Testimonial of C.Walker
Shilo's registered Arabian Name is GLA Top Gun. He was born May 5, 1993.
I'm one of the growing population of riders that are known as the late bloomers. On July 21, 1999 I became the proud owner of Shilo, my first horse. It was the Arabian's beauty that drew me to this horse. He was so pretty he should have been a she. I have and still do refer to Shilo, at times, as a she.
I wanted to ride English, so Shilo left for one month's training as soon as I bought him. When he returned to his new home, he had lost approximately 200 pounds and had numerous battle wounds from another horse. Shilo was never overweight to begin with! As well, Shilo had apparently dumped the trainer more than once. Shilo was skin and bones. His back was so sore that he sat down like a dog, and if you even touched his back he almost hit the roof. Even his croup was caved in. The vet was concerned about his back and checked to see if he had any broken ribs. Shilo's tail was rubbed raw too! The vet said his weight loss was most likely due to an unusually large insect population. He also recommended that he was unrideable for several months until he put some weight on, and until the tenderness in his back improved. I didn't want to remember Shilo like this, so it was a long time before I took any pictures of him again./small>
My main concern was that Shilo's spirit wasn't broken. So I spent eight hours a day with him, tending to his wounds, grooming him, bonding with him and giving him lots of carrots and corn on the cob. Shilo bonded to me very quickly and would come running to me as soon as I called out his name. But Shilo's main focus was to fit in with the herd. He tried so, so very hard and I felt sorry for him berfore Shilo got used to standing in the cross ties. He pulled out several cross ties in the process. Bugs always bothered Shilo and he couldn't be without bug spray.
After a few months of putting on weight Shilo was into something new, an English riding program and lunging lessons. Shilo excelled at his lunging lessons and had his verbal commands down pat in no time. He was a very bouncy trot, was still a bit skinny, and he rode with his head up high all the time, as if he was in fear of something. He spooked at anything and everything and would bolt to the other side of the arena in a split second. His diagonal was always incorrect in the canter. As time went on Shilo was coming into frame, using the correct diagonal in the canter, gaining weight and becoming physically fit again. He was even doing some dressage and a bit of jumping.
My plans for Shilo have changed. Since Shilo is performing so well, I am going to have Clint enter him in dressage shows next spring. Now they just have to work on me, and when I'm ready I can take over. And to think I almost sold Shilo! I have had so many wonderful comments about Shilo. I can't remember them all, but a few of them that stand out in my mind are:
he is unrecognizable
he is so muscular he doesn't look like a typical Arabian
you must be so proud of his progress.
Using Sharon was the best investment I have made on my horse, and the most beneficial for Shilo. He and I are forever grateful!
Taking pictures of horses isn't as easy as it looks. So after several attempts I decided to treat myself, and called Faye Unrau. The only problem was that she took too many beautiful photos. A pictures says a thousand words, and Shilo looks a thousand times better!