Rattlin’ Bog farm
Meet the Rattlin’ Bog Horses
Rune
Rune is a buckskin grade Texas A&M confirmed rocky mountain gelding. He is aged, over 20 years old, and mainly enjoys teaching lessons in our program for all ages and riding levels. He came to us very fearful and anxious from SC but with training and gentle, correct handling has since come into his own. He is an incredibly sweet, well broke, western horse. Rune has a past as a heel horse and does enjoy doing some “cowboy” work every now and again. He’s been an invaluable hand in helping to train the wild mustangs and green horses on the farm, as well as being a lesson horse!
Ready to Rumble (Above) is a 10 year old Standardbred Ex-harness racer who fractured his coffin bone and was sensibly retired to our barn to pursue a retirement teaching horseback riding lessons to all ages.
On the right: Rock the Dream, AKA “Rook” is our resident tall guy. He is 14 years old and an ex-harness racing Standardbred. Both Rook and Rumble (On the left) came to our barn on the same day in January 2024 and have enjoyed their harness racing retirement teaching new riders under saddle.
Unico Legend, AKA “Nico” is a 10 year old Standardbred from New Zealand who could be Rumble’s twin. He is relatively new to the barn and has spent the better part of the month settling into the program and finding his place in the herd.
Pepper, an 11 year old Morgan Belgian, came to the barn in October of 2024, she’d been a prior Amish work horse, turned trail horse, turned broodmare and when she was sold in Ohio she had a foal at her side. We have been slowly re-acclimating her to the ridden life and the feeling of safety and appreciation in general. She’s still a bit edgy but in time we hope she’ll settle in and know she’s safe. She does ride and drive.
Demonte
Demonte is a 2016 chestnut Polish Arabian gelding. We bought him in the spring of 2017 as a resell horse, but what was supposed to be an easy retrain and sell turned into a forever horse. He began super shy and fearful, with a shaggy ugly coat and not much else and after some love and time he blossomed into a beautiful Arabian horse full of grace and character. Demi has been under saddle since 2019 but tends to be a little bit on the spicy side and enjoys riders who can really feel what they’re doing and the impact they have on him. He’s a very sensitive dude but will test his rider to make sure they have some idea of what they’re doing.
Orion’s Aetos, AKA “Rion” is a FHH registered paint Morgan Fresian. Rion was born at Rattlin’ Bog farm and raised here and was started as a 4 year old by Jess to saddle in 2024. He is coming along really nicely and has a really sweet temperament and a great brain.
Polaris
We have owned Polaris the longest of all of our lesson and program horses. “Poe” is a grade pinto with ice blue eyes, she is about 14 or 15 we believe though her age has always been uncertain. She sadly has a genetic disorder called “Pssm” which causes her to be unable to process sugars in her diet so she is subject to tying up and some exercise intolerance. This winter (2025) we’ve spent a lot of time slowly bringing Polaris along in exercise and work and while she has also developed heaves she has proved to be a very fun and very willing partner.
FAQs
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Yes! While horses usually doze on their feet thanks in part to a locking mechanism in their stifles, they also do in fact lay down for short periods of time during the day. In fact, horses must lay down to sleep to enter in REM sleep.
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Horses like to roll for various reasons and usually like to get nice and muddy when they do so. Dirt is an apparently good insect repellent, protecting them from mosquito, biting midge and fly bites. They also will roll during shedding season when they are “Blowing” their coat, as well as to get a good itch in after a ride!
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Miniature horses are a pony and are classified as a breed all to themselves. There are several types of small horses that remain small their entire lives, the smallest of these is the falabella, but you'll also meet miniature horses and shetland ponies!
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The only color that horses apparently cannot distinguish is red!
Mustangs of Rattlin’ Bog farm
Delilah is a 22 year old mare who was rounded up in 2023 in Devil’s Garden, CA along with our other mare MJ. Delilah is so far very willing to bond with people and interested in interaction, but due to her age she likely will not be receiving saddle training. We are working on getting her more handle-able in the ground, she does lead and will allow touches but is still uneasy with human contact and will bolt if she feels too pressured. Delilah foaled a beautiful bay roan filly that we named DG Brier Rose, who will be a up and coming project horse when she is a little older.
Wokini “Kia” (AKA Sierra)
Mary Jane “MJ” (AKA Bindi)
DG Brier Rose is our Devils Garden bay roan weanling filly out of Delilah. She is basically a domestic pony at this point and enjoys scratches, ties, leads and is part of Kia and Dulce’s little mare herd.
Kia is a 7 year old sorrel mare from the Owyhee herd management area in Nevada, USA. She was rounded up and brought to NY as part of a veteran outreach program before coming to the Bog where she will stay for the rest of her life. She is a challenging horse who, despite 4 years in captivity, has not yet achieved TIP training graduation.
In 2024 Kia really blossomed into a sweet trusting girl. She loves R+ training and really wants to know she’s doing the right thing. We’re looking forward to starting her to saddle and ridden work this summer!
Mary Jane is a 13 year old Bay roan mare from Devil’s Garden California who was rounded up with Delilah by the United States Forestry Service. She was pregnant when she first arrived and gave birth to a little filly that we named DG Lupine in May of 2024. Lupine found a home when she was weaned. MJ is enjoying a winter off while the footing in the round pen gets a break from being churned up and she will resume her training in the spring!
