Crosswinds Equine Rescue

ARRIVED	Arrived December 2011
ADOPTABILITY	FOSTERED 1/1/13; Available, details below
SPONSORSHIP: (Details below)	FEED: needs a sponsor MEDICAL: need a sponsor
BREED/AGE	5 year old (2008 model) Arabian/Quarter Horse cross mare, measured 14.0hh, approx 750 lbs.
Skills/Training "Report Card"
Overall Health: B+	Veil arrived in December 2011 in good physical condition. We believe Veil has been malnourished at least twice in her young life, but do not have extensive specifics on either situation. We are told Veil had a stitched puncture wound to one foreleg previously, which is well healed and barely any scar is visible. In her intake examination, Veil received mild chiropractic adjustment to both her hips where she was very stiff and sore. Her teeth confirmed she is 3 years old, having recently lost a baby tooth cap as her adult teeth are erupting/erupted. Veil was EXCEPTIONALLY well behaved for the vet; she seemed to sense that Dr. Jennifer Miller was only looking to help her. Veil does not appear to be finished growing in height or particularly in breadth and solid/width of chest. We anticipate her gaining at least 1-2 inches of height and filling out significantly across her chest. As some arabian lines and many quarter horse lines don't finish growing until age 5 even when properly nourished, it isn't unusual for Veil to still be growing at this time. 12/1/12 update: Veil is a solid 14.0hh, broadening in chest and body, and our vet has cleared her to train to ride. She may get wider and more solid, but we don't anticipate her getting any taller.
Ground Manners: A-	When Veil arrived in December 2011, she was very difficult to manage on the ground. She was overwhelmed by new surroundings, timid and frightened despite a very gentle hand here and also quality care from the facility where we she was staying prior to our arrival. Veil would run backward and show obvious fear at even simple requests to lead forward. 12/25/11 update! Veil is now leading on a lead rope with little fuss in most circumstances. She will lead on a lead rope into and out of the pony barn where she gets her meals, not only going to pasture -- with or without one of her friends as 'lead horse'; Veil will also lead to Cheveyo's barn to the vet areas and indoor training space. She still balks at times, and still requires an experienced handler on the ground in case she gets frightened. 12/1/12 update: Veil is now easily managed on a lead in nearly all circumstances, and nearly always leads with ease by halter alone.
Basic Riding Skills: NA	We have no credible information on whether or what riding training Veil has. As we do with nearly all horses, we will assume she has no knowledge whatsoever, and gradually work her through our training program as if she's never been handled whatsoever.
Ideal Career	At this time, we cannot be sure what Veil's ideal career will be. Our vet suspects that Veil was bred to be an arabian reiner, based upon her structure and build. We were pleased to find her level headed even when nervous, curious and inquisitive, wants desperately to trust you and to earn your trust. Until she is in steady work, we cannot guess at a fitting long term career. Watching her play at pasture, she is quick footed and sure footed, and may enjoy thinking tasks such as reining or cattle, gaming or endurance. She also is quieter than we might have anticipated from her initial state at arrival, so she may settle to be more of a trail rider, western pleasure type of personality. Only time will tell.
Stall Manners B+	Upon arrival, Veil was VERY nervous with our process. She was nervous about coming into our barn, antsy when a stall door closed, and panicked if her friends' door opened before hers. In about 10 days, she settled comfortably into our feeding routine, putting herself in a stall without needing help, eating calmly, waiting easily to go out and usually walking like a lady to the pasture. 12/25/11: Now, she is calm in the stall, and enjoys grooming and visiting with guests. Already, Veil has settled down and is no longer stressed for Val and Ali. She frequently comes in to eat with or without them; goes in and out of the barn with or without them by her side, with little stress or fuss. If either of them is yelling, she will still show concern and answer eagerly. She generally shows less interest in Ali's behavior and welfare than he shows for hers! She would not be ready to go to a stall boarding home without some additional adjustment time to get used to staying in a stall for hours at a time. 12/1/12 update: Veil spent spring 2012 on foster with a CWER supporter who simply wanted to enjoy some time with this gorgeous mare although she knew she could not adopt her, and give Veil some additional experiences. Veil was easily boarded and did VERY well in those conditions, stalled nightly. She also learned to lunge with a caveson.
Trailering Skills: B	Veil showed extreme fear regarding loading, but with her friends aboard, she settled and loaded. She was nervous on the ride but not unsafe. She was extremely nervous about unloading and boardlined panicked until Ali unloaded as well. Once Veil's other skills are settled, we will work through trailer trainng as we do all our horses. 12/1/12: Veil now loads easily, is mildly nervous until the trailer is moving, travels well but again mildly nervous, and prefers to reverse inside the 3-horse slant rather than backing down.
Companionship / Pasture Manners A	Veil arrived at CWER in 12/11 extremely nervous and afraid. She allowed Val to make all the decisions and clung to Ali's side at all times. Initially, Veil was very submissive to the rest of our herd -- mostly staying more than 100 yards away even at feeding times - but as her friends are settling into the routine, Veil is coming into her own, particularly going off to play with the recovering starvation cases Magic & Twiggy. 12/25/11: Veil is no longer attached to Ali or Val. She and Ali have settled into "the Arabian band", visiting and playing with Twiggy and little Magic regularly within the herd.
Manageability for Routine and Medical Care B	Veil is managable but unhappy and shows fear/nerves with needles. We have not yet tried significant farrier care. We were incredibly pleasantly surprised at how well Veil did for her intake physical and particularly for the light chiropractic care she received. she was clearly thankful at how gentle Dr Jennifer Miller was with her, and at the relief from her chiropractic adjustments.
Adoption Terms	Veil's adoption fee is currently set at $600, with a $200 discount to an adopter who contracts for her by 1/31/12. Veil is absolutely NOT approved for any significant training work of any sort until Spring 2012, as she is being allowed to continue to grow and mature and heal, mentally and physically. It seems likely she would not be ready for significant pre-riding training until fall 2012. A FOSTER THROUGH SPRING 2013 WOULD ALSO BE A NICE OPTION FOR VEIL. EMAIL FOR DETAILS. As Veils training time increases (and her time here), so too will both the costs we've incurred and also her value -- and thus her adoption fees. We do offer payment plans for the right adopter and also we are able to offer transportation at a reasonable price for up to 5 hours travel one way from CWER. visit our adoption QnA page for details on how to adopt.

