2014 Thoroughbred gelding
We met Cru through connections in North Carolina, where he was going through rehabilitation after surgery. This handsome grey was originally purchased for eventing, but sadly a severe stifle injury required surgery with a lengthy rehab to follow. Horses with Hope acquired ownership, with the hope of fully rehabbing Cru. If successful, he will be the first member of our new “Horses helping Horses” program: we will eventually sell Cru to the perfect home with all proceeds going straight to the rescue.
At this point, Cru is nearing the end of his rehab and is continuing his conditioning and under saddle training. Currently he is walk, trot and cantering in the arena, and has started some pole work as well. He is learning to carry himself with a bit of contact, and to stretch and soften over his back. We have also started to introduce light hill work at the walk and taking him for hacks out on the trails which he really seems to enjoy. This boy is super sweet and personable, but at only 5 years old, he has a lot to learn! We look forward to continuing with his conditioning and education.
UPDATE: After working with Cru for a year, we reluctantly determined that he wasn’t able to stay sound consistently enough to be rehomed as a riding horse. While we were able to make a lot of progress, Cru was plagued with various minor physical set backs, and we reached a point where continuing with his riding career did not feel like the best option. Happily, Cru’s former connections stepped in and were able to find him a fantastic home as a companion horse in North Carolina. He will be living a wonderful life with his loving new mom, who calls him ‘an absolutely perfect, gentle, old soul in the body of a young giant.’ While we will all miss our super sweet and friendly goofball, we know this is the right thing for his longterm health and happiness. It’s been a pleasure to have you in the barn handsome boy, enjoy your new life down south!
