Hindalls give overweight horse second chance

WOODVILLE - Thanks to Woodmore Elementary sixth-grader Jay Hindall and his father, Jason Hindall, a very frightened and aggressive horse is now a gentle, hug-giving buddy that enjoys life and even races in rodeos.

It was a lucky day for Tiny when Jay and Jason chose to adopt a horse that showed no promising signs of rehabilitation.

When Jay, 12, and his father first met Tiny, a draft cross, he was 600 pounds overweight and suffering from laminitis, a painful hoof disease. His former owner had not treated Tiny well, and the man couldn’t enter Tiny’s stall without the horse attacking him. That didn’t deter the Hindalls from adopting Tiny and investing the three years it took to rehabilitate him, earn his trust with gentle care and help him become the gentle giant he is today.

The first issue was healing Tiny’s sore feet. Because they are too big for normal sized horseshoes, Jason handmade custom shoes for Tiny. They treated his feet, which were burning with heat, by soaking them in ice buckets.

“He’s actually really smart. We bought a big round tub to soak his feet in, but he wouldn’t go in it at first. He’d turn it over,” Jason said. “We finally coerced him into it, and once he realized it made him feel better, he would put his feet right in it.”

Today, Tiny is Jay’s riding partner in the Youth Rodeo Challenge Series, a winter horse racing circuit in Lancaster. The two competed in their first race on Nov. 7 and plan to continue with the monthly competitions until they end in April.

Jay and Tiny competed in barrel racing, pole bending, flag racing and dummy calf roping. Jay had trained in all of the events except the calf roping. His first attempt at it was in the competition. Although he has still not heard his standing in the poles, he finished fifth in barrels and seventh in flag racing, and all of it was accomplished with a horse that just a few years ago was wild and aggressive.

Jason didn’t grow up with horses — all of the equine skills he and Jay have learned have been primarily self-taught. Jason is president of the Gibsonburg Saddle Club, and Jay is in his third year as a 4H member. In 2014, Jay was Junior Champion Contester at the Sandusky County Fair, and he was runner-up this past summer.

Jay also was awarded the Cowboy Heart Award at this year’s fair after a photographer spotted him struggling with an uncooperative horse.

“At the end of the contesting, he got the award for sticking with it and still working with his horse and not losing his cool,” Jason said.

Tiny isn’t the only horse that has benefited from Jay’s gentle skills. A few years ago, he purchased two horses, trained them, sold them and used the money he earned to purchase two more horses. One of them he gave to his sister, Mariah, for Christmas.

“She lost her horse — we had to put her down — and her dog died that same year,” Jay said. “She fell in love with the horse, so I gave her to her for Christmas.”

Mariah was grateful.

“It was awesome. He’s the best brother ever,” she said.

The other horse Jay bought, a Morgan cross named Annie with one brown eye and one blue eye, will be sticking around for a long time. Jason said Jay calls her his forever horse.

“I feel like she’s the one I’m going to keep. She’s really nice. We’ve connected,” he said

Like the other horses, Annie needed extensive training by Jay when he bought her. Initially, she escaped whenever she could, including the day they were trying to load her into a trailer for the ride home. It was the first time she had seen a trailer, and, in her fear, she broke loose and ran away. Now, she won’t wander far from the barn.

“She was completely untrained a year ago,” Jason said. “To see her like this is amazing.”