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Honor Scholtes Horsemanship & Mustangs, Peterborough, ON (2026)

10/21/2023

Now that I’ve had some time to process and things are a little less fresh. I felt it was time to share the sad news that we recently made the difficult decision to have Lance humanely euthanized 💔.

Lance was an absolute sweetheart who was incredibly smart, willing and always a joy to be around. His gentle nature showed in every interaction with people, including my young cousin who often spent time with him (he loved her, and would eagerly greet her anytime she came to visit ❤️). My heart hurts for him, and for all those who will miss him. I especially feel for Petrie, who agreed to take him on and gentle him in the first place, and put a great deal of time into working with him and handling his health struggles. He deserved so much better and I wish we could have done more for him, but at least he is free from pain now. I know we will all miss him dearly 😞.

- Some Backstory on Lance -

Lance had been struggling with health issues (he was diagnosed with Cauda Equina Syndrome), since we got him in July of 2021. As I said before, he was a sweetheart and I’m heartbroken that he suffered and endured so much in his short life (just 8yrs old according to BLM papers).

We tried with him for a long time, and went back and forth many times on if it was time to call it or not. We knew he would almost certainly have a shortened life span between the injury and the medications to manage it, but we’d hoped to keep him comfortable and happy for longer.

He would go through rough patches where he was regularly having episodes of struggling greatly to urinate, clearly in pain/discomfort and requiring banamine. There were many nights where I had to go out in the dark and get a dose into him and proceed to do regular checks throughout the night. We’d think it was time to make the call, and then he’d turn a corner and seem to be doing really well for a stretch.

Earlier this year it appeared that he was improving. He’d put on quite a bit of weight, seemed bright, was rarely having episodes and could move his tail more. Then he took a dive. He started to lose weight again, have episodes regularly, didn’t show much interest in eating or anything and appeared painful/uncomfortable more often than not. We wonder if as he regained some nerve function and could feel more, he was in more pain. It was apparent that he didn’t have the will to go on and the quality of life was poor with little to no chance of improving. With that, we made the decision that the best thing we could for him was to put him to rest 💔.

10/07/2023

I never got around to sharing these pics of Nugget from the summer. This old boy gets lots of pampering ❤️. He got a new fly sheet and fly mask to help with his bug sensitivity, and regularly has lotion/ointment applied to his scars (which tend to get dry) and any itchy or sore spots he had from the bugs. He’s also getting a supplemental mash twice a day to help with maintaining his weight as he ages. Nugget is one of the sweetest, gentlest horses I’ve ever met, and I’m glad that we’ve been able to give him a soft spot to land and live out the rest of his days 💖.

03/03/2023

Looking for a new home❤️.

Kosmo is a 5yr old branded BLM Mustang gelding, I haven’t sticked him but he’s around 13.3hh. He’s easy to catch and leads well. Knows how to back up, sidepass, yield his hindquarters, send, lunge w/t/c, go over obstacles, tie and is amazing for loading in the trailer. He’s had a ba****ck pad on, and I’ve laid across him, but he hasn’t been fully backed or had an actual saddle on yet. I’m hoping to back him shortly. I do his feet myself with him at liberty, but he was trimmed by another farrier while he was on lease (as a buddy for another Mustang) last year and was good for them as well. My young cousins have handled him and he’s been great with them. He’s currently out in a mixed herd and does fine with the mares and geldings.

Kosmo is very sweet and personable, but can get worried about new things. He would do best with someone who is able to be patient, reassuring and take time to bond with him. I’ve used a mixture of positive reinforcement and pressure + release in his training and it’s worked well for him.

I’m also offering discounted training for anyone who buys him and would like to send him back here for further under saddle work. Please message me for further info or to set up a time to come and meet him 😄.

(Conformation photos are from last year when he was out on lease).

03/01/2023

I’ve recently picked up working with Kosmo more consistently again, and he’s been making some wonderful progress ❤️. I’m happy to see him becoming more confident, and not becoming worried as easily as he did historically. He’s also become much more comfortable with the saddle which has been a difficult thing for him to get used to. I‘ve honestly yet to work with a horse who’s been as concerned about the saddle as he was in the beginning.

