BEHS 1173 – Tango

Name: Tango Status: Adopted
Adoption Fee: Arrived At Rescue: March 24, 2021
Location: Brenham, TX Adoption Date: October 8, 2022
Registered: No Breed: Grade
Paso Fino
Date of Birth: January 1, 2019 Color: Grey
Pinto
Gender: Gelding
Male
Height: 12.2

About Tango

Tango was surrendered to the Houston SPCA when his owner could not care for him, along with a large herd of horses. The Houston SPCA then placed him with Bluebonnet for halter training/gentling, rehabilitation, and eventual rehoming.

Tango had not been handled before coming to Bluebonnet, and he was still a stallion. He was also underweight, so his foster home's first goal was to get him healthy and used to be handled. Once she could safely catch and lead him and his weight was good, he was gelded (June 2021).

You can follow Tango and Joe's progress on their Facebook page CLICK HERE

Evaluation and Training

Tango was assigned to Joe Washburn, JW Horsemanship & Services, in Brenham, TX and came into training first week of June 2022.
Tango is maturing into a stunningly beautiful Paso Fino, nearly all white with some black skin spots under his coat, flashy blue eyes, and an amazing pink muzzle. Along with his thick mane, he is as handsome as they come, all in a pony-sized package.
The setting at Joe’s place is natural, with 10+ acres of turnout with several other horses, mares and geldings. He thinks he’s bigger than he is and has tried to order the mares around, but they ignore him, and he doesn’t seem to get insulted. He is easy to catch, and now walks up to Joe in the pasture to see what he’s doing, lets himself be caught, haltered, and led around easily.
He came to Joe already standing tied for grooming, spraying, and also loaded in the trailer. Joe is also his farrier, and he is now picking up all 4 feet and standing calmly for trimming (he does not need shoes) while ground tied.
With Joe, he works in and out of the round pen. He longes, long lines, and is ridden regularly, bareback, with a bareback pad, and also saddled. He has worked at the walk, trot & lope, and also regularly offers the Paso Fino gait that is in line with his known breed. Joe generally only uses rope halters for his training clients; while Tango has had a snaffle bit in his mouth with his first foster home, his training for the Bluebonnet Training Challenge has been in a rope halter.
He is very people oriented. He is the horse who will come away from the herd to hang out with his person and will follow and play with things at liberty. He is getting used to kisses on the nose (Joe does not do this, but there are others around who are teaching Tango the joys of muzzle kisses).
Tango is a very quick learner, thoughtful and careful with his body and mind. He is still on the young side, at around 3 1/2 years old, and will need some time to mature and an experienced small adult or dedicated small teenager to take him as a project. Ideally, his forever home will include Paso Fino experience or strong interest. With his stunning good looks and self-confidence, he could make a very flashy mount for the right rider, one who is willing to put the time and training on him
He is currently 12.3hh and may make 13hh, but he's always going to be a small horse. He does have the lovely Paso Fino gait, and those familiar with Paso Finos will know that they are a sturdy breed and can carry a bigger rider than you would think, but he is on the small side so would benefit from a smaller rider going forward.
If you are looking for a horse for your kids to jump on today or a horse to throw out in the pasture and not handle, he's not it. He is very green for riding and is barely far enough along in his groundwork to be handled by kids. If put out to pasture and not handled, he's probably going to lose the training ground he's gained with Joe. However, if you would like an adorable pony to spend time with, work with on the ground, and even do in hand trail, in hand obstacles, or in hand agility with - he's your boy. He would love to have his very own person!

Tango is competing in Professional Division of the Bluebonnet Rescue Horse Training Challenge with Joe Washburn. Tango will be available for adoption at the Training Challenge competition on October 8, 2022, during the Bluebonnet Horse Expo at the Williamson County Expo Center.

Tango completed the training challenge and was adopted that very day!

Temperament

Trailers: Yes Bucks: No
Leads: Yes Bites: No
Ties: Yes Catches: Yes
Trims: Yes Bathes: Not yet
Clips: Unknown Rears: No
Kicks: No