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Lil' D arrived a weanling halflinger stud colt who would have gone to slaughter at the Arthur auction, had we not outbid the meat buyer. Although adorable and appearing healthy, he was a stud colt and with winter weather, families weren't buying babies. We rescued him and brought him to CWER, where he got current on his vaccinations and, once we realized how thin he was under all that winter coat, gradually got him safely up to weight.

Lil D is an adorable little fellow who looks a lot like Diego, a fabulous Belgian gelding we rescued some years ago. D is named out of respect for that gentle giant. As a halflinger, he will look a lot like a Belgian, but significantly shorter.

Halflingers are notoriously a versatile breed, and make great driving and riding 'heavy ponies' or 'draft ponies'. We've truly enjoyed helping D find his way out of his timidness and fears, and look forward to watching Tory train this young man to a wonderful future.

Lil D is now fit, healthy, and a joy to be around. He loves people and is playful with his pasture mates. He is good for the vet and farrier, loads on a trailer well, and is just a great little guy. We can't wait for him to have a great forever home!

He was scheduled to geld end of August, but he's not matured enough yet to be "fixed". Our vet suspects it may be spring of '08 or even later before he's ready.

History:  

Already, Lil D loads nicely onto the trailer. He is easily haltered, and leads and ties very nicely. He arrived very timid, but is quickly learning to like being groomed, but is a little timid about his face.

He has exceptional pasture manners, and found his way among our herd in record time, and with almost no 'fuss' at all.

March 2007 update: Lil D is doing fabulously! He was not healthy enough to geld in February, so that has been delayed. They were worried because he was slightly anemic, had not yet been completely dewormed (he was about half way through the process), and was still significantly underweight. 

Lil D has found his way out of his shell!! He is bright eyed, eager, playful, and exceptionally friendly. He now understands what treats are, and is VERY eager to receive his fair share! He LOVES carrots and even figured out apples. He's a playful little guy, both with other horses and with people. He's quite smart, and likes to explore new things. He now ties perfectly, loads nicely, easily allows his feet to be cleaned, and is learning to allow trimming as well. EVERYONE who meets this little fellow falls in love!

April 2007 update: Lil D continues to do great. He recently poked himself in the eye (likely a tree branch?), and we're treating that wound. Otherwise, he is learning slowly about fly spray, and soon will be learning about baths. D is fit and healthy, at a nice weight and growing at a safe rate.

June 2007 update: Sadly, due to her health, Steph is not able to adopt Lil D. We will begin immediately looking for a similarly wonderful long term home. He's learned to stand perfectly for flyspray, is good about his fly mask, and very good with his feet. He barely notices getting shots, and is good for deworming.

Sept 07 update: D is doing fabulous! Unfortunately, he is still not ready to geld. His overall health is fine, but his young body hasn't matured enough to be 'fixed' without doing significant surgery, so we will be waiting to geld him. However, he is now acting 'studdish', and so must be separated from the mares. We had a family interested in adopting him, but they cannot take him until he is gelded and so they suggested we again list him as available, incase someone else can manage him as a stud colt or choose to spend the money for a crypt gelding surgery.

November 07 update: Dee still has only one dropped testes. We're trying an acupuncture technique designed to get the muscles to release. Three treatments of approximately $100 each are needed to try to avoid surgery which would cost at least $1000. Until we can get him gelded, he must be kept separated from all the mares to avoid the risk of him impregnating one of them.

March 2008 update -- Great news!! Lil Dee has been fostered all winter with Mary and her horse Darby, and doing great. We're now just waiting for his adoption contract to arrive, and Dee will officially have his forever home! Dee will be coming back to us for at least basic riding training once the vets say he's ready.