ARRIVED	October 2004
ADOPTABILITY	PERMANENT RESIDENT, NOT AVAILABLE
SPONSORED BY	available for sponsorship
BREED/AGE	3-year old Registered Clydesdale Mare

Summary: Tess arrived at CWER as a 2 year old filly who had been kept in a very small paddock and never learned to canter because she lacked the space to do so. Over her first year here, we have had to do some chiropractic work and a broad range of training and conditioning work to help Tess develop correctly. She is a joy to ride, and fantastic for little ones and those who are young at heart to get to 'pony ride'. Be sure to see our open house 2005 event coverage to see her enjoying this portion of her job as 'ambassador' for CWER!

 

Meet Tess, Mike's first horse that is truly his own. Every horse he's worked with has been a part of the rescue program. This time, Mike saved money of his own and purchased the horse he's been wanting, and dreaming about, since the day Luke left -- a young clydesdale mare of his own to train, to ride, to enjoy for the rest of her life.

 

Mike purchased Tess from a caring family in St Louis who, due to an injury, were no longer able to keep her or the other 2 clydesdales in their care. Mike plans to do a lot of ground work with Tess over this winter, including getting her better with handling her hooves, and then come spring to train Tess to be his riding companion for many years to come.  She is still such a baby, as you can see in the photos above, that she sleeps lying down every night (the photo above is her laying down in the Kaluf's pasture in Muncie Indiana during a weekend visit!), and her canter is still that comical "which way do my legs go again?" We are so excited to watch Tess mature and become Mike's partner!

 

January 2005 update: Tess is an adorable, beautiful, loving, regal mare. She is a joy to have around, and a pleasure to spend time with. Her riding training is going exceptionally well, as shown in the photo above of Tess happily plowing through a very deep snowdrift! She walks and trots fabulously, going nearly anywhere Mike asks of her. Her canter without rider is still developing, so the few short canters with rider they experiment, Tess' balance and coordination still have a distance to come. We really believe she is going to be an exceptional riding horse and a fabulous friend.

 

April 2005 update: Mike n Tess are having simply a fabulous time together. She is a joy to ride, and a joy to be around. She's settled in so wonderfully, that she now is happily used to do 'pony rides' for the young and old alike, and settles into a great 'kid mode' where she obeys the person with the lead, regardless of the rider's behavior. We can't wait to have her visiting with everyone at our 2005 open house on 7/30/05!

 

September 2005 update: Tess is nothing short of amazing. One minute she can give literally over 100 "pony rides" at our open house, with children crawling all over her. Yet minutes later, Mike swings in her saddle, and she is ready to show off the beginning levels of dressage training they're working on together, or off to the jump course to show off the very beginning levels of jumping work she is doing (at just 3, she won't be doing any significant jumping for another year or two until she is completely finished growing.)

 

Tess's canter has developed into a thing of beauty, often with great collection so that she is very light on the forehand. Her instructors are both regularly amazed at how nimble and fluid her movements are becoming. Mike still considers regularly whether the best future for Tess might be in the hands of someone who will take her far in dressage or three-day eventing. At this time her status remains 'permanent resident', but Mike is practical and honest with himself and everyone else that he cannot give Tess the time and training needed, nor spend the funds to take Tess as far as this gorgeous mare is capable of going.

NOTE: We were sent this link to this fabulous Budweiser clip by one of our supporters. We wanted to share it with you all, and show Budweiser our appreciation for this respectful clip, remembering the fallen of 9/11. We hope you enjoy watching it, and helping us to remember these heroes. Bud's Clydesdales pay their respects to those lost on September 11, 2001.