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Gorgeous, simply gorgeous... gorgeousXena's first canterxenaxena

(click images to view these and other great Xena photos!)

"Xena, Warrior Princess" 

don't miss her first canter under saddle video (click link)!

ARRIVED August 2009 -- healthy, needed shots/wormer/farrier care
ADOPTABILITY Available to adopt! See details below.
SPONSORSHIP: (Details below)
  • FEED: Sponsored! thanks Cecelia/Michel
  • MEDICAL: needs a sponsor!
BREED/AGE 9-year old (2001 model) Shire mare (no known registration), approx 17.2hh/2100 lbs

Skills/Training "Report Card"

Overall Health: 

B

 Xena is in excellent overall health, mildly overweight and carrying good muscle tone.
She is rather out of shape, and works up a lather rapidly under saddle. Regular exercise would bring her into fitness fairly quickly and be very good for her overall.
Her hooves are making progress but need additional work.

Ground Manners:

B

 Xena can still be mildly pushy but is not at all aggressive or mean.
Has completed basic ground school and is far more respectful and managable.
She is nearly always handled without a lead rope, and often managed by very inexperienced volunteers to go into and out of the barn and stalls for meals.
Rarely, but occasionally, Xena does still push past humans. She is rapidly learning that this is not acceptable.

Basic Riding Skills:

B-

 As of 9/25, Xena has completed the first phase of riding training. She has about 15 rides indoors and a ride outdoors. She is strong, poweful, and forward like a classic warhorse of old. She will require an experienced rider and will make a great one person horse able to do amazing things. She is walking and trotting with ease and will soon begin canter work.
On Nov 20, 09, Xena had her 2nd outdoor ride and her first canter under saddle. DONT MISS THE VIDEO!
As of 3/1/10, Xena has had roughly 30 rides. She loves to ride outdoors, and is powerful and forward with LOTS of energy. Our indoor round pen is small for a horse her size even for trot work and she doesn't like it. She tends to stand and pout, and just generally is unhappy working indoors. As spring thaws, we hope to get to do significantly more outdoor work safely, once the snow and ice are gone.
Xena has completed several significant trail rides, either with 2 inexperienced other horses, or out on her own. Xena is happy to lead, high energy and forward, and doesn't mind being alone or with other horses. She has handled steep banks, water crossings, strange horses approaching from either end. She has cantered easily on open trail with nothing ahead of her, and was very managable and easily stopped.

Ideal Career

 Xena will make an exceptional mount, mounted orienteering, medieval reenactments, trail or competitive trail or ACTHA, or other thinking sports. She has great impulsion and nice action. Her energy level is high but not unmanagable. This is one fantastic mare who has a great future ahead of her.

Stall Manners

B
Xena has been stall kept previously, and has good stall manners. She enters and exits well, only occasionally being a bit hurried to exit her stall after meals to return to her 24/7 pasture time. She grooms easily in a stall but remains nervous about being fly sprayed or having her hooves handled inside a stall.

Trailering Skills:

A
  • Loaded easily to come to CWER, but very nervous about putting her head back in the trailer. Rode calmly, didn't sweat or get tense, ate her hay easily.
  • Loaded wonderfully for a trail ride in November 2009. A little tentative about putting her head back into the trailer. Unloaded wonderfully, loaded well again at the park. GOOD GIRL!

Companionship / Pasture Manners

B
Xena has good pasture manners. She is clearly alpha but not aggressive or abusive. She has paired nicely with our clyde Tess, yet still looks after her "brother", Val and others. She has not been mean with any of the horses, not even the youngsters as their playtime disturbs her.

Manageability for Routine and Medical Care

C
Xena wormed reasonably well.
She remains difficult for the farrier, but is making slow progress.
We have not needed to do any shots.
She remains cautious of strangers such as the vet.
Adoption Terms Xena's adoption fee includes the professional training she has already received. That training is valued at $1,000. Her adoption fee is set at $2,500 including that training. Payment terms are available, and we can transport reasonably up to 5 hours one way, or help look into professional haulers at reasonable rates. Please see our adoptionQnA pages for details of how to adopt.

Overview: Xena, previously known as "Bernie or Bernadette" is a big, healthy, gorgeous shire mare who has had an easy life. Due to emergency, long running medical issues, the owner could no longer care for her and she wanted to ensure she had a safe future, so she donated her to CWER.

HISTORY: 

From what we've been told, Xena was likely bred and her life began at Fox Valley Farm in Marengo IL -- the major Shire breeder in the Chicago area -- and we believe her registered name to be Fox Valley Bernadette (we are working on DNA testing to determine). We're told that she was sold to a person who eventually boarded her at a friend's boarding barn while he and his family were moving west. Eventually, he could no longer afford the board, and he signed her over to the farm owner. The farm owner sold her to the family that owned Val, and they owned her for about a year, before being unable to keep her and donating her to CWER.

Xena does not appear to have much if any pre-riding training, but has learned rapidly with us. Xena arrived exceptionally protective of her hooves and appearing to not have been trimmed in quite some time. Xena was allowed to push people around some at her old home, but she has quickly taken to and accepted the manners we expect of her here.

November 2009: We hope you enjoy the video clip of Xena's 2nd outdoor ride ever (click to view) and her first ever canter under saddle! As we anticipated, Xena is truly a powerhouse under saddle, with tons of forward energy and movement. She is bored working in our indoor round pen, but truly showed her energy and power when ridden outside on the video, below. We believe Xena would excel at dressage or other sports that would take advantage of her powerful hind end and her desire to GO. She had surprisingly nice balance for her first canters under saddle, as shown on the video (click to view).

Winter 2009: Xena got to go on several trail rides with Pepper and Dazzle this winter, with Xena definitely the 'lead' horse. Xena lead up and down steep banks, through thick mud, water crossings, and more, and did it all like a trooper! She will also ride off alone without any difficulty, and seemed to really enjoy going exploring. She has cantered on open trail easily and was easy to slow and halt.

May 6 2010:  Xena had most of the winter as 'vacation time', and now, as time allows for us, is getting back under saddle. Xena is being treated for a rash on her lower legs similar to scratches but bacterial. Xena is being exceptionally good about allowing us to bathe these large itchy areas on her lower legs, and she is clearly improving rapidly! It doesn't affect her soundness or ability to ride, she's just itchy like poison ivy. It does affect how she is about handling her hind hooves, because you have to hold and rub across sore areas to hold her hoof. We anticipate her legs being fully treated and back to normal in approximately 2-3 weeks.

Sponsorship:  She now has a feed sponsor! The feed sponsor donates to cover the cost of her feed monthly -- $50 per month at this time.  Thanks Cecelia/Michel for supporting Xena for April/May/June 2010!

She also needs a medical sponsor. The initial vet intake cost approximately $125. Her spring 2010 vet care will cost approximately $75 for vaccinations, coggins test, dental checkup assuming she does not need significant dental care.