Crosswinds Equine Rescue

RRIVED	August 2009
ADOPTABILITY	available to adopt! see details below.
SPONSORSHIP: (Details below)	FEED: needs a sponsor! MEDICAL: needs a sponsor!
BREED/AGE	OLDER (estimate 24) year old arabian mare, extensive trail riding experience
Skills/Training "Report Card"
Overall Health: A	Ruthie is in great health for being a 'senior' mare, who easily eats Equine Senior feed and grazes on fresh grass or hay. She has never been unsound that we know of, and her former owner had her for many years. She arrived with a dental issue that was causing her to lose weight. We had extensive dental work done ($200+!) in December 09, and she has been gaining weight steadily.
Ground Manners: A-	Ruthie is easy to lead, and goes where she is asked, but can be mildly cranky about it. As she continues to gain weight, Ruthie is showing a bit more attitude and a bit more of an opinion of what she wants to do with her time. However, when asked, she goes where told, and is easy to manage.
Basic Riding Skills: A (click photos/this link to see these enlarged and more shots of Ruthie riding!)	We used to thinks that she was 'semi retired' and needs an easy life doing light duty riding or leadline. We fels sure that she would very likely really LOVE to go trailriding at Middle Fork, and would simply need to be allowed to work up to a fitness level to do so -- and -- come spring 2010, she did! (enjoy her YouTube riding video, spring 2010!!) We know that Ruthie's family used to do a lot of trail work with her; however, we did not ride her until early spring 2010. We know that she has ridden with smaller children, and in winter 2009, when used here to do leadline rides for a younger boy, she did well. May 2010, we rode Ruthie, with a regular rider, not leadline. She was so happy to be outside and riding! It was wonderful to see her having such fun, and peppy and full of 'go'. Ruthie stood perfectly to be mounted, and walked off when asked. Ruthie easily rode away from the barn, alone, in a large open space without fences. She was happy and energetic, but not excited or difficult to manage. Ruthie trotted easily in the tall grass, and when she asked permission to canter a short distance up hill, we allowed her to do so, which she did smoothly, easily, and with obvious pride. Ruthie steered easily, and went away from the barn and her friends each time with minimal argument. Ruthie halted with ease, but did not have to be pushed to keep going until asked to stop. Ruthie would not be ideal for a new rider's first time off a leadline, at least not in a large open space without fences, as she was happy to speed up to a trot and even a canter without a lot of prodding from her rider. She may be a senior, but she isn't lazy! Ruthie responded politely and well to leg pressure, both to bend and to accelerate, and worked easily in a "Happy Mouth" rubber-type snaffle bit, with easy turning and great brakes. (click photos/this link to see these enlarged and more shots of Ruthie riding!)
Ideal Career	Ruthie is a darling older mare who loves to ride. Now that she is up to weight and riding, we believe even more so that she would do wonderful with another home like her last -- pre-teen age children with some prior riding experience. Ruthie has also been ridden by some older, more mature riders here, and seems to really take to working with an older adult, being easy if the rider wishes and speeding up if the rider convinces her the rider is capable of handling doing so. Ruthie also loves being with our coming-yearling, Sasha, and would very likely make a great nanny for orphans and weanlings.
Stall Manners A	Ruthie is comfortable and well mannered when stalled, and often not in a hurry to go back to pasture.
Trailering Skills: A++	Ruthie LOVES trailer rides! She put herself on the trailer when picked up to come to CWER.
Companionship / Pasture Manners B	Fall 2009: Ruthie is pretty much a "loner" in the pasture, keeping her distance from the other horses much of the time. She will not fight for her food, so in winter we make sure there is hay set in separate spots so she eats. She doesn't like to be pastured alone or left completely alone, but in our large pasture she is usually off on her own. May 2010 update: Ruthie has made friends with the coming yearling, Sasha, and they spend a lot of time together, off on their own. She and Sasha groom each other regularly, stand guard for each other for their mid afternoon sunbathing and naps, and generally have fun together. We believe Ruthie would likely make a great "nanny" for orphans or nurse maid foals.
Manageability for Routine and Medical Care A+	Ruthie was GREAT for her dental work; is easy to worm, and doesn't mind needles. She has been very easy to manage for basic farrier care.
Adoption Terms	RUTHIE deserves to be allowed an easy life without a lot of pressures in her world; however, Ruthie has not enjoyed being 'completely retired' either, and was distant, even depressed until she found a 'job' as nanny to little Sasha. And then, she perked up far more, when we started doing short, easy rides in English tack outside in the sun! If someone is interested in Ruthie strictly as a companion animal -- ideally as a nanny to foals and weanlings or another older horse, we would consider that option for her, but would prefer a home where she gets to do light riding and has regular attention. Ruthie's adoption fee is $250. Please contact Mike at 217- 649 - 7915 for details. Please see our AdoptionQnA pages for details of how to adopt.
Overview:	Ruthie and Butter's family had long term health emergencies that made is to they could no longer give the 2 mares the level of attention they needed, so both were donated to CWER. Ruthie's family had owned her for many years, and she has extensive trail riding experience with the family.
Winter 09/10 update:	Ruthie has reached a reasonable weight, and we did a bit of leadline work with her. She did well and had great manners, but didn't seem to perk up and enjoy it as we had hoped. Perhaps the cold winter weather was making her stiff or uncomfortable, we can't know. She still did a great job, she just didn't respond as happily as we'd hoped.
May 2010 update:	Ruthie had her first 'real' ride since coming to CWER today! We did a few minutes in the indoor arena, and Ruthie had great manners and rode easily, but was her usual "yeah whatever" personality, not the upbeat response we'd hoped for, from the notes from her former owner saying how much she was excited to see her saddle and to ride with her girls. Wanting to get some nice photos, we took Ruthie outside to ride -- and she was a different horse, instantly! Her ears were forward, a spring to her step, her good manners now matched a good attitude, and we walked, then trotted, and even cantered a few short stretches together (at her request, and obvious joy when doing so). NOTE: Ruthie's rider in these photos is 5'5 and 135 lbs, in a standard spring tree (normal width, not pony or quarter horse sized). A rider taller than about 5'7 or 5'8 would likely very awkward on her smaller frame, and our educated guess would be that a rider of 150 lbs would be the max rider weight, with a lighter saddle (not a huge, heavy western leather/wood tree saddle), that would be comfortable for Ruthie, assuming she is doing more than just short, simple rides. (enjoy her YouTube riding video, spring 2010!!) click photos/this link to see these enlarged and more shots of Ruthie riding!)

Sponsorship: She now needs a feed sponsor. The feed sponsor donates to cover the cost of her feed monthly -- $100 per month at this time, as she is eating Equine Senior at the rate of approximately 7 lbs per day or 4 bags per month at $24 per bag.

She also needs a medical sponsor. The initial vet intake plus dental work cost approximately $200.

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