# Karma and Lola



## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

They're both looking so well, Indy!

I heart Lola especially.


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## Amarea (May 25, 2010)

**** @ my stubby legs and hat behind Karma in the one pic HAHA! These are some great shots!


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## rbarlo32 (Aug 9, 2010)

They are lovely particully love the appy


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

They both look pretty darn happy!

How is Karma doing on being away from others?


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## 2horses (Oct 11, 2009)

They're adorable! It's hard to believe they were in the kill pen.
I like Karma's white socks as a contrast to the leopard spots.


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

AB, Karma actually does very well, she doesn't seem overly upset when separated and I've been riding her in the back yard alone (without Lola) and she concentrated on her work just fine. It's Lola that loses her ever-lovin' mind!!


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

That is good. Having a totally herd bound horse can get frustrating.


Amarea is lucky to board with you. It is not too often you get to board with someone who is willing to do test rides and training on your horse with out having to pay an arm and a leg for it.


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

So. When will you be delivering Lola?

I love Karma's stockings, she's a beautiful mare. =]
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

Couple of video clips of then running around this morning here. 









Excuse the agenda, I don't want this to lead to an argument on this thread. The video was made for my brother, who is an animal activist.


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## Wild Heart (Oct 4, 2010)

How did you know I loved mules and leopard spotted appy's? I'll be over to pick them both up asap! :lol:

Indy, you are such an angel. Just thinking those two cuties were on their way to be killed breaks my heart. Keep us updated.


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## corinowalk (Apr 26, 2010)

Ill take the both of them. They are sooo adorable! It looks like Karma is already putting on some weight!


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## Amarea (May 25, 2010)

Alwaysbehind said:


> Amarea is lucky to board with you. It is not too often you get to board with someone who is willing to do test rides and training on your horse with out having to pay an arm and a leg for it.


I completely agree! I never would have gotten over the fear I initially had when I met Indy if she hadn't pushed me and shown me that I was bigger than my fears. I'm not doing my horses any favors by being afraid of them and Indy has really shown me that  I owe her so much more than I will ever be able to repay her! She's shown me the best kind of therapy that I don't have to pay by the hour for LOL! And her "couch" aka Claymore is more comfy than any therapists couch could ever be LOL!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

They are both so beautiful and it looks like Karma is really having fun running around in the wide open spaces.


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

I LOOOOOVE Lola! She is freakin' adorable! Karma is one spunky Appy, also!


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

Ricci, she'll look a lot better when we can get her a bath and get the yellow stains off her - but with the way the weather is going that might not be until spring. I have some vetrolin spray on we could use, I suppose lol

I bought Lola because she cost next to nothing and I was thinking I could always resell her once I train her....but I've always wanted a mule, so, I don't know right now. :lol:

Cori, I know, it looks like she has gained doesn't it? I think that's primarily just because she was so dehydrated though, she's still drinking down a lot right now (and soaking her stall lol). Plus she's already started to fuzz up a good bit since she's got here. She might have picked up some weight already, but I wouldn't think she could pick up enough to be noticeable in a week...she wasn't THAT skinny lol.

Amarea, aww fanks. 

Smrobs, she'll be a lot happier when she can really stretch out in my pastures instead of just tooling around in my back yard lol. Just a few more days!

W_S thanks!


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## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

They're both adorable! Karma looks like such a sweetie. I'm glad you were able to save them both!


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## JennKzoo (Sep 23, 2010)

I LOVE that video, awesome job. They both look so much better running around your back yard than they did the day I saw them at the sale. Amanda, you are very lucky to have a great friend that is so helpful and has such knowledge. I loved meeting you guys and maybe next year when all our horses are used to us we should meet half way and go for a day ride.


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## Amarea (May 25, 2010)

You would LOVE York Hills if you've never been there! It's 650 acres of GORGEOUS trails!


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## JennKzoo (Sep 23, 2010)

Amarea said:


> You would LOVE York Hills if you've never been there! It's 650 acres of GORGEOUS trails!


Wheres it at? Do they have overnight camping?


