We Ride Sport and Trail Magazine January - February 2019 | Page 9

Hermit's Silver Shadow, Xalvador's sire and sire to other spotted Gypysians

Photo by Jennifer Rose

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GYPSIAN STALLION

Lord Xalvador

bred silver dapple tobiano Gypsian filly. Successful foals out of her by our stallion Xalvador may well be the first F2** foals in the USA.

I brought Vangie home in April 2012 and bred her to Silver

Xalvador was born March 9, 2013. I call Xalvador my

miracle child as the day he was ‘due’ Vangie colicked. She

was treated locally with my vet for three days and wasn’t

improving, so we opted for surgery to see what was going

on. Vangie had a displaced colon. The uterus was removed

to repair the displaced colon and then replaced, as foals

typically do not do well via c-secion. The vet said,

“Hopefully she won’t foal for a few weeks so she can heal".

Vangie foaled 3 days later!

Xalvador presented with slight dummy* foal syndrome, and

spent three days in ICU. But he pulled out of it and has been

strong and vibrant ever since. The stallion has grown to

15.1 hands as a coming 6 year old. His dam was only 15.2,

small for a Friesian, and his sire only 13.2. This proved to

me that Silver's foals typically take after the size of their

dams. My herd grew over the years as I selected horses I

knew would do well for beach rides and my breeding

program. Unique breeds like the

Gypsies, Gypsians and Haflinger

/Gypsy crosses make beach

and mountain riding

appealing and exciting to the horse person. I was drawn

to these breeds for their great minds, beauty and ability to

do whatever asked, from trails, driving to parades.

Xalvador is great with other horses, kids and even dogs. He

has become my main riding horse as I guide beach rides

for my business, "No Worries Beach Trail Rides", in

Templeton, California. He has two foals on the ground from

2018, a colt and a filly. Both are solid bays but utterly

fantastic and very fancy. Xalvador's sire, Silver, has since

sired other spotted Gypsians which are quite popular.

The care for this breed is quite easy. Excellent, solid feet

and easy keepers who do well on just our good California

hay.

I am looking forward to 2019 as we will bring home a

stunning, well-