Hannah McKinney and Freya have a little snuggle. Hannah is WSS Wrangler staff. Could you be a future wrangler?

Freya’s Genetic Make-up

Who/what is the surprise baby?

Click here to see Freya’s DNA report from Texas A&M

Learning to accept the bit should be done in a quiet, gentle way with good encouragement

It takes a community to care for our horses. Being a non-profit, we are reliant on the generosity of  neighbors, friends, and donors to maintain our herd. Please considering supporting WSS by giving to this very special and beautiful work.

Freya DNA TEST- BIG NEWS

Freya is now a confident 2-year-old filly. She is gentle and feisty at the same time. She is pastured with a mixed herd of other mares and geldings and she can hold her own. If you’ve met Freya, you know she’s not afraid of much. She’s happiest when she has a crowd around her.

A generous donor recently gave a gift to determine more about Freya’s heritage. Freya’s dame, Belle, is a mixture of Haflinger, Belgian and Cream Draft. Belle came to her current owners, Jack and Renee Krider, unknowingly pregnant. We were interested in finding out who the sire was to know more about Freya.

We mailed a sample of Freya’s hair to Texas A & M Animal Genetics Laboratory. Freya’s DNA shows she is: 1st Cream Draft, 2nd Haflinger and 3rd Garrano. Click the links to find out even more! Given that her mother was Cream Draft and Haflinger, this means her father is Garrano, and ancient and wild breed of pony.

Living wild and semi-wild on the Iberian Peninsula, this breed is so old that Iberian paleolithic cave paintings depict horses that bear a striking resemblance to the Garrano horse. Today, wild herds of Garrano horses live in various mountainous parts of northern Portugal. The Garrano is a small, light horse, which typically weighs around 290 kg and is no taller than 13.1hh. Solid, dark colours such as bay, brown and dark chestnut are most common, with minimal white markings. The breed has a small head, with large eyes and a straight, or slightly concave profile. The neck is short, thick and muscular, and leads to a deep, broad chest. The legs are solid, with wide joints and round hooves. Despite their height, these horses are exceptionally hardy and strong, with great endurance. They are willing to work and quick to learn, with a friendly, relaxed temperament. Garranos are also very agile, thanks to thousands of years spent traversing difficult terrain in the mountains. citation: In the saddle/ breeds from around the world. Garrano 

This genetic mix is what gives Freya her strength and beauty. She is sturdy, gentle, large in frame and personality. We’ve not yet measured her, but she’s probably about 15 hands. She has a very strong thick neck and large head. She has an amazing mane that is slowly turning blonde as it grows. Her tail still hangs in long spiral curls. Her hooves are streaked vertically which indicates very strong hooves. They are also exceptionally round. Giving an honest assessment, she looks like the perfect hobby horse.

On the training side, we are in the thick of it. The most important element is teaching her to be a thinking horse and non-reactive. This is called desensitization. Look at all the items in the picture. We are using all these rattily-shaky objects all over her. She rides into, over, through, under and on. The goal is to develop her mind to be settled in all circumstances and look to her human for answers when she is confused.

A recent example of this is training her to accept the bit in her mouth. She doesn’t have a framework for why she cannot get the bit out of her mouth. So she chews, so backs up and she shakes her head. But slowly, by asking her to pay attention to me and move her feet, she accommodates to a new piece of powerful equipment. The bit is the communication between rider and horse, and she needs to accept it without hesitating.

“The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man.” Thank you for your prayers. When she is ready, I pray you will be able to enjoy a ride on Freya.

Rewarding Freya for good decisions. Make the good choice easy and the bad choice hard.