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

Jen it's here in Albion (About 6 miles from my house) so not really a halfway point, but they do keep a nice facility, the trails are all pretty easy and beginner friendly, they keep them wide and very clean. You can overnight, you can picket at your trailer or you can rent stalls in their big barn. Here's a link to their site, we've ridden there quite a lot. They are a pretty friendly crowd that likes to have fun, they have a tendency to hire bands or host karaoke for the crowd on big weekends. :lol:

York Hills Horse Park - Day Riding in Northeast Indiana


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## JennKzoo (Sep 23, 2010)

I found it on the Michigan Horse Chat, looks like an awesome place. Hmm, we'll just have to try and plan something next year.


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

Jen we are there a lot in better weather, over the summer we were there practically every other weekend once we had a trailer lol. Sounds like a good plan!


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

I love Karma, but I REALLY love Lola! So many mules come out so awkward looking, and she just looks fantastic! She's got amazing conformation, just a great build, I think she's going to really prove herself worth her weight in gold!

Y'know, it's sad when sickly, skinny and/or "ugly" horses end up in the kill pens, but it just makes me shake my head when such good looking and useable animals end up there. Karma could use a bit more weight, but on average they were OBVIOUSLY taken care of and not just a bunch of flea ridden rejects.

I really and absolutely support this type of rescuing! I'd send you guys my donations ANY day over half these so called "rescues"!


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## Katesrider011 (Oct 29, 2010)

^^Agreed. It sucks seeing a a horse that would have been better off dead getting "Rescued" And it sucks seeing a good horse ending up in the kill pen...


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

The interesting thing I noticed was the shot of Karma under saddle - she clearly is saddle broke, and well broken. The whole way she carries herself under a rider speaks to her having decent training at one time. 

I realize we'll never know what led these two to an auction, but the fact they were in decent weight and had had decent care previously, and the fact that Karma clearly has some training, leads me to believe that their previous owner simply couldn't afford to keep them; and sent them to auction when they could no longer provide good quality care. That's a horrible decision to have to make; but to my mind, greatly preferable to letting a horse slowly starve in a backyard or turning one loose in a wildlife refuge or park. 

I agree that Lola is adorable, and probably one of the best looking mules I've seen - great confo, and a pretty, feminine head, BUT she is the type of animal that ends up at auction frequently. At 15 months, she's not useful yet, and a owner would have to put 18 months - 2 years into her before she was useful. It a tight economy, someone does the math and decides not to put the time and money in. Sadly, Lola is better conformed and a better prospect than a lot of backyard breedings produce, but the result is the same. 

The final thing I'll say about these two and auction purchases in general is: there are not very many horse owners like Indy, with lots of room and resources to take on a few extra. For myself, my little place supports my 2 1/2 cheaply and well, but no more than that. Its whole design was around managing pasture and minimizing cost. Another animal would mean more pasture maintenence expense, more hay, etc. - I just can't do it. 

So these guys are very lucky to have found you, and I look forward to hearing more about them.


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## JennKzoo (Sep 23, 2010)

> I agree that Lola is adorable, and probably one of the best looking mules I've seen - great confo, and a pretty, feminine head, BUT she is the type of animal that ends up at auction frequently. At 15 months, she's not useful yet, and a owner would have to put 18 months - 2 years into her before she was useful. It a tight economy, someone does the math and decides not to put the time and money in. Sadly, Lola is better conformed and a better prospect than a lot of backyard breedings produce, but the result is the same.


This is so true and there were quite a few "babies" there that day, Indy gave her a great home where she will be loved. That is something I don't understand, why people get so excited "Oh my mare is pregnant, yeah". Great but you have to wait 2-3 years to do something with it (well you do get to "play and do ground work) but you have no idea what your situation will be in 2-3 years and in the meantime you've got to feed and care for the baby too. All these wonderful horses out there that are free or dirt cheap right now, why continue to breed, even though YOU may not have trained them your way, they can still learn a lot from you and vice versa to be the horse you want. I just don't want to wait 3 years to be able to ride something. 
Really sad to see the unwanted babies at the auctions.


