News & Updates

Team Onyx August 19, 2025 - Update!

Written by Gentle Spirit Horses Rescue | Aug 24, 2025 8:05:12 AM

From trainer Jay Westerbur: 

 
We did it! We got the saddle on this week!
 
We did it completely at liberty as well (no lead rope). And while he wasn’t comfortable with it, he still dealt with it. I think it will take him more positive experiences to truly get comfortable with it, but he’s on the right track!
 
He was also a good boy being tied waiting for his session. Since Nina is out of commission, she asked me to do a small session with Forrest. I figured that was a good time to practice standing. He did good! Stood the whole time not really caring about what we were doing.
 
We did more ground driving as well and we finally found the breaks while it’s still not pretty, it’s definitely an improvement.
 
I think Onyx will do well this coming weekend for the Showdown! More information about Onyx (or any other showdown horses) can be found at Dakota Showdown Horse Trainer Challenge