CENTER TWP — Laike Fisher is working to help her patient get over her separation anxiety and be able to let other people take charge once in a while. Fisher’s had a lot of success since she began working with her patient daily since the first week in May.

That’s a very good thing considering Fisher’s patient is Zella, a 14-year-old horse that weighs 1,180 pounds.

Fisher was the North Washington Rodeo Queen in 2019. “That sparked my interest in everything else,” she said.

“I’ve always ridden horses. I would trail ride with my parents,” said Fisher, who hopes to work as a professional horse trainer in the near future.

For the present, she’s working with Zella, who lives on Fisher’s boyfriend Ryan Crawford’s parents’ farm on Benbrook Road along with four other horses, a mini-horse and a donkey.

Zella’s a bit of a mystery, Fisher admits. She came from Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue in Huntington, W.Va.

“I was told she was an Arabian/draft cross, but I think she is an Arabian/Tennessee cross,” said Fisher. “She doesn’t look anything like a draft horse.”

Fisher said Zella’s history is also a mystery. “I don’t know her full story. I don’t know if she was a surrender or an abuse case,” she said.

“She has some quirks,” she said. “She doesn’t like to be tied. She wants to be in charge. She doesn’t want anybody in charge of her.”

Fisher said she also has the feeling Zella was alone for a lot of her life. She has fit in well with the other horses on the farm especially Luna, a 3-year-old quarter horse Fisher is training to be a show horse.

“She gets separation anxiety. She doesn’t want to be away from them,”said Fisher.

Zella and all her behavioral tics came into Fisher’s life because of Brianna King, whom Fisher met at the feed store where Fisher worked and King was a customer. King had taken on a Heart of Phoenix horse earlier.

“I talked to her at the beginning of the year. She said it was a good experience,” said Fisher.

“I knew her because I was rodeo queen, too, and I saw her in Agway where I bought my feed,” said King, who runs the Shooting Star Ranch in Center Township where she has five of her own horses and boards and trains another six.

King had trained a Heart of Phoenix rescue horse last year and has another one this year. She said Fisher had called her for advice when Zella developed a skin condition.

Earlier this year, Fisher went on the website and filled out a lengthy application to adopt a horse for a 100-day period.

She drove to Winfield, W.Va., horse trailer in tow, to a horse show park where the center’s rescue horses were put through their paces in the show ring.

“Some were feral and some were not completely unbroken but needed to be shown who was boss,” said Fisher of the 45 horses on offer.

The rescue center set up the training program to make the horses it cares for more attractive for permanent adoption.

“Their goal is my goal,” said Fisher. “It’s to make sure she won’t hurt anybody if she is adopted out. No one wants a feral horse. ”

Fisher works 90 minutes a day with Zella. There is teaching her to walk, trot and canter and respond to back up and whoa.

“A lot of it is getting to pay attention to me,” said Fisher. “Initially she was very anxious, but now she enjoys humans.

“The favorite part of her life is getting a bath. She could stand there for days if you put a hose on her. She loves that,” said Fisher.

Along with Zella’s training, FIsher is responsible for the horse’s expenses. Zella eats 6 pounds of grain a day and recently racked up veterinarian bills from a skin infection.

Fisher relies on sponsors to help pay some of the costs. For instance, Zella is on a feed trial run by Purina Feed which helps keep costs down.

Fisher said Zella is showing progress. “She’s got the walk down. Her canter needs work. It’s hard to get her to slow down and focus.

“She’s got some habits that people let her get by with. She hates to be tied,” Fisher said, adding whoever had Zella before neglected her teeth as well.

Zella’s training won’t just benefit the horse. Fisher and Zella will be attending a horse and ranch show in Harlansburg, Lawrence County on Aug. 13 and 14 which will be an opportunity for Fisher to network with other horse trainers and see how Zella interacts with other horses.

“Eventually I want to be a horse trainer full time. That’s what I would like to see in my future,” she said.

Later next month, they will travel back to Winfield, W.Va., for the Appalachian Trainer Face-Off where the rescue horses will compete against each other. It will be followed by an auction from rescue center-approved bidders where they hope Zella will find a permanent home.