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               LUKE        

(click to enlarge pictures)

Erastus Luke's Laddie, "LUKE", a 3-year old registered Clydesdale (left photo above is his former-Budweiser-daddy)  came to Crosswinds in June 2003 along with Diego and Hagrid.

Luke is an unusual case, and not a typical rescue. Luke has never been mistreated or manhandled in his life; he was just in a bad place at a bad time. His owners, a kindly older couple, had purchased him at the annual Clydesdale horse auction, and when they chose to sell him (a 3 year old Clyde can be intimidating, no matter how gentle!), they took him to another sale, but this time to a low end auction which has numerous draft horses going to slaughter each month. The owners were aware of what was going on around them, and refused to sell Luke to a horse trader, and no saled his auction in the ring. Mike spoke to them afterwards, and they agreed to sell this gentle giant to Crosswinds, for us to complete his saddle training and find him a good home as a riding horse.

Luke, while just 3 and still clumsy and growing, is an amazing riding mount. He has been on 4+ hour orienteering rides (scavenger hunt on horseback) through all sorts of terrain, regularly gives riding lessons, has done light jumping (which he LOVES!) and, as you can see in two photos above, can even be ridden bridle-less with the help of his trainer. He is sweet, inquisitive, gentle, and overall amazing. We are anxious to place Luke into a good home where he can continue to learn and grow, and do great things for a rider.

11/03 update, LUKE ADOPTED!: Luke met what is now his new mom, in mid-November. Luanne and Luke spent about an hour together, including "trail riding" in our country fields, and they made the best of friends. Luanne is an experienced horsewoman who owned her last two horses essentially all of their lives, and currently owns another riding Clydesdale. Luke moved to his new home happily on 11/23/03!

12/03 update from Luke's new home:  Luke has really settled in well with the rest of the horses.  In fact, he has become one of the bosses of the herd.  He has put on some weight, which I like to see for the winter.  He and Tucker have become good buddies, which is really nice in case I ever move to another place or get one of my own.  I haven’t had a chance to do any trail riding yet.  They allow hunting in the park, and the equestrian trails were closed until this weekend.  I am hoping that next weekend I can get a group up to go out.  I have done some riding around the property, and Luke has done really well for me.

12/03 update from Luke's new home (top right 2 photos are from Luke's new home): Luke has really settled in well with the rest of the horses.  In fact, he has become one of the bosses of the herd.  He has put on some weight, which I like to see for the winter.  He and Tucker have become good buddies, which is really nice in case I ever move to another place or get one of my own.  I haven’t had a chance to do any trail riding yet.  They allow hunting in the park, and the equestrian trails were closed until this weekend.  I am hoping that next weekend I can get a group up to go out.  I have done some riding around the property, and Luke has done really well for me.