SIBERIAN MONK #10 IS UNDER ADOPRION!
Public breedings: You should ask C00kieguirl about using this stallion.
Name: Santiago
Age: 11 years old
Gender: Stallion
Gens: EEAaCcSbsbStysty- sooty dapple buckskin.
Unusual parts: green eyes.
Backstory: Santiago was one of the oldest stallions in the herd. They lived wild in the cold areas of Siberia, until poachers had come. Nobody knows, where all herds gone, but we found this one bleeding in the snowdrift. He was saved, and timed to trust people again. He seems to be cold and not too much communicative even now, but we hope in the good home he will be happy. He really needs are good friends and owner.
c00kieguirl wrote:Username:c00kieguirl
Story about meeting and living in new home:
How I met Santiago:
I was very lucky to stumble upon the ranch Santi was staying at, on my way home from picking up feed for my Uncle's horses. I saw him in the pasture he was away from the other domesticated horses. He was grazing on a hill peacefully. I pulled over and stepped out of my truck and perched on the wooden fence, the horse stood in solitude. He seemed incredibly peaceful. Next thing I knew the horses head jerked up and stared in my direction, ears stiffly glued down to his crest. He braced himself knees locked in a stiff position as if he where about to bolt. I watched him anxiously. My weight on the fence had crushed the old thing.
I talked to the ranch owner and we decided that I would fix the fence. He told me the horse I had been admiring he'd keep in the eastern corral next door though I had to help him spook him in. I took the time to ask him about Santiago then. The guy explained that Santiago was wild and was found injured. The guy had laughed and explained he'd never seen an injured horse with that much spunk. He'd tried to bite and kick everyone who came near. Now he was fully healed and would not let a soul near him still.
Then I decided I wanted to get Santiago to like me. We moved Santiago to the eastern corral, the man ran up making noise, Santiago snorted rearing before kicking. He was gorgeous. His fur shimmered and despite his sway back and age he planted his feet strongly as he blasted into the other corral. I loved watching his mane catch in the wind. He reminded me of a feisty two year old and a stubborn teenager. I wanted so badly to embrace his neck and pet him.
I worked on the fence for 3 days. Santiago was never brought in to feed out of troughs he only free fed from the hills. The last two days I brought a bucket of grain every morning. I scattered the grain in the grass leaving a few handfuls in the bucket. I was anxious to get near him though i knew to be safe I had to keep my distance. It was amusing watching him pick the grain out of the grass. Once I finished the fence I decided that I would continue to bring him grain.
So long story short I desensitized him about the bucket until i could get him to eat out of it if I left it sitting. It took 2 weeks for him to become accustomed to the bucket. From there I would stand in the pasture with the bucket. He would always become curious and excited at the sight of the bucket. Though he would look at me and seem conflicted and unhappy about my presence. Id set the bucket a few feet away from me. Slowly, he would eat out of the bucket, which got closer and closer to me over the next week and a half. I felt like a mother whos toddler was just learning to walk.
I spoke to the ranch owner regularly about my progress with Santi. At this point the both of us could agree I was very attached to Santiago. Thinking about seeing him approach the bucket then eat out of the bucket while it is in my arms made me all bubbly and happy, still does. He decided to hire a trainer to work with him. I was a little hesitant I really didnt want another person handling him, though I knew I wasn't an actual horse trainer and would need help getting past the basics.
The trainer was wonderful. He asked me to come watch the sessions so that I could help the owner continue the training. We worked on getting him to allow us to touch him, and pet him then we halter broke em'. I was so happy. Id worked with Santi 5 months now and was certain he had to be mine. I headed over to the ranch house and knocked on his door hard. As the owner walked out, i practically blurted that I wanted Santiago. He laughed at me and said, "Didnt you get the hint that I wanted you to take him when I had him trained to be lead by a halter?"
I was so happy. Santiago was used to me. He would greet me at the fence and nuzzle me lightly and nip not-so-ligthly. Because Santiago was not used to or trained to load into a trailer the last trial of our friendship was the 4 miles we had to walk to get him to my Uncle's ranch where I live. Now Santiago has taken to the older horses on the ranch. Though he is still aggressive towards them he got used to them as he watched me positively interact with them. I decided I did not want to cage my wild beauty and would leave exclusively as a pasture horse, which was more comfortable than trying to force him into a stable.
Santiago's Life now:
Me and Santi:
I enjoy his company lots. Hes my baby. He runs up to the fence and nickers at me. Pricks his ears and tosses his mane and paws at the ground with his hooves like a foal if I dont acknowledge him immediately. I love hugging his neck and grooming him. I let him walk around after me without a halter. He follows me at my heels. He accompanies me while I do chores. Hes great around the buildings and trots around neck straight eyes open wide, ears straight up, as he looks around before he joins my side.
Santi's Horse Friends:
We have 3 ranch horses he tolerates most. His closest bud is Scrooge a black mustang who is so mellow that Santiago's dominance does not bother him. They can be seen grooming each other every after noon. Silver an old arabian likes to hang around Santi, though he is not so in love with that but Silver is like a herd member who listens to him. Emily an old brood mare who is the oldest horse we know always grazes next to Santiago. Hes tried grooming her once. But she kicked him in the face. He met his match, a horse sassier and spunkier than him. We have been leaving Santi's friends out in the fields with him along with a few other horses who have no quarrels with him.
About the grounds he lives on:
We have 3 large pastures. One for the retired horses and one for each gender. There is plenty of space for all 13 of the ranch horses that live here along with Santi. He is my only horse who I provide will nearly all of my attention. We re inforced the fences to accommodate the fact that some of our horses live outside full time, to ward off wild animals. All the pastures have lean toos for the horses to shield themselves with during storms and during cold nights. We also have 5 ranch dogs that weave through the pastures to protect the horses.
How I found out he was a pure Siberian Monk:
I took Santi to the Vet. Which is always plenty of fun. I had a blood test done and the vet sent it off. A few weeks later a horse breeder came to look at Santi. At first I was a little frazzled and didnt want to let some random person come look at my horse. I agreed how ever and the woman came to look at him. She seemed really excited once she saw him and kept going on about how he was a rare horse and he fit a rare breeds description perfectly. She urged me to join a community of Monk owners. She asked to buy him, that was of course answered with a flat out NO.
[ive been studying the horse genes since I plan to follow you guys around abit. Plus ive emerged again into the horse world in real life so i think it is good to be educated]
I found out his Genes in case he was ever to sire some foals. He was tested to have the following Genes: EEAaCcSbsbStysty
EE: means he is a homogeneous black and will not yield 'red' foals. Though he is a double E the foal may not be a EE.
Aa: A for Agouti. It is a heterogeneous gene that allows him to yield all black foals.
Cc: This gene is responsible for his eye color and the lighter touches of gold in his coat.
Sbsb: Sabino Gene. Is responsible for the white markings on his body.
Stysty: This is a sooty gene. Which is also one of the main genes that resulted in this coat color.
Me and Him:
He has an easy going life where he matches my speed. If I take off running he needs to lap me. He will always be my competitive, mean, sweet, old, baby, stallion. And my first personal horse. His fur pattern reminds me of Van Gogh's Starry Night. So I call him Mister Van Gogh some times. My master piece.My uncle loves Santi too. Though Santi is definitively a one person horse.
His Favorite Food:
Now that he has graduated from accepting grain and enjoying that as a special treat. He LOVES honey dew melons. Watching him chomp on the rhine is so cute.
Random Stuff:
Occasionally if younger horses get too bold and invade his space his wild origins kick in and he runs them off. Hes not fond of the stables and usually waits for me outside as I muck out stalls.
