The Equines

Biography

Ruby is a pure Tennessee Walking Horse born in 2011 on a farm near Two Hills AB, to Dam Moonlit Laughter who was purchased while pregnant from the US to add to their TWH breeding program. Her sire was a an unregistered 'Tennessee Walking Horse Sabino Stud,' but the lineage of that stud were all papered and on Ruby's record. He must have been stunning to pass on such stunning looks to his filly. 

Ruby got special gaited training on and off over the years, and at 8 years old she was sold on commission through her favorite trainers in Viking AB, who loved her and were set out to find the perfect home for her. 

Heart Echo Equines did not exist yet at that time, but we knew we wanted a few new solid horses in our herd, and never having owned a gaited horse before it seemed a great way to discover it. Ruby clicked automatically with my spouse and I, and us with the trainers. Technically Ruby is my husband's horse, but mostly I am still putting more miles on her... And still take Ruby back down the highway at least a few times a year to go on a friendly ride with the gaited trainers we now consider dear friends. 

Ruby didn't take long after joining our little herd to become the big - full 16.1hh - boss mare. She is a good mothering figure to all under her care, but also firm in her boundaries. She has much to teach, and Echo back to anyone willing to listen. 

Use the contact form for more information or to book a walk & talk to meet the horses.  

Twister is a gorgeous Friesian gelding 16 years old - registered name: Twister fan Bonnie View. This gentle giant stands right around 17hh. He was born in Alberta and originally sold to a farm in Saskatchewan intended for breeding purposes - however turned out infertile. He was gelded around 5 years old and used instead for a few years of trail/pleasure. Twister was then sold to a girl in Alberta determined to have the horse of her dreams, and that he would teach her to ride. Not every girl who sets out to find her fairy tale story actually does, But Twister did that for her. While advancing in the field of Dressage the girl got herself another horse to help her continue on her journey, as Twister aged he was getting some early signs of arthritis and she let him slow down to prevent it from advancing.  He was still good as gold, but after a few years moving up with her other horse she decided to let Twister go - and that's where Heart Echo Equines comes in. With no performance based intentions, both his previous owner and we agreed Twister should thrive here. Since that fateful day end of March 2020 as the pandemic started turning the world upside down, Twister came home to Killam AB. (I called it panic buying - who wouldn't panic buy a Friesian given the chance? I mean makes way more sense than toilet paper.) He has been a loving, handsome addition to our herd with a whole different personality level in this gentle giant with his calm confidence both on the ground and on his back.

Merrylegs Biography

This little spitfire is the smallest of our herd, but she knows how to make up for small stature with big presence!

Merrylegs came from a pony collecting tour the trailer went on end of January 2021, and came home with Butterscotch, Patchy-Patch and Merrylegs all from different places. 

Merrylegs was formerly known as the Belladonna, or Bella. We already had a dog by that name, so in honor of her short legs and big personality we named her after the little pony friend in the story Black Beauty. 

Merrylegs came from a loving home with a number of kids who had ridden and loved on her. This pony is around 12 years old, and healthy! So she has many years of being loved ahead of her. Due to her size, however, she was being outgrown at her last home. At the time we had a full sized Paint horse who had come from a rescue type situation and was doing well, very rideable but felt too big for our kids, so it was the perfect swap. 

Merrylegs is not in your pocket type - she keeps her distance until she feels she has reason to be near you. Once she is, she is a fast learner and quickly learns what a person is about. Trust is big with this girl, and knows how to make it clear if she feels you are not giving her the respect due to her. Her size, however, is perfect for anyone nervous around a larger horse but willing to learn more from this pony the size of a large dog! 

Butterscotch biography 

This is a sweet buckskin Rocky Mountain Pony mare, roughly 21yrs old. She came to our pastures Jan 31, 2021 when I went on a little pony spree with my trailer and came home with Butterscotch, Patchy-Patch and Merrylegs as well 😉

We don't actually know a lot about Butterscotch's history. Her name before us was DJ but she did not come with papers or any kind of records. The owners we bought her from said she was previously a lesson pony but walks too fast for most kids, and found it was the case for their daughter as well. They did not show much knowledge or interest in gaited breeds but Butterscotch now has a home that loves those smooth sailing gaits! 💕

We got Butterscotch with my oldest daughter in mind, who had a pretty bad wreck with a horse the summer of 2020, and took many months and a few surgeries to recover from. She did not really want the white unicorn been there done that gelding I got her, she really wanted a buckskin pony mare. But the gelding seemed like he needed us, so we got to be part of his life for a time, him teaching us and us giving him a soft landing for a while. But after the accident we stepped back from a lot of our riding dreams. When my oldest daughter and I started dreaming of ponies again, and she still held to her wish for a buckskin pony mare. So when I went out on my pony spree, Butterscotch was one of the chosen. Maybe my daughter knew intuitively about how a buckskin pony mare would work out for us. 

Butterscotch ended up being perfect. Still hesitant about riding, we were slowly working on confidence around horses on the ground, and Butterscotch showed she needed to have her trust gained as much as we needed to trust her. So honest. And so sweet as mutual authentic trust started to build. 

Unfortunately, by mid-spring 2021 I could tell something was off. Her coat refused to shed, and her udder started filling up with milk!! Took her to the vet for routine care and to ask about those things. The vet confirmed Butterscotch was NOT in foal, but making milk was a strange symptom of Equine Cushing's disease - which was also why her winter coat wasn't shedding. This disease affects hormone production, and is more accurately known as Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID). It has been a steep learning curve for us trying to make sure we keep it under control enough that she does not get laminitis - a very painful condition of the hoof that once bad enough results in horses needing to be euthenized. Anyone with a chronic disease knows, the better you are at preventing flare up, the smoother life goes. Well, so far so good with Butterscotch, with her daily medication, diet management, and tightly dialed frequent hoof trims, her health has been doing amazing! 

We have done lots of groundwork with Butterscotch, saddled, done some obstacle courses with her. And finally over a year after getting her, since spring 2022 we have also been ridding her and can confirm she is very sweet and dreamy to ride. We are hoping with proper disease management that Butterscotch will be around for many years to come, with more trust and relationship to build on along the way 💖