I think one of the first things I remember seeing about Kaila was the time she dressed Scotty up in a Tux and took him to Tractor Supply. I knew that photographing this pair would be equally as epic. This session included many firsts…..my first time photographing a Mini, my first time having a horse rear *on purpose* during a session, and of course my first time photographing a horse and it’s owner laying down together. Oh, and a few other tricks also happened during this session like the spanish walk, and smiling!
Scotty is a 4 year old miniature horse, Kaila actually bought him a year ago and he was extremely feral. She shared with me her experience when she went to pick him up, and it was quite terrifying to hear….and I am pretty certain at the time she thought she paid too much for this little feral mini, but I am pretty sure he has proven his weight in gold with his little antics.
Kaila describes Scotty the best, so I think I will just let her tell you all about him, “I laugh just thinking about him… he is so interesting. He is the toughest little son-of-a-gun you’ll ever meet, and if I turned him loose in the middle of Death Valley or a mountain-lion inhabited forrest, he would survive. But his hard shell is matched with the warmest, affectionate heart you’ll ever find when you allow him to get to know you. After his first few years of life here on earth was troubled before I found him, he still wonders when that next person is going to come around and treat him like just a piece of livestock again. His loyalty is that of a golden retriever and he will sit in your lap when he realizes you are not that person. I found him on Craigslist after needing a companion pony for Tiny when I sold all my other horses. He has since turned into the mascot of our place and adds more zest to our life than we know what to do with. He holds more attitude and enthusiasm in everything he does than all the other animals combined. As Im typing this, I just received a text out-of-the-blue from someone, saying “You should take your famous pony to retirement homes. They’d love him!”. He leaves a lasting impression on everybody he meets.”
When she went to pick him up, he was terrified of people and the whole ordeal to get him into the trailer was quite the fiasco. It included roping this poor guy, and pretty much dragging him into the trailer. I am certain there were many times Kaila thought “what am I getting myself into” but at the same time she knew she had to get him out of that situation. They spent 45 minutes dragging him from the pasture, and he did everything in his power to keep from being caught, even falling over so hard he knocked himself out cold and busted his nose open..Kaila said she promised him that once he was in that trailer he would never have to go through anything like that ever again in his life.
“Through many months of him beating me to a pulp, striking me in the head, and dragging me around out of remaining in fight or flight mode, I continued to give him a gentle hand to come to when he was ready for the attention on his discovery that I wasn’t here to hurt him as people had done in the past.”
“Just recently, I hand sewed him a tuxedo, dressed him up, and took him shopping in Tractor Supply with me as people of all sizes and ages fell head over heels for the gentle guy, not knowing that less just than a year ago this pony was as close to a wild animal as you could get. He has a library of tricks, which consist of on-command pawing, smiling, kissing, rearing, laying down, and his favorite- the Spanish walk.”
“I don’t know how I’ve gone this far in life without him.” – Kaila
This is just one of Kaila’s 4 horses! You will have to check back later on the blog to see the others.
Want to reserve a once in a lifetime portrait session with the horse, pony, or mini in your life? Call our studio at (832)598-8715 to contact us here to reserve your session.