Interestingly enough the noises the saddle made seemed to be the hardest thing for him to get past. Once I got him used to having something on his back, he had no issue with me girthing up the ba****ck pad and having him move a bit with it on. Unfortunately the first time I tried with the English saddle things started well, but once he moved a bit and it started making noise he panicked. I try my best to fully prepare them for each thing I introduce so that it can be a good experience that builds their confidence (both in themselves and in me), but there’s always times when things don’t work out the way we planned or we assessed things incorrectly. Thankfully he didn’t seem to be set back too badly by that, and with time, patience and reassurance he’s now to the point where he’s not too bothered about the saddle anymore.

I was working on laying across him the other day and it went very well, so hopefully I can back him soon. I’m also going to work towards fully saddling him again now that he seems to be fairly comfortable with the noises from the saddle and practicing girthing up with a rope. Really happy with his progress and thankful for the learning experience that working through this with him has been ❤️.

For anyone who is looking or knows of anyone looking, Kosmo is still looking for the perfect home. I’m going to post a new ad for him soon, but please contact me with any questions or inquiries about him that you may have. I will be continuing to work with him in the meantime and hope to make further progress towards riding in the coming month.

02/12/2023

Nessie was having a nap out in the sun the other day, so I went and hung out with her for a bit. She was quite content with receiving some snuggles ❤️. Sitting there with her got me thinking, so prepare for a long one if you read the rest 😅.

One of the many things I love about the Mustangs is how they make me more appreciative of the “little things”. It’s easy to get caught up in wanting to be bigger and better, to be doing more and achieving goals. I know I’m certainly guilty of it. However, there was a time (brief as it may have been with some) with each of the Mustangs were I couldn’t touch them, or even approach them. When I walk out to the field and pet them, put a halter on them, lead them or even groom them, I try to remember there was a time when all of these seemingly minute things were not yet possible. That at one point those same things were the big goals that I was working towards.

Nessie happens to be one of the more difficult Mustangs I’ve worked with, and I swear sometimes it’s hard to believe she’s the same horse I started with a couple years back. Working with her literally brought me to tears on a few occasions, both out of frustration and out of joy. Due to that she’s the sort that makes those “little” achievements really stand out. Sitting with Nessie the other day the significance of her feeling safe enough to let me be with her while she was at her most vulnerable, when she was once so fearful and unsure of people, truly struck me.

I’ve come to see the feedback I receive from the horses as the most important evaluation of my work with them. While I’m not so naive as to think that they will never feel stress, uncertainty or frustration while I’m working with them, and I know that I’ll fumble or lose patience at times, the horses feeling safe and comfortable in my presence is paramount. The Mustangs (especially the ones who started out particularly fearful), now trusting and feeling secure enough in me to let me be with them even while they’re at rest, is some of the best feedback I could hope to receive.

We tend to want and ask a lot of our horses, but I think we often need to better appreciate what they’ve already done/are doing for us and where they are at now. I think it’s important to keep this is mind as we progress with any horse that we have come into our care, and to remember to not take for granted that which we have already achieved and the things that we now see as givens.

08/10/2022

Always hard to see them go, but I’m happy to announce that Cole found a lovely home a few weeks ago 😄. He’s been settling in very well, is enjoying his new Standardbred buddies (and a very cute little mini!) and is taking well to his new owner.

I’m very careful about where my horses go, especially more sensitive ones like Cole, but I think this will be a great fit for him. His new owner isn’t on a timeline, and said she plans to spend months just doing groundwork and earning his trust before she progresses any further. Hearing this I was more than happy to be able to fulfill her dream of owning a Mustang. Can’t wait to hear about everything they accomplish together ❤️.

05/16/2022

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on here, so I figured I’d share on update on Zubeia and Raven!

A few days ago Zubeia allowed my to trim her front feet for the first time, and Raven wore a flymask for the first time. I also worked on the flymask with Zu, but I didn’t get any pictures. She was a little uncertain about it at first, and didn’t like the sound of the Velcro when I introduced her to it, but with some targeting/clicker work she quickly came around to it. I think she would have let me put it all the way on that day, but I decided to leave it on a good note with her having gotten comfortable with the Velcro noises near her and having the flymask rubbed over her neck and on her face.

All in all they were both wonderful for everything, and with the help of R+ I was able to easily work them through their few moments of uncertainty. I’m beyond impressed with the mind of both of these mares, and I am incredibly happy that I get to own and work with them❤️.

Honor Scholtes Horsemanship & Mustangs

10/21/2023

10/07/2023

03/03/2023

03/01/2023

02/12/2023

08/10/2022

05/16/2022

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