Crosswinds Equine Rescue

ARRIVED	Arrived December 2011
ADOPTABILITY	Available, details below
SPONSORSHIP: (Details below)	FEED: needs a sponsor MEDICAL: need a sponsor
BREED/AGE	9 year old (2002 model) Registered Arabian (classic Egyptian breeding!! see pegidree below) gelding, 14.2hh, approximately 1000 lbs.
Skills/Training "Report Card"
Overall Health: B	Ali arrived in December 2011 in good physical condition. We are told Ali has extensive trail experience, possibly trained for endurance, with no known prior health issues. In his intake examination, Ali was found to have severe dental issues which will require multiple dental treatments to properly resolve. He received the first dental treatment on 12/24/11, and great progress was made. Ali's front teeth were badly misworn due in part to a rear molar that had been badly worn for a long period of time. It seems very unlikely that Ali has had any dental care in the last multiple years. His molars are in better shape now, and his front teeth balanced better than expected for a first float, but will certainly need one or two additional floats over the next year to regain normal shape. Ali is a solid build, in good physical condition, at a good weight. He needs to properly develop top line muscle and particularly learn to use his hindquarters to push and drive himself, rather than pulling with his front end. He has a severely overdeveloped lower neck muscle, likely from pulling against a tie down, in his riding past.
Ground Manners: B	When Ali arrived in December 2011, he was mildly difficult to manage on the ground. He was not frightened by his new surroundings, but all of his attention was on the fragile filly that arrived with him, Veil. As Veil improved, Ali too has settled and improved dramatically. Ali clearly had a solid start in his life at one time. On a leadrope, he is a show-arena ready gentleman with perfect position, a square stance, an easy stretch. 12/25/11 update! Ali will lead to Cheveyo's barn to the vet areas and indoor training space, without a leadrope, with little difficulty (on a lead he is a perfect gentleman unless startled). He is handled by an intermediate level horseman, with and without lead, but is not yet ready to be handled by beginners.
Basic Riding Skills: C-	We have no credible information on what riding training Ali has. We have read online that he had extensive trail experience, and were told by another source that he had endurance experience. Ali has an ENORMOUS lower neck muscle, almost certainly from straining against a tie down while being ridden, and also potentially from being ridden by a rider significantly too heavy for him at the level of fitness he carried at the time of the rides. We have briefly, lightly worked Ali in driving lines, to get a feel for his basic bridle skills. He halts, turns, and handles fairly fine turns, etc., off the bridle -- an indication that he likely DOES have significant riding experience. Sadly, he also rails against his bit, sometimes reaching his nose to or even above horizontal, even with minimal to no rein pressure. Ali is nearly panicked about having a surcingle put on -- clear indication that he is frightened to be saddled. He isn't mean, just worried. Because of the issues listed above, and per our vet's recommendation, Ali will have no further pre-riding work done for the next 60-90 days. We will focus upon letting Ali rebuild his own muscle tone naturally in our pastures, and will focus in the round pen on trust building exercises and de-spooking.
Ideal Career	At this time, we do believe that endurance, competitive trail, trail partner, gaming, and similar work would be what Ali's ideal career will be. He is surefooted and has solid energy, even when out of shape. Our vet concurs that nothing is irrepairable for Ali; it is simply going to take time and proper fitness training to resolve Ali's challenges. Ali is a VERY well bred Egyptian arabian. We are told he would be eligible to sohw in Egyptian Events and all breed venues; bloodlines lean toward English/Hunter pleasure and endurance. His Grandsiers -- Thee Desperado & Ruminaja Ali are 2 leading Straight Egyptians of all time. Ruminaja Ali even has 2 new foals in 2011 from frozen semen.
Stall Manners B+	Upon arrival, Ali was VERY nervous with our process. He was nervous about coming into our barn, antsy when a stall door closed, and panicked if his friends' door opened before his -- he was concerned that something would happen to Veil, that one of them would be left behind. In about 10 days, he settled comfortably into our feeding routine, usually putting himself in a stall without needing help, eating calmly, waiting easily to go out and usually walking respectfully, without leadrope, to the pasture. 12/25/11: Now, he is calm in the stall, and is getting comfortable with grooming and visiting with guests. Already, Ali has settled down and is no longer stressed in a search for Veil, although she is actually more settled than he is. He frequently comes in to eat with or without them; goes in and out of the barn with or without them by his side, with little stress or fuss. If either of them is yelling, he will still show concern and answer eagerly, dancing nervously until he assures she is well. Ali has very likely lived in a stalled boarding type situation previously, and once settled, would fit easily into that type of routine.
Trailering Skills: C	Ali showed mild fear regarding loading, but with Val aboard, he settled and loaded, then screamed worriedly for Veil. He was nervous on the ride but not at all unsafe. He was extremely nervous about unloading and boardlined panicked until Veil was calmed. Once Ali's other skills are settled, we will work through trailer trainng as we do all our horses.
Companionship / Pasture Manners A	Ali arrived at CWER in 12/11 mildly nervous and afraid. He allowed Val to make all the decisions and kept vigil over Veil at all times. Initially, Ali was very submissive to the rest of our herd -- mostly staying more than 100 yards away even at feeding times - but as his friends are settling into the routine, Ali is coming into his own, particularly going off away from Val -- and starting to show some connection with Prince and Jack, other geldings in the pasture. He and Veil have settled into "the Arabian band", visiting and playing with Twiggy and little Magic regularly within the herd.
Manageability for Routine and Medical Care A	Ali is very well behaved for the vet, including mulitple injections during his dentistry. We have not yet tried significant farrier care.
Adoption Terms	Ali's adoption fee is currently set at $800, with a $100 discount to an adopter who contracts for him by 1/31/12, and includes the option of him remaining at CWER until at least 2/15/2012 at no extra cost -- to allow him to continue to rehab his muscle structure on his own in our rolling hills. Ali definitely needs an upper intermediate or advanced level rider at this point. At this time, we would require Ali's adopter to be an experienced trainer or to work with an experienced trainer (that we speak with in advance), to move him forward back to riding work in early Spring or later. If Ali remains here and is ready to ride again prior to his adoption, then this requirement would be removed. A FOSTER THROUGH SUMMER 2012 WOULD ALSO BE A NICE OPTION FOR Ali. EMAIL FOR DETAILS. As Alis training time increases (and his time here), so too will both the costs we've incurred and also his value -- and thus his 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: Ali is a classic arabian with a huge, interesting "blood mark" shape across his entire left ribcage. He looks and moves like the best bred of Arabians when he is at liberty, and with time and proper retraining will almost certainly be able to show that same type of natural motion and comfort with properly fitted tack and rider.

