Hawkeye
This horse has the kindest eye and it will look right into your soul. It is hard to believe that he is a rescued horse.
Statistics - A Description of Hawk
Hawkeye goes by the barn name "Hawk". He is a gelding and he is 14-3 hands (or 59 inches)
tall at the withers. There are no registration papers, so his true age is unknown. And although his
color markings and confirmation indicate that he might be of Gypsy horse bloodlines, without registration
papers he is technically classified as a Pinto.
Hawks main body color is white with black markings that are edged with brown; he is considered a
tri-color Tobiano Pinto (vs. Overo Pinto). Most of his body and all four legs are white. He has one
large black mark on his chest and another black mark that covers most of his head. He has a white blaze
the full length of his face, widening as it covers the end of his nose. His mane hair is white accept
where the black mark covers the top of his head. His tail is also white accept for a few black hairs
in the center.
The Beginning - How We Obtained Hawk
Hawk is a rescue horse. He was removed from a group of horses found starving. But he could of
suffered other abuses. His rescuer took him to a boarding facility in Kirkland where he received
plenty of food and shelter for several months.
Hawk came to the ranch on January 19th, 2010. He looked fit. A veterinarian had recently floated his
teeth and dated him as an eight year old (or born in 2002). But his intelligence and wisdom suggest
that he might actually be five or six years older than that.
As healthy as Hawk looked, he still needed lots of care. He was very insecure, the ranch was his third
home in a very short time. He had an obvious fear of closed in spaces, such as the inside of a horse
trailer, the darkness of the barn, and the closeness of stall walls.
Horse Tails - Funny Things & Stories About Hawk
Hawk prefers to be the last horse in the trail string. Protecting the rear of the herd is his comfort
zone.
Hawk will lead if he is asked too. In the front, he has a tendency to snort at the things that frighten
him and that is almost everything. While riding down the trail, he will snort at stumps, at logs, at
large ferns, at puddles, and even at sun spots.
Hawk is very attentive to campfires, they hold his attention everytime he walks past one. The first
time we noticed this, he was so busy looking at the campfire that he forgot to watch where the rest
of the horses had gone. When he finally looked away from the fire, he realized he was alone. Ever
since, he keeps one eye on the fire and one eye on his riding buddies.
We aren’t sure why Hawk has an intense interest in campfires. It could have been from a bad experience
with fire or it might have even been the first time he had seen a campfire. It might just be the
campfire itself - the sounds, the flames, or the smoke. But he will always slow down and stare, if
not snort, at the campfire.
Rescue horses are like orphans, they are the only one who really knows their past. Unfortunately, Hawk
is not talking much.
The Present - What We Think About Hawk
Hawk still gets to run with the boys and he is often turned out with Big. Big will pester him
until eventually has been antagonized enough to start defending himself. This leads to play
fighting. This play fighting includes lots of rearing with some mischievous biting and
lighthearted kicking. It is amazing to watch.
Whatever neglect he has suffered in the past, Hawk is eager to please and desperately wants to be loved and needed.
Hawk has a very gentle nature and he is in love with the girls (Spot & Dolly). Spot is his
favorite. He flirts with her constantly and even talks to her out on the trail while riding.
In the pasture, they are almost always standing near one another.
Hawks attention to the girls has gotten him into trouble. He rarely allowed other horses between
him and Spot. But when he decided to keep Spot away from people too, that caused some problems with
the function of the ranch. He is now usually separated from her or in his own paddock.