This is Giovanna. She will be 12 in
August. She is a registered 1/2 Arab/1/2 Swedish
Warmblood. I am writing to seek help
with finding her a home. This is her
story, a story I can tell because I have known her since before she was born. (I have changed any names, except Giovanna's).
Giovanna’s (Gio for short)
beginnings had great promise. A woman
(I don’t remember her name, so I’ll call her Beth), leased a mare, we'll call her Bea, from a friend of mine. Bea was a Swedish Warmblood, former 3-Day eventing and cross country jumping horse.
Bea was retired after a major jumping accident, and my friend had given her
a home for her retirement.
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| Gio's dam. The only known picture of her. |
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| Gio's sire. Gorgeous for sure. |
Beth leased Bea in order to breed her to a black Arabian stallion, who I'll call Ohm. Beth had
taken lessons from Ohm’s owner, and wanted one of his foals. This foal would be stamped with Ohm’s black
coat, white star, and great mind and athleticism. The foal would also be stamped with Bea’s
sweet disposition and kindness.
It was a difficult conception, and
it would prove to be Bea’s last foal.
When Gio was born, everything seemed good, except Bea was not doing
well. I don’t remember what was wrong
with her, but the decision was made to ween Gio at about 4 months, which made sense,
because Gio was a thriving, strong filly..
(Sadly, Bea died from colic later).
After weening, Gio went to live with Beth, which
meant living in a pasture with a herd of mules and a barbed wire fence.
She did not thrive there.
Instead, she frequently injured herself on the fencing, and was
malnourished. The only reason I know
this is because she would occasionally return to her sire’s farm to
recover from injuries. I saw Gio when
I would visit the farm with my friend.
The year Gio turned 3, Beth left Gio
at her sire’s farm to recover from the latest injury, but she did not come to
get Gio again. Evidently Beth was
going through some hard times, and was not able to care for Gio (the last 2 years certainly reinforced this). When I saw Gio, I was shocked at how small
she was. She was about 14.1, Gio’s sire is 15.2 hands, and Bea was 16.3
hands. Today, at 11 years, Gio stands barely14.3
hands.
I told Ohm’s owner I wanted to give Gio a
home. After a month, Beth agreed, and I
bought Gio for $800. A horse worth thousands of dollars, now selling for $800. Unheard of. I took home a 3
year old mare with great promise. I
hoped she would be my dressage horse, and a horse I would enjoy learning from
and with for many years. I figured all
she needed was consistent feeding and care, and she’d blossom into her genetic
potential.
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| Start of a new chapter.... Winter |
If that was the case, I wouldn’t be
writing and sharing her story. Whether
it was undernourishment or her conformation fault of being too upright or straight in her hind legs, or
the combination of the two, she was plagued with issues in her back legs and
back. She would be going well for a
while in her training on the ground, and then she’d get a sore back and not
want to work. Vets and chiropractors
could not identify what was wrong. She
would get adjustments, go well for a while, then hurt again. She moved to Idaho with me for graduate
school, then back to California. We had periods of time where I'd start her under saddle, we'd get a few rides in, and then she would be hurt.
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| Running on pasture, Idaho. |
Finally, a vet in California noticed something and asked me
to walk her up and down a hill. He diagnosed her with “locking stifles” which
means the tendon that holds her knee cap in place, (which is able to slide into
place and lock the leg so she can sleep while standing up,) will slip and lock
her leg while she is moving. This can cause a lot of problems, as it was
causing for Gio. Locking stifles can be cause by many things, most notably a straight conformation in the hind legs.
The vet recommended exercises to
strengthen her hind legs. These did
not help, so she went on to have surgery in which the vet used a laser to make
tiny cuts in the tendon. When the tendon
healed, the scar tissue would thicken the tendon so it wouldn’t slip. This was the late summer of 2011. It did work for about a year. I slowly
brought her along, and enjoyed really getting her started under saddle, even trotting.
She was a dream under saddle, so willing and such a pretty mover. She was definitely her sire and dam’s
daughter.
Unfortunately, she gradually
regressed, worse than before the surgery.
I tried different hoof trims, more exercises, supplements, chiropractic. A vet recommended putting her on a hill so
she had to walk up and down. Did that for a year. No change. At this time, she is not safe to ride because
she half falls down when her stifles lock. I continue with ground work and
strengthening, but she seems to be losing muscles instead of gaining. It is mysterious. Through it all, she is sweet, happy,
enjoying her life. And she gets so mad
when her stifles lock. She stomps her feet, snorts, and will rear and buck
after she recovers. No lack of spirit here!
We are nine years down this road,
trying to find a way for her to be sound. Now living in Washington state. Her
current vet and chiropractor feels there is hope, with physical therapy,
chiropractic work, and potentially surgery or blistering. However, I have come to the decision that I
can not finance her rehabilitation any longer.
After nine years, I am at the end.
I did not get Gio in order to learn how to be a physical therapist or chiropractor, and
I certainly did not think I was "rescuing" a horse who needed extensive rehabilitation.
I have given myself until June to find
her a home. I would never take her to
auction. I am worried about selling her
because I fear she would end up in the hands of a backyard breeder some day. She is so pretty and sweet, and she has good
bloodlines, so I can easily see how someone would want to breed her. However,
with her conformation issues, she should never
be bred. It is possible she could be
reliably sound, but after 9 years I am very doubtful.
But she could be a companion, a friend, a source of love and visual
beauty….
My hope is that there is someone out
there who would be a good match for Gio.
A vet student who wants the challenge of solving Gio’s soundness. Someone who no longer rides but loves
spending time with a horse. Someone
with a herd of retired horses who can fit another in. Someone who loves the Arabian. Someone who
wants a horse for a therapy program (Gio loves to be with people). Someone who knows physical therapy or
chiropractic work and wants to work with Gio.
Someone.
For the last four years, I have
boarded Gio, at $350 a month, plus her chiropractic and vet bills, supplements,
and other costs. An average of about $5000 a year. It is too much for me
now. If I owned property and could just
turn her out with a herd, I would not think of letting her go. I am
heart sick about how things have turned out for her. I wish I could have fixed what happened to
her, and given her the life of movement she should have had. But after 9 years, I am admitting defeat, and
trying to find her a good home.
Please help her. Share her
story. If you have ideas, let me know. I will keep working with her, continue to do the therapy and chiropractic work until I find her someone.
Thank you,
Emily Gibson
234 N. Garrison Rd, Vancouver, Wa
98664
707-834-8165
.