Overview: Veil is as petite as Valiant is huge. She is a sweet, gentle little arabian cross mare who wants desperately to have someone to love and trust in her life.

We can't comment on exactly what happened to Veil in her past; however, in fall 2011, we were given the opportunity to accept ownership back of Valiant, through a Kansas sherriff's office, along with his 2 pasture companions - Veil and Ali. The owner had released ownership to the sherriff, after the horses' had apparently been in the sherriff's possession for an extended period of time. All 3 horses had clearly received quality care during that time period, and all 3 were in good overall health upon our accepting ownership and bringing them here to CWER. We cannot say a big enough THANK YOU to the sherriff's office for their concern for these horses, for reaching out to us about them, and giving us the chance to help them find great futures.

Veil has settled well at CWER, and is easing into our simple low stress ground manners training steps.

December 2011: Veil arrived at CWER. Upon arrival, she was nearly impossible to lead, and showed extreme fear of strangers and nearly every situation. She was paralyzingly attached to Ali and Val, her companions from her past owner to the Sheriff's board situation to CWER. Quickly she realized that we would not put a lot of pressure on her here, and she began to settle into our daily routines which included attention, good grain, quality grass and hay, and signs that here she could find people she could trust.

She also needs a medical sponsor. Her initial intake vet exam plus chiropractic work is $125.

PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING TOWARD THE PICK UP COSTS...We spent approximately $700 on fuel, hotel, overall travel costs to drive to Kansas to recover these 3 horses in need.

If you feel the work we do with horses like Veil is important, please consider donating. Even a one-time donation of $5 helps.

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