.

While she wasn't working, Tal spent her time with the foal and over the years working as an apprentice, she also trained the Mule and when he was three and a half she started him under saddle. And from there the world was his oyster and he took everything in his stride.

Owner>> Talia Ezra
Rider>> Talia Ezra
Discipline>> English All-Rounder (Intermediate-Novice) - though he's really a pleasure horse