Broken Horses Healing Broken Kids in Colorado

Grand Prix Dressage is one of horse enthusiasts' favorite Summer Olympic sports.  The horses that compete have spent many years training for this event.  Charis Youth Ranch has had its share of horses trained in many disciplines, but Sven stands out as a trained dressage horse.

Sven came to us in 2019.  He is a Swedish Warmblood and was 25 years old.  We don't know which of his three previous owners spent the time to train him for all of the upper level dressage moves, but we know that his last owner did not use him for dressage.  She was a young girl who wanted to barrel race so her parents bought Sven for her.  He is a docile, quiet horse and the other horses picked on him, so Sven was moved to a field with a small shed where the goats lived.  Sven was unhappy living with the goats and ran away multiple times to the neighbors pasture so he could be with other horses. The girl soon lost interest in horses and they wanted Sven to be happy so they called us to rescue him. 

Sven quickly became a favorite at the ranch.  Kids and adults would lesson on him and he was patient with each of them.  He spent an entire day giving "pony rides" to many kids who visited the ranch for our Harvest Fest fundraiser.  

Sven turned 30 years old in July and is still actively giving lessons.  His face is turning gray and his joints are slow to get moving, but he is happy and healthy.  Our goal is to keep him as busy as he wants to be - the vet has said he is healthy because he has a job he loves.  He still knows his fancy dressage moves, but we don't have him do them as it takes more strength and muscle than his old body can handle.  Once he can no longer have a rider on his back, we will let him gracefully live out his years in comfort.  He is a true gem.