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

Maura, I completely agree with you, it's better to send the animals off while they are still capable of finding homes, then wait until they have wasted away and gotten in very poor shape, so are therefore incapable of finding homes. But I still question why put Karma in particular in the killpen rather than run her through the saddle block. The auction house will still lead in the horses that don't have riders there to ride them through, or owners there to attend them. I am not sure, because I have obviously never taken a horse to auction, but I believe the fee difference of kill pens vs the main block is only $35.00. It just seems like, no matter how tight things are, you could spare that to give your horse a better chance. Kill buyers DO also buy out of the saddle block, but at least your horse has a fighting chance. From my experience, anyways, very few personal buyers buy horses from the kill pens when they run through the aisle. Now a good number of Amish will, and I think there might be a handful of traders, but most the private buyers stick to the saddle block. 

Karma is definitely well trained, and I look forward to exploring the depths of her training, but we found, when we got her paperwork in, she came to the auction with about 30 other horses from the same seller, all dumped in the kill pen. The thing that threw me, the most, was Karma's feet had just been done (although poorly) right before the auction. Why would you put the effort into doing the feet on a horse you were running through the kill pen? First thing Amarea and I did was scour the internet to make sure she wasn't stolen. I have a feeling Karma has probably been bounced around though a handful of different traders in the recent past, (and probably "downgrading" each time she was sold) and whoever actually owned and loved this mare once, probably had no idea she'd wind up in a place like that. I know times are tight, but be very careful who you sell your horses to, folks!

I think you assessment of Lola is 100% accurate. Add to that she has clearly been well handled and loved, but also has poor ground manners, she doesn't respect space, she runs you over and doesn't lead or tie well (we are working on all that lol) yet you can touch her all over, pick up her feet, and she's extremely affectionate. I figure a family had her and loved her but didn't know how to handle her once she got bigger. Horse babies are tricky, mule babies are surely even more tricky. I wish I was made of money, Lola now makes three babies under 2 years old on my property that have no usefulness in their immediate future...I sure question my sanity sometimes lol. But I also look forward to the experience of working with her and training her. Whole different ballgame than training my draft babies. If I get to a point I am struggling to work with her it's in no question in my mind that I would take her to a mule professional. I've been around mules but never attempted to train one before, and I don't want to mess Lola up due to my own lack of experience. lol

On a separate note, I found with a little poking around that both main two mule registries are "open registries" - that is as long as the mule matches type, you don't have to know their parentage. (since mules are sterile hybrids I guess bloodlines are not as important). Anyone see any reason not to register Lola, even without knowing her history? Or should I say anyone see any reason TO register Lola?


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

For registration, it really depends on the expense. If you're planning on showing her, go for it, but otherwise I think you may just be wasting your money for a scrap of paper. Mules are special in that people can SEE what they are, they don't need papers verifying that. And unless the papers can verify what KIND of mule she is (what breed was crossed to produce her), I don't see a point in throwing away your money unless it's a requirement for showing!

Fantastic post maura, four thumbs up!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

You know, it's funny. When my brother was young, 14 or 15, he would offer to ride almost anything through the sale ring whether it was well broke or not and because he handled and sat a horse well, many of the owners would pay him $20-25 just to ride theirs through the ring. I think that $20 would be well worth finding my horse a possible real home instead of just offering them a boot and a prayer when I know that they are broke.


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

MM, registration is only 25 bucks :lol:. I'm not planning on showing her, but I am also not certain if I will keep her forever, or potentially sell her once she is well trained and safe. I can't say future homes wouldn't necessarily show her, she's certainly nice enough for it, so I was just trying to look at the big picture. 

