Sydin- Sanctuary

 

 Sydin is a 13-year old, 14.2 hh Tennessee Walker cross gelding owned by Gerda’s Equine Rescue. He is a very sweet, kind horse with a willing nature who rejoins our program in October 2024 after his adoption fell through. We will continue with Sydin’s training through the winter, in hopes of finding the right home for him. 

During his initial time with us, Sydin was at first very hard to catch and appeared jumpy and a bit fearful of touch. With time and consistency this  improved a great deal, but a cookie never hurts when catching him out in the field! He was treated for Lyme and low vitamin E, and after slowly building up his base fitness and conditioning, he is now being regularly ridden at the walk and trot. He will canter willingly as well, but struggles to hold the lead. He has been on trails with a friend, and with consistent work in the arena can display lovely slow, smooth gaits with a relaxed low posture.

Sydin is great for vet, farrier, and bathing, lunges and long lines well and shows a solid understanding of work in hand. He is currently out with a mixed group of geldings and gets along well with everyone. Sydin’s ideal rider would be on the smaller side and have an intermediate level of experience or above. If overseen by an experienced adult, we feel he could be steady enough for younger riders as well. He is forward thinking and sensitive yet sensible. Due to the fact that he can be overly reactive or difficult to catch on occasion, Sydin would do best in a home where he will be handled and/or ridden regularly. 

February 2025 update: When Sydin returned to our program at the end of October 2024, we had hoped to pick up where we left off, help him regain confidence with catching and riding, and begin searching for his forever home within a few months. Over this time, we have observed that Sydin continues to be very tense and worried when being caught, and that his general tension was greatly increased when he had a rider on his back. We strongly suspected that these behaviors were symptoms of pain, so we decided to pursue further evaluation with our veterinarians. 

Unfortunately, Sydin has been diagnosed with DSLD via ultrasound imaging. We were able to compare x-rays taken in the fall 2023 to new x-rays, and there are significant changes in all four limbs. In light of these recent findings, we decided to retire Sydin as a riding horse as of early December 2024. Due to the rapid rate of onset and progression of his condition, the level of discomfort he is in, and the degenerative nature of the disease itself, we have determined that it’s in Sydin’s best interest to remain here with us as a sanctuary animal. 

He will be loved and cared for by our staff who understand his quirks, love him anyway,  and know him well enough to be able to evaluate his level of comfort on a daily basis. He will spend his well-earned retirement days playing with his friends and grazing in the pasture, as a thank-you to him for being a truly, exceptionally, good boy.