The last weeks of November 2022 were hard on the Barbash family of Andover, Connecticut—mom Laura, dad Adam, and their young son Atticus. First, their family horse Gracie was hospitalized for a presumed choke that turned out to be a gastric impaction; she died of related complications a few days after Thanksgiving. With Gracie gone, Laura’s young horse, a 4-year-old rescue named Max, was beside himself being alone on their family farm; on several occasions he added to everyone’s stress and worry by breaking through his fencing and getting loose. While all of this was happening, the adults contracted COVID, and Laura had just barely recovered when she injured her back seriously enough that she was out of commission for several weeks. By December, everyone was feeling ready for a fresh start.

Gracie’s passing left big shoes to fill—literally and figuratively. The Barbashes had adopted the gray Percheron from the Connecticut Draft Horse Rescue in East Hampton, Connecticut, before Atticus was even born, and despite Gracie’s size, she and their son enjoyed a special bond. Hoping to find at least a short-term solution to ease both the family’s grief and Max’s solitary distress, Laura reached out to CDHR and offered to foster one of their horses. They suggested Tinker, a 14.3-hand Vanner cross gelding, who had returned to the rescue earlier that year after being diagnosed as a headshaker.

Tinker was just a weanling when he initially came to CDHR as an auction intercept; they kept him for several years while he matured, and the rescue started his basic training under saddle before placing him in a trail riding home. But when he turned 8, he was diagnosed with headshaking syndrome, a complex, tricky-to-diagnose disorder still poorly understood by the scientific community. Eventually, his adopter deemed Tinker unrideable and returned him to CDHR.

“If you think about it, if someone has a horse they feel is unrideable, trying to rehome that horse effectively is a difficult thing,” said Laura, 43. “I think it is amazing that when you work with a really reputable rescue, they have this ‘no questions asked’ return policy. They care so much about their horses at CDHR, and he was not in any danger of being in a bad situation.”

CDHR founder and executive director Dr. Stacey Golub, DVM, also owns Connecticut Valley Equine Veterinary Services and has professional familiarity with headshaking syndrome. She carefully evaluated Tinker upon his return to the rescue, but after failing to observe any significant headshaking behaviors, decided he either had a very mild case or potentially had been misdiagnosed. As time went by, and Tinker remained happy and healthy, Golub asked the rescue’s trainer to resume light work under saddle.  

“But at that particular rescue, they specialize more in seniors and companion-type horses,” explained Laura. “They were scratching their heads, wondering what to do with this adorable, young, sound, rideable horse. 

“Then here we come, a family they already know and trust,” Laura continued. “My personal horse is in the very slow process of getting started, and I wanted to actively ride. They realized this is probably a great fit.”

Tinker arrived at the Barbashes’ farm in early December 2022, and had several weeks to settle in while Laura’s back injury resolved. He quickly won the family over with his good looks and willing attitude. Just before Christmas, Laura rode him for the first time. It was just a short ride at the walk, but when she was done, Adam remarked that she had smiled the entire time.

“He was such a good boy, and even gave me a little lateral work, which I wasn’t asking for—he just offered it,” says Laura. “It was the first suggestion he had some buttons, and had some knowledge, and he was interested in participating.”

Laura had reason to be excited, as it had been years since she had consistently worked with a willing equine partner. Although she enjoyed a long relationship with her first horse, a half-Arabian mare Laura purchased in her 20s, their partnership had never been an easy one. After years of trying to compete locally in both jumping and dressage shows, Laura finally decided her mare was happiest at home. But even there, she remained sensitive and spooky, and Laura learned to ride defensively, always anticipating unexpected behavior. Although Tinker was no pushover, he quickly proved to be far more amenable than her mare had been.

“He has his own, very strong, personality,” Laura said with a laugh. “When he has an opinion or idea, he’s very clear about it. But overall, he fit in really well, so we ended up officially adopting him in March 2023. He went from being a foster to a foster-fail.”

Laura and Tinker were able to build their relationship under saddle for the next several months, and by March, she felt ready for formal lessons with her coach, Valerie Hodder. After their first lesson, Hodder immediately encouraged Laura to consider setting some goals for the season.  

“She was like, ‘He’s a nice little horse, and he knows his stuff—you can go do things,’ ” Laura recalled. “So I started to get more serious about my practice, to trailer out and have some lessons with Valerie at Connecticut Equestrian Center, instead of just at home, and to look at the show schedule.

“I think he definitely had some kind of a dressage foundation,” Laura continued. “But that’s not all he knows—one time, I wanted to ride through a gate, and he set himself up, sidepassed, and swung himself around. He did just what he’s supposed to do, even though I didn’t know how.”

