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   Zoey (Maquette)       

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  (click to enlarge pictures)

Zoey is a very sad case. Her story, as we've been able to piece it together, appears to go something like this:

Zoey has exceptional bloodlines and was a big, powerful foal. She was well cared for at the breeder, and the handler would've liked to buy her but could not.

Zoey was sold as a 2 year old to Jenny, who gave Zoey time to mature and began Zoey's riding work. Due to some health issues, Jenny could not work Zoey consistently and had to sell her at about age 6. Before she sold Zoey, a pony chased Zoey through a fence, and Zoey broke off a large solid fence post WITH HER NECK at her shoulder. She seemed to be fine, but it appears this injury started a downward spiral for Zoey. We are told she had amazing power and grace and movement when riding at this stage in her ilfe, "scope to die for".

Zoey was sold into a working home and apparently trained for 3-day eventing. A few folks said they saw her on the showing circuit and she looked great. Then they didn't see her showing any more.

In 2008, Zoey was sold to a family as the perfect first show horse for their very tall 12 year old daughter. Zoey is over 18 hands, and they were assured that the daughter would not outgrow Zoey. They were also told "this is a horse your grandmother could ride." They had several visits and trial rides with Zoey before purchasing her and bringing her home to their boarding barn. They also paid for a pre purchase exam, which Zoey (aka Maquette) passed.

A few days after Zoey settled in at their boarding barn (Pemberley Stables in Urbana), Zoey was a different horse. She was hard to manage even on a chain lead, aggressive, difficult to saddle, breaking cross ties, and not moving in the same fluid manner. Long story short, it appears Zoey ahd been medicated for the test rides and the trial video. Upon further digging, her owner found that 6 sets of x-rays had been done of Zoey's ankle and hoof, trying to diagnose the problems with her motion. At one point, Zoey panicked and bolted  with her young rider, nearly running through a metal gate as if she did not know it was there.

Luckily for Zoey, she had landed in a caring family who saw her as more than simply a machine, and Karen spent an enormous amount of time and money researching Zoey's problems. Extensive osteoarthritis was diagnosed in the neck -- we now know is likely started from the fence incident, but Karen wasn't aware of that history then. The fetlock and hoof had extensive thickening and calcification likely secondary to the shoulder arthritis. She was also stumbling, losing her balance, unaware of the positioning of her feet, and so she was fully traeted for EPM as a precaution even though all tests came up negative. The arthritis was aggressively treated with chiro, accupuncture, and injections. Zoey was still struggling to find her own feet and was still dangerous even just to handle on the ground as she could fall on anyone at any time.

Zoey came to CWER for 6 months of rehab. The goal was to let mother nature help Zoey heal, with full time life in our rolling hils and pasture. As expected, Tess our clyde realized Zoey wasn't healthy, and protected her and guarded her from the other horses, and looked after this massive horse as she stumbled up and down the hills, tripped into the creek, and slowly found her legs again. At the end of the 6 months, Zoey can safely traverse the property in all directions. She runs up and down hills and chases the others. Tess has pronounced her pasture sound and no longer supervises her time with the other horses. Dr King was thrlled with her progress, but Zoey will never ride again, and she remains fearful of changes in her routine and anything that appears it might mean she will be asked to work again and thus be in pain again. Dr King and the U of I vets were all confident the issues were not hereditary and were simply related to injury or injuries and the type of work set before Zoey afterward.

At Karen's request, CWER went on a quest to find this briliantly bred mare a life as a part time broodmare. We are thrilled that Zoey has found a home with Zee's mom!! Zoey will spend the next year at the breeder's, conceiving via AI and then raising her first foal. When the foal is ready to wean, zoey will be rebred and sent on to Missy's to live with Zee, and Missy plans to keep that foal. Time will tell whether zoey will have additional foals later in her future. Zoey is on a lifelong CWER contract, so she will come back here if Missy cannot keep her for any reason, or Missy may help us find her a new home directly from her location in NE.

We are proud of the success with Zoey -- her grandsire was often called the jumping stallion of the century, and her dam's side is equally well known "super horses". many people who knew her in her past were heartbroken to hear what Zoey has been through, and we are most thankful in their efforts to help us piece together her story and to work to find her a forever home.