Meet Brego

When  I first moved in to our acreage, the neighbor had horses. Brego was one of those horses. It was nice to watch the horses even if I didn't know them as ours were still with my parents. We were new to acreage living and wanted to take the winter to figure out the ins and outs of being in the country.

Fast forward to the fall of 2007 (about two years), and our neighbor said that we could have Brego and Maverick (this was after he'd taken Queen, the old appy and another QH mare to an auction. We brought Queen home from that auction). Unfortunately, we said we needed a few days/weeks before we could bring them in. I wasn't ready because we had some vacations and other family events to take care of. Apparently he'd gotten tired of waiting and when we got home after my birthday celebration, I found Brego and Maverick standing in one of our pastures one evening in the rain. They were in with Queen which wasn't bad, but they were also in with Babe and I wasn't happy about that. But it all worked out. I rushed them into a different pen for the night and started to evaluate them the next day.

Somewhere along the line, they had started escaping and the neighbor had shut them into a barn. Brego, at the time, was a bit of a harder keeper and he came to us thin. At the time I thought it was neglect but in truth I think it had more to do with his metabolism. Only recently has he become an easy keeper where I don't have to keep a watchful eye on him starting around February/March when winter seems to drag on.

Brego was and still is, a very quiet demeanoured horse. I love that about him. He's not aggressive and seems to want to make sure everyone feels comfortable (if they are low on the pecking order). When we brought Sam in to the Sanctuary, Brego and Sam became the best of friends. It was almost like Sam had a shadow.


After we lost Sam, and acquired Ivan, Brego became best friends with Ivan and they have been inseparable since that time. You may not be able to tell in these pictures but Ivan is right next to Brego in all of them. If there's not a shadow of Ivan in the pictures thats' because I was facing a different angle. When I look for one, I'll find the other.

Brego has a very soft heart and if he were a mare, I swear he'd be my go-to horse for when things aren't going right. When I was pregnant with my first, Brego knew that I was different and walked up to me and put his nose right on my belly and sniffed. He was curious. I have to be cautious when I'm pregnant because some of the herd will push, but not Brego. He's one of the easiest horses to be around.

When Brego turned 5, I sent him to the trainer on my own dime. I figured he'd better get some education. When he had been with the previous owner, they'd sent him to a trainer. I know that trainer and wasn't too impressed with their methods so wanted my trainer to do what he normally does. After 30 days, the trainer said he needed more time. It wasn't that he was stupid but Brego wasn't where he should have been after 30 days. I couldn't afford another 30 days so agreed to another 15 days. That would put him at 45 days. On the 45th day, Brego bucked the trainer off and not an easy buck but a "crash you through the corral panels" kind of bucking episode. The trainer said to NEVER get on Brego after that and volunteered to haul him to an auction. Well, we all know where Brego would have gone had he went to auction. But I have heeded our trainer's advice and never gotten on him.


So now he's simply a pasture puff enjoying his days. The previous owner had been bucked off Brego as well. So after those bucking episodes, I've gathered that there's an injury to Brego. It has nothing to do with behavior or attitude. He doesn't have a mean bone in his body. So it all has to stem from pain. I don't know what he has as we've never had the extra money to do exploratory testing or whatnot to find out what's wrong. So instead, Brego hangs out and enjoys being a shadow to Ivan. He's not in pain so I'll simply leave him the way he is and know that he'll never be a riding horse.

Brego is a simplistic horse. He doesn't want for much, doesn't need for much, and is simply a figure at the Sanctuary. I do keep a watchful eye on him in late winter/early spring because he's been known to lose weight but in the last few years he's kept the weight on beautifully.

He does get cold easily so we make sure to blanket him. I would say needing a blanket in the winter and possibly some grain in late winter are his only flaws. Friends donated a zebra blanket and that's become Brego's blanket. But it would be nice to have a few more blankets in Brego's wardrobe because invariably his blanket will get ruined. Ivan isn't mouthy but Maverick is and even though Brego and Maverick don't hang out any more, Maverick is still a part of the herd and loves to torment (and ruin blankets).

Even though Brego is not rideable, he does like people and I am hoping that maybe he can be an ambassador for the Sanctuary as he'll be around for awhile. We had gotten him when he was 3, sent him to the trainer (and failed) at 5. He's now 12. He's grown into a very nice looking horse. As a 3 year old, he looked pretty gawky and nerdy and even at 5, he still seemed a bit unsure of himself and his body. But now at 12, he's pretty well set in his ways. I am afraid that his front legs will give him problems as they dont' seem to bend and break over like all the other Sanctuary horses. I don't believe the legs are what cause him problems when someone rides him but I think strenuous work would cause problems when he gets older. I would have loved to have turned him into a driving horse but with the unknown of what's wrong with him (be it his back, hips, etc.) I never followed the idea of driving education.


So I guess for now, he'll be the official Sanctuary greeter and he'll be the first we'll introduce a new horse to. Once Brego has welcomed a new horse into the herd and the new horse adjusts, I know I can start introducing other horses. He's a good friend.


If anyone wants to sponsor Brego, that would be fantastic. He's an easy keeper but he could always go for a bag of grain and a blanket to keep him warm. He doesn't like getting wet and seems to have thin skin.