Eeyore No Longer Bad Boy on the Range
Contributed by Debbie Driesner,
Wild Horse and Burro Adopter
Debbie Driesner describes her adopted wild horse as a “bad boy of the range” who is now a sweetheart. The Eeyore-Debbie story is proof there is someone for every horse.
Born in the fall of 1998, in the Ochoco Mountains of Oregon, Eeyore soon developed a bad reputation. His habitat was in a Forest Service area where his aggressive behavior as a young stallion was disturbing to hikers and campers. He was easily identifiable on the range because of his droopy ears.
During a camping trip in the summer of 2000, Debbie Driesner of Dallas, Oregon heard the story of Eeyore, named for Winnie-the -Pooh’s floppy-eared donkey pal. During this outing, Debbie made the decision that if Eeyore were removed from the range, she would take a chance and bring him home. She got her chance to make good on that decision when Eeyore was removed from the range because of overpopulation. He was transported to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)’s wild horse and burro facility in Burns, Oregon, where he received his inoculations and freeze mark and was introduced to domestic feed.
Upon visiting the Burns facility, Debbie didn’t know what to expect, having never seen any pictures of Eeyore. She had many unanswered questions. “Was he as aggressive as his reputation? Could he hear? Was the rest of his body normal?” When Debbie arrived at Eeyore’s corral, the horse had his backside facing visitors and his head in the feeder. Debbie saw bony hips and tailbone, a matted tail, and battle scars. She thought, "Oh my, what have I done." But, when the Eeyore turned his head and looked at her with those big soft, trusting, brown eyes, Debbie sensed that they were both hooked. 
A few days later, Eeyore was enjoying the attention of his new adopter. While he liked being brushed, having his face rubbed was the best. About those interesting ears: they are placed lower on his head and move up and down rather than swivel and the back of them. No one seems to know what caused the deformity.
Debbie says the ears do not affect Eeyore’s energy and they don’t diminish the fun of riding trips to the mountains or the beach or the challenge of a horse show.
Debbie notices that Eehyore seems to really like people, and they are drawn to him because of his resemblance to the storybook character for whom he is named.
Does his owner have any regrets about adopting this wild horse? Not for one moment.
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