Harper Storck and her family are the proud owners of an Appaloosa horse. His registered name is Ghostdance Vader, but they call him Batman. The 3.5-year-old horse was originally with a family in Southern Kentucky who realized they had too many horses and not enough time or pasture space. The Storcks bought him in October 2023 and are currently boarding him at Aspiring Heights Equestrian in Crestwood.  

 

In the few months with him so far, they have learned that Batman has many personality traits! They love that he is sociable, curious, sweet, occasionally stubborn, and sometimes just plain goofy. The family thinks he's like an 800-pound puppy...he is still learning what is acceptable behavior and he will definitely test the boundaries. “We also love that he is an Appaloosa with only one spot. We've considered nicknaming him Uno,” the Storcks told us. 

 

Batman is what you would call a green-broke horse which is a young or inexperienced horse that's been minimally started under saddle. He will need time, training, and patience to learn cues and expectations, eventually becoming a well-trained horse. Harper’s mom Rebecca says, “We spend a lot of our time at the barn doing groundwork, grooming and feeding him, and working on manners and expectations. Now that the weather is getting nicer, we have started riding/teaching him basics under saddle. Soon he will go to a professional trainer for 30 days to give him a good foundation that we can then build on.” 

 

Batman seems to enjoy spending time with the family. When he sees them come to visit, he makes sure to greet them and come say hello. Although, they aren’t sure if he’s genuinely happy to see them or if he's just excited because he knows he's going to be fed! His all-time favorite thing to do is eat. He LOVES to eat! Batman enjoys any type of horse treat including carrots, peppermints, and homemade horse cookies. He does, however, have an uncanny ability to drop half of his food onto the ground while eating. Besides eating, his hobbies include walking around the farm exploring, sniffing/meeting other horses, and being groomed.