** SPECIAL NEEDS - Available to long-term foster home (adoption might be possible later)
SPONSORSHIPS / DONATIONS towards LEA's transport to a foster home in a warmer climate would be VERY, VERY much appreciated !!
Full Shire
Born approx. 1993-1995
Approx. 16.2 hands
Bay, star, no socks
UTD with vaccinations, worming, hoof-care
Thick, long mane and feathers
Extremely beautiful and majestic
Slightly stiff and un-sound for riding or driving...
....possibly due to back injury and/or Arthritis
NO training besides some basics (halter, lead, tie)
Needs more training to pick up feet and stand for farrier
LOVES belly-scratches
Calm and gentle to be around.....
....if you don't ask her to do something she doesn't want to do.
Borderline claustrophobic - does not do well in stalls, barns or small spaces
More detailed info about LEA on the bottom of the page...
Transport from SD to MO/NC (or anywhere in-between) possible for $250-$300, leaving SD on or around 3-20-2010. Other destinations possible for additional fee. Transport to CA planned for mid-March.
Plase apply to foster or adopt Lea here: QUESTIONNAIRE
Lea arrived here in January 2007 from a PMU farm, I was told she was 12-14 years old then, but I have no idea if that's true or not. When Lea arrived here, she was very skinny, dirty, with overgrown hooves. She would not get off the trailer, and she was shaking badly, even for about 24 hours after she arrived. With time I found out that she most likely suffers from claustrophobia, if there is such a thing in horses...... Or it could simply be the stress of separation from other horses, I'm not sure anymore. When I put her in a stall by herself, she panics and breaks out in a sweat within minutes. When I put another horse in the stall with her, she's still nervous, but not nearly as bad.
Lea is halter-trained and leads, but when she gets nervous or scared, she raises up her head and won't move...... Also, she does NOT stand for the farrier and has to be sedated for trimming. I always blamed myself, but I have had 2 trainers that worked with her, sadly, without the much anticipated success. Lea had just been neglected and left untrained for so many years that it is very hard to get through to her.... I've learned to deal with her issues, but it would be sooooooo much nicer to have her hooves trimmed without sedation and without fighting, and worm her without troubles.... Lea is also still head-shy and is not a very trusting horse. She arrived in January 2007, and it took until July-2009 until she accepted a treat out of my hand for the first time. I've been offering treats to her ever since she arrived, but she never took one. And then, one day, she just took it out of my hand - scared us both, but in a very good way !!! Anyway, on a normal day, Lea is a very calm and friendly horse, she always comes up to me on the pasture, lines up and stands about a foot away from me so I can scratch her belly, and she would stand for that all day if I had the time. She is stiff, probably due to her PMU past and from standing on concrete, not sure if it's Arthritis or something else. And, I think (but I don't know for sure) that maybe a stallion has injured her back in the past. It just doesn't look right and she doesn't move the way she's supposed to. She doesn't show any obvious signs of accute lameness or pain, she even runs with the herd if she has to, but she prefers to stay on level ground and not go down our hills if she can help it. Lea has a lot of issues, but I love her dearly.... The long and cold winters here in SD are getting harder and harder on Lea, so we're trying to find her a long-term foster home in a warmer climate (adoption might be possible later). ANY CONTRIBUTION to help pay for her transport to a foster home would be greatly appreciated..... Thank you.
12/11/2009
12/11/2009
02/28/2009
02/08/2009
07/11/2008
08/02/2008
LEA and BEN 8/1/2008
08-13-2007
08-13-2007