Smrobs, I should do that! lol I'm not adverse to hopping on a strange horse at the auction barn in the back aisles to get a feel for them, though done it less in recent visits then I have in the past. I have found, though, you tend to gather an interested crowd when you ride someone's horse.....not unlike if you spend too much time looking at one horse, you draw other's attention to it....That certainly happened at one of the recent sales - a black QH mare wasn't getting any attention from anyone, until I asked to ride her in the aisles bareback with just a leadrope on her halter, then all of a sudden everyone had their hands all over her and she ended up going way out of Amarea's price range on the block. Whoops, my bad lol


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## JennKzoo (Sep 23, 2010)

HMMM, Indy that really is weird that Karma went through the kill pen and not the saddle ring. Do you know where in Michigan she came from? 
I think people may start to feel really desperate around this time of the year. I have a friend that has a Appy for sale, very nice horse. She is only asking $500 and very few people even look at her.


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## Amarea (May 25, 2010)

All the horses in Kill Pen 3 were from Onsted, MI


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## HorseOfCourse (Jul 20, 2009)

They are both way cute!
If you ever happen to decide to sell Karma, let me know. I'm looking for a well broke horse to take to college with me since my brother wont let me take his when I'm done training her, and I don't think that my aunt will let me take any of hers.
And she's adorable! Lol.


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## Amarea (May 25, 2010)

Hehe doubt I will part with her  She's really a great girl and I can't wait until next Spring/Summer to really utilize all of her talents!


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## Britt (Apr 15, 2008)

Aww, they're cute! I love the mare, she's gorgeous!


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## JennKzoo (Sep 23, 2010)

Amarea said:


> All the horses in Kill Pen 3 were from Onsted, MI


 Huh, I don't know where that could be. Will give a looksy on google


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## JennKzoo (Sep 23, 2010)

Amarea, Indy, I don't know if you did any checking on the area, but there is a horse auction place there. Tom Moores and I'm wondering if these could've been horses that didn't sell at one of his sales and that is why there was a huge lot of them. Here is the link
http://tommooresales.com/home


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Indyhorse said:


> That certainly happened at one of the recent sales - a black QH mare wasn't getting any attention from anyone, until I asked to ride her in the aisles bareback with just a leadrope on her halter, then all of a sudden everyone had their hands all over her and she ended up going way out of Amarea's price range on the block. Whoops, my bad lol


That is not a bad thing in the big picture of life though. It got the mare a home that she might not have gotten otherwise.

You just have to ride several of them....laugh....


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

AB, lol I didn't mean it was a bad thing for the horse overall (obviously not) just bad that she then shot way out of Amarea's price range lol


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

Jen, I looked through the sales book, and I doubt they were horses from that sale. That seems to be a registered horse auction, with higher end horses, I only saw a couple appys on the list total, they were almost entirely paints and QHs. Good thought though!


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## JennKzoo (Sep 23, 2010)

Indyhorse said:


> Jen, I looked through the sales book, and I doubt they were horses from that sale. That seems to be a registered horse auction, with higher end horses, I only saw a couple appys on the list total, they were almost entirely paints and QHs. Good thought though!


:wink:Yeah, that was for the Michigan State Sale (that is a HUGE sale they have at MSU Pavillion every year and mostly to all QH's), but they have sales every week or month there. It wouldn't hurt to shoot an email with her picture or call just to see if they had her. It just makes a lot of sense if they brought in a huge lot of horses. :?


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## Opendoorequine (Nov 29, 2010)

Good job getting them from the kill pen at Shippsy!  I used to live up north and a group of us would got there every once and a while to check out the auctions. I stopped going because I couldn't handle that back area any more. Lots of sad horror stories, so bravo to you!!!


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## palominolover (Apr 28, 2010)

their both beautiful =) I especially like Karma.


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## writer23 (Apr 6, 2010)

Lola is soo friggin' cute.


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## kmacdougall (Feb 12, 2010)

Well done!! You two should be very proud of yourself!

We have not had horse auctions around here in about ten years, to my memory. I went a few times when I was younger and good horses were going dirt cheap - people fear the pig in a bag theory. I wish we still had em, these days everyone considers their horse a project and wants good money for what they MIGHT be, not what they are. I definitely would take on a large pony project for the summer and sell him in the fall if I didn\'t have to sell the farm to finance it.


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