Since they had already been taking lessons at CEC, Laura decided a schooling show there scheduled for late April would be the perfect opportunity to make their competition debut. But on show day, it rained heavily, and events were shifted to the indoor, an environment Tinker had little experience with.

“He was terrified,” Laura said. “I think he’s had a lot of change in his life, so going on a trailer to a new place is potentially threatening. I also hadn’t had the chance to let him graze and relax, which is something that helps him feel grounded in a new place. 

“He was so very tense,” she continued. “He’s a chonkin’ boy, and when he’s tense, it’s like riding a railroad tie; there is no getting him to bend or soften. He offered a few times to spin and run off, I think more like a suggestion to me that he was ready to leave than a panic response.”

The pair’s second attempt at showing, on a beautiful June day at the same facility, was a completely different experience.

“He was a superstar, and that’s when I realized that he was ready to participate in shows, and willing to take direction in the ring,” Laura said. “[He wasn’t] worried about the judge, or spectators, or letters, or anything that horses sometimes need to look at.

“I swear he decided this was a task he was willing to engage in, and ever since then, he’s been the most chill horse to take anywhere,” she continued. “He’s just a pleasure. It’s been amazing.”

Given that 2023 was their first show season together—and that Laura hadn’t competed in over a decade—she decided to focus on introductory level. Over the course of the season, she learned to keep Tinker better organized and balanced, while he continued to build strength and confidence. As their partnership grew, Laura branched out to compete in the Tri-State Horseman’s Association dressage series as well as the shows held at CEC.

By year’s end, Tinker and Laura had earned series champion awards in their division not just with CEC and TSHA, but also the Connecticut Dressage Association. However, that wasn’t the end of his accolades—Tinker also earned two series championships in leadline dressage, one with Atticus, 7, in the irons, and one with family friend Rosie Chardavoyne, 8.

“Rosie is an avid horseperson,” Laura said. “Picture every horse-crazy little girl you know, and that’s Rosie. But she had some bad falls from lesson horses and was feeling anxious, so I was having her come over to ride Tinker, because she felt comfortable with him.”

When Laura offered Chardavoyne the chance to show Tinker in a leadline dressage class at CEC, the child jumped at the opportunity. 

“It was a nice confidence-boosting activity for her, and so cute,” Laura said. “I was so happy that Tinker could help Rosie regain her confidence.”

It took Atticus a little longer to bond with Tinker, who found the boy’s high energy a bit intense at first, but they ultimately also achieved success together. The pair participated in the Crystaline Show Series, a virtual “competition” in which entrants must complete a certain number of rides or unmounted activities with their horse within a set time period to earn a ribbon.

“It is more like a goal-setting thing, and it was a nice experience for Atticus because he had been very competition-averse,” said Laura, who describes her son as being an “intermittent” rider. “He had done some of those with Gracie before she passed, and we were looking at Tinker as a horse he would possibly do a little more of that with.”

But after seeing Chardavoyne’s success with Tinker in the show ring, Atticus decided to try an in-person competition himself, accompanying Laura to the TSHA shows. Laura notes that the 14.3-hand Tinker somehow fits everyone perfectly.

“I’m 5’9”, and I look fine on him, and the kids look great on him,” she said with a laugh. “He’s a magical size, and a magical horse.”

Now 11 years old, Tinker has continued to only show minor signs of headshaking, and so far, Laura has been able to mitigate most symptoms with attention to tack fit and a magnesium supplement. She has worked closely with her vet to better understand the syndrome, and notes he does still exhibit some more subtle headshaking indicators, such as touching his nose to her while leading and holding his ears out to the side.

“I am always attentive to his comfort, and seeing if I should do anything else to keep him happy,” she said. “I suspect the headshaking diagnosis was not mistaken, but that he has a mild case, and the strategies I’m using at the moment allow him to stay comfortable. But without attention to his comfort, it could have become an impediment.”

As the proud adopter of several rescue horses, Laura is a firm believer that this is an avenue more equestrians should pursue. In fact, she plans to add the prefix “CDHR” to Tinker’s show name to better promote his origins to the many spectators who want to visit with him at shows.

“I think, especially people like me who are looking for their next best friend, more people need to look to reputable, responsible rescues to find their horses,” Laura said. “[Rescues] are so good at finding these horses in need, and figuring out what their best life looks like and what they are most suited for. They are ready to match people with horses that want to be loved and want to have a job.

“But the greatest thing about working with these responsible rescues is they also have that open door,” she continued. “I can’t imagine not keeping my horses, but should I be catastrophically injured or financially ruined, I feel very good knowing that my family wouldn’t need to worry about it—they always have a soft landing.”

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Do you know a horse or pony who has been rescued from a dangerous situation to become a healthy, trusted competition partner today? If you think you have a good candidate for “From Rescue To Ribbons,” let us know by emailing mwright@coth.com.