We can't comment on exactly what happened to Ali in his 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 - Val and Veil. 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.

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

December 2011: Ali arrived at CWER, donated to us by a Sheriff's office in Kansas, after animal control had provided care for the horses for some period of time. We are told Ali has extensive saddle experience, but exactly what that is or the level and skill of the riders is very unclear and information provided inconsistent. We will begin by solving Ali's fitness challenges, and work to retrain his body to use his hindquarters and his powerful "engine" to carry himself well at liberty before considering any riding work whatsoever for Ali.

He also needs a medical sponsor. His initial intake vet exam plus power float was $175.

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 Ali is important, please consider donating. Even a one-time donation of $5 helps.

Long ago on the sands of a great desert lived a Bedouin chieftain by the name of Ahmed and his tribe. In the tents of Ahmed was his most prized possession, a beautiful grey mare who was renowned throughout the desert as the fleetest and most beautiful horse in the world. Many people coveted the mare, and kings and chieftains had tried to acquire her, but Ahmed could not be persuaded to part with his beloved mare.

Ahmed decided to breed his mare, and searched the desert for a suitable mate for her. After a time, the mare was bred to the premier stallion in the Sultan's stable. Months went by and the time for the mare to foal grew near.

Riding across the desert one day, several miles from his tents, Ahmed was seen by a group of robber Bedouins. Fearing that he would lose his beloved mare as well as his life, Ahmed turned and raced toward his tents, knowing in his heart that the mare, heavy in foal, could never out-distance the bandits. The mare seemed to realize that she was running for her master's life, and slowly, very slowly, she began to gain ground on her pursuers. Shots rang out and bullets peppered the sand around them as the distance gradually widened.

They were almost out of rifle range when at last a shot rang out. A bullet pierced Ahmed's heart, and he fell forward over the neck of his beloved mare. The mare never slackened her stride, and carried her master back to his tents on their final ride together.

Ahmed's people gathered around the mare and removed his lifeless body from her back. Down one of her shoulders, his blood had dried a nasty brown in the desert heat. There the mark remained, for no one could remove it.

That night in the tent of her dead master, the mare foaled. The foal was acclaimed by all as a perfect specimen of the Arabian breed, and on his shoulder was the same rusty red mark that his dam bore.

And so it came to pass that every great horse descended from that mare carried the mark of the bloody shoulder, and it was a thing greatly prized in the desert.

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