Wow, I'm thrilled with him. He's actually a KWPN, just like Jazz and he shares two of Jazz's relatives, a grand parent and a great grandparent. This is his father:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvWEidrnryc&feature=related
Best news of all is that he is heel first landing and he is sound except for being footie on stones, which we can soon cure. His history is that he went unsound, very slightly, every time he was shod and every time the farrier trimmed off the flares that he grows on all four of his feet. Like Tommy Cooper said " Doctor, I broke my arm in two places" - "well, don't go to those places then!"
I would be very surprised, seeing how easily he is moving in the field with the other two, if we cannot keep him sound without shoes on if we allow him to grow the wonky feet that he wants to have and keep him in constant work to keep the feet right and the tendons and ligaments unstuck. His owner was smashing and says to chuck a saddle on and ride him and he will be fine (after a year without being ridden :-) So I will probably be doing that tomorrow for ten minutes.
Meanwhile Ace is being a nuisance trying to keep Windy and Radar apart, but things are relatively settled and I am hoping that we don't get any real trouble.
Windy is so very, very much like Jazz that I keep doing a double take. He is about 3 inches shorter, but exactly the same markings apart from one side of his face, which has more white.
He was bought after being imported unbroken at 4 and his owner broke him and took him showjumping. After some time she began to feel that he was not right on corners and after nerve blocks and x rays the diagnosis was "unbalanced feet". He was not insured so an MRI at £1,000 was ruled out, but the assumption was that since the xrays were clear, that he had soft tissue injuries at that point. He came sound whenever he was rested and went off again when brought back into work with shoes on. Eventually she decided to retire him as a light hack/companion and leased him to a girl who was not what she seemed. Within days, this girl had sold him and that sale is the subject of an ongoing criminal prosecution, so I can say no more about it.
Thankfully, the new owners looked after him extremely well. The original owner was told that he had been put down due to being impossibly difficult to manage (he's a teddy bear!!!) Then she spotted a photo of him in a posting that the girl made and realised that he was not dead, and through contacts on that forum managed to find him.
By this time, the new owners were investigating his lameness, which had returned, and when they heard his full history they gave him back to her. He has been turned out with her young stock for the last year since she got him back.
Her personal circumstances mean that she cannot keep him, and lucky old me gets a KWPN with the sweetest temperament and incredible breeding for free. What did I do right in a previous life, eh?
More on his progress tomorrow.
C
What you did right was give Jazz all the love and dedication he deserved, despite his difficult temperament. Now, you are rewarded with a new version of him to cherish in his memory.
ReplyDeleteWindy sounds lovely. Glad to hear such a good prognosis on his feet. I know you are going to be able to fix this.
Can't wait to hear how the first ride goes. And to think, he jumps!
The little herd should settle down sooner than later. My theory is that as long as the horses are well cared for and well fed, rivalries usually diminish to a trickle and the herd hierarchy gets sorted out.
Windy has never done dressage in his life, Jean. I am looking forward to seeing how he takes to it, and already plan to take him on the first Beginners hunt that he is fit enough to do. What fun!
ReplyDeleteLike you, I believe that if they have enough food they won't scrap over it, so there is haylage in the barn and they can go out into the field if they want grass on top of that.
C
The sale and the subsequent prosecution have some similarities to a case we know quite well.
ReplyDeleteThis is exciting and how interesting that he and Jazz share some ancestors. Once you ride him you may find more than just ancestors in common.
Don't they ML! There are some evil people in the horse world!!
ReplyDeleteC