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        SAMPSON   

Sampson is a 4 year old draft cross with the incredible stretching, floating, "hang time" trot of a dressage champion! Sampson was graciously donated to Crosswinds by Brenda Durham. Brenda rescued Sampson from a bad situation, gave him a home and great care. Sampson has come to Crosswinds for saddle training, to get past the last of his challenges, and to work toward finding a new home.

Sampson shown here on his first two days at Crosswinds....getting used to his new pasture, completing a "joinup"-style training session with AnnMarie, then Mike, then a trusted and invaluable volunteer, Steve Downey. Tory came into the pasture and Sampson responded by turning his head, ears up, and walking directly to her! The hug shown above was within just minutes of his arrival.

On day two, Sampson was groomed, his hooves cleaned, and saddled, all without incident. Upon doing some basic ground-reining work, however, it became clear that Sampson suffers from some sort of issues with his mouth and is panicked at any real rein contact. Only time will tell how significant this issue is for Sampson.

On day 5, Sam met Glynis, another invaluable volunteer, and for both it was love at first sight! Now that he has had his teeth floated, Sam's new mom is looking forward to being involved in his saddle training and preparing him for his new life!

10/03 update: Sam had his teeth floated this past week, where the vet confirmed our suspicions that the big guy is actually roughly 10 years old, not 4. On 10/28/03, Sam was saddled for the second time at Crosswinds. And, without a loose wolf tooth and terrible sharp edges cutting the inside of his mouth, Sam responded nicely to the reins and is ready to begin his riding training!

11/1/03 update: Sam's feet were professionally trimmed today be well-known barefoot specialist, Rick Burten. We'll let the photos do the talking....these 3 pictures are Sam's 2 back feet, one trimmed and one not, and then one front hoof, before and after trimming. Even these do not do justice to how flared, cracked, chipped and overall a mess poor Sam's feet were! And, to top it off, Rick only charged us for a regular trim for him!

11/15/03 update: Sam's riding training is coming along brilliantly! Up above, next to his name, please see a picture of Sam and his new mom riding together for the first time. Notice his happy ears?! We're so proud of the big fellow!!!

10/4/04 update: Sam has moved home to a barn just 1/4 mile from his mom's house, and is doing fabulously! With a blue roan youngster named Tramp for a companion and Glynis' constant care, Sam is doing great!