RU Shivna
RU Shivna. Photo by K. Schapell
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Scroll down for more information & updates!
| Information |
Breeding |
Students & Sponsors |
- Gender: Filly
- Born: April/May 2008
- Color: Sorrel
- Weight as of 1/14/2010
- 5565 kg or 1243 lb
- Height as of 1/14/2010
Withers: 61 in
Rump: 64 in |
¾ Quarter Horse, ¼ Belgian
- Sire: Cadillac Coyjack (Quarter Horse)
- Sire Height: 15.1h
- Dam: "18" (½ Quarter Horse, ½ Belgian)
- Siblings: RU Sergeant Pepper- class of 2008 (full brother)
Bred by Hiatt Ranch in Bottineau, North Dakota, USA
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- Students: Ewa Hausbrandt and Lesley Sun
- Sponsors: Sandra Denarski and Johnson&Johnson
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Updates
November
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Time is
flying by! Shivna is progressing very well in every aspect of her training.
This past month we started a training schedule for all the horses and assessed
them all with an initial standardized test involving desensitization and
willingness to obey commands. The test
included things such as standing still for one minute, leading from both the
right and left side, and other aspects of basic training. The yearlings all did
very well, and Shivna performed very well in most aspects –with the exception
of leading from the right side, to which she responded by bolting away from Dr.
Ralston!
Since
then, any weaknesses she had initially have been corrected. Most importantly,
she can now lead from the right side! In addition to this, we have been
desensitizing all the horses to novel objects and grading their performance.
The most recent tests have involved rubbing down the yearlings with towels and
having them step over a piece of packing cardboard. Shivna has seen towels
before, so this was not new to her and she stood perfectly for the whole
procedure. And as for the cardboard, she sniffed at it once, and had no
problems stepping onto it.
Over the past two weeks, we have been getting
the yearlings ready for some more complex training. The goal is to get them
ground driving by the end of the year. Unfortunately, this might take longer
than expected because they all seem to be weak on free-lunging in the round
pen! Pardner and Glinda seem to be the
best with it, but Fire and Shivna are having some difficulty with paying
attention to the person training them. The first two sessions done with Shivna
were not very successful. She is definitely an alpha mare and really prefers
making her own decisions in regards to turning and moving foward. Also, it was
difficult to make her walk, since she seems to prefer to trot whilst in the
round pen. However Shivna progressed immensely in her last session! She was
round-penned by her other student, Lesley and it went superbly. She walked when
asked, only resisted a couple of turns, and spent the rest of the time
patiently listening to her trainer and doing exactly what was asked of her.
This was definitely a good day for her. And it has also clearly shown that
Shivna knows how to do all of this as long as she’s putting her mind to the
task. Hopefully, there will be more days like this to come!
Written By: Ewa Hausbrandt
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October
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Shivna just keeps growing! We took measurements last week,
and she now stands 59.5 inches at the withers and 62.75 inches at the rump. We
were unable to weigh her the scale at the Ryder's Lane barn has been broken but
will soon be fixed. She, along with all the other yearlings and weanlings, were
recently put through a few standardized behavior tests. The first, the preliminary assessment,
was to ensure that all of the young horses knew their basic commands and could
cope with a few basic situations. To make it more fair, Dr. Ralston was the
handler for all the horses. Shivna did well for the most part – except for the
last couple of tests, despite her having gone through all these situations last
year. She spooked slightly when the students clapped their hands loudly outside
of the testing pen, she had pulled away slightly when a broom was shown to her
(though she stepped over it with no qualms!), and when Dr. Ralston went to lead
her from her right side, Shivna had a “fight for freedom” moment and took off.
Her overall score was only a 3.3 out of a possible 4.5, making it a B.
For the second test, the horses were individually led down the “scary aisle” of the barns. Dr.
Ralston led all the horses again, so the horses would all have the same
handler. Shivna handled this test like a pro! She looked down the aisle
curiously before she walked in, and didn't startle at the new white feeder on
the side of the aisle. It seemed as if she had been led in and out of the aisle
on a daily basis. Personally, I think she redeemed herself by a little bit. She
did get an overall A!
Outside of the tests, Ewa and I have been
working with Shivna on perfecting her basic commands. She has learned to halt
on vocal command now, and will usually turn on her haunches without any
physical pressure when asked. While she backs up without any problems, Shivna
is not too good at backing up straight, so that's what our most recent project is.
We will also be working her with some more advanced training soon hopefully,
such as introducing a bit to the mouth, and possibly some ground-driving and
free lunging.
Written By: Lesley Sun
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September
Shivna has grown so much over
the past year! I was very surprised when I came in to see her at the start of
September. All in all, this month has started off very well for Shivna. First
off, she has returned to a pattern of daily grooming sessions and nothing seems
to please her more than to receive this sort of attention. She usually holds
still for most of it, unless she gets distracted by food. She keeps her stomach
close to her heart and it often wins out.
Her favorite part of grooming
is always her mane and face. Shivna will put her face right in front of mine,
and hold very still while I brush her cheeks and forehead. Her least favorite
is always her hooves, and sometimes she is a little stubborn with lifting her
left hind leg. Unfortunately for her, I am very persistent and make sure to
clean that one out very well each time.
Most recently, we have been
introducing the yearlings to the mustangs and weanlings in the pastures. This
has proven to be very exciting because all the horses seem to be learning about
each other. The most fascinating part of it, to me at least, is the reaction of
the yearlings towards the weanlings. All of the yearling horses (Shivna
included!) seem completely enthralled by the babies. They touch noses with them
whilst in the stalls and really look as if they are trying to protect and care
for the new arrivals. Shivna is housed next to RU Genesis and whenever I go in
to groom, there is always some sort of interaction between them.
Written By: Ewa Hausbrandt
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March
Shivna is doing wonderfully as the spring weather sets in. We moved the
horses to the Red Barn over spring break, and Shivna was a pro for the
trailer. She hopped right on, and after the short ride, got right off
and boldly walked into the new barn. It didn't take her long at all to
settle in, and she definitely seems to be enjoying her new field and
accommodations.
Shivna is already completely shed out! She looks absolutely
stunning; she's lightened up a bit, and her rump-dapples are starting
to really show. While she was adorable in her fuzzy winter coat, her
new spring look really highlights how much she's grown and emphasizes
what a lovely filly she's become. Her personality is just as shining;
she's smart and has taken quickly to the new commands and stimuli. She
has some new faces working with her, too, as the Ag Field day
preparations have begun and new students are being taught to handle the
horses. She's adjusted well to this, and seems to like her new human
friends.
We had the preview for Horses 2009 this past weekend, and
Shivna behaved perfectly. She wasn't at all concerned with the huge
crowd, and even took a nap during part of the preview! When the time
came to bring her out to show to the attendees, she was curious but not
worried. Trotting in front of them, she went very nicely without any
fuss! I was incredibly proud.
It's amazing to think that so much time has already passed…
the next month will be an exciting one, and I look forward to seeing
how it goes for Shivna! I'm quite positive that she'll only continue to
shine brighter in the coming weeks. |
Written by Victoria Hanke
February
As the cold months pass, Shivna continues to do well and progress. We
are starting to learn more commands and see more new things as the
spring arrives, in preparation for Ag Field Day and the Auction. I have
no doubt that Shivna will do just as well with the new experiences as
she has in the past semester. Shivna has already mastered the 'scary
aisle' of the barn, and is more curious than anything about it. She's
quite brave!
Shivna and the other horses seem to enjoy the snow, and often
need a bit of coaxing to come into the barn for their dinner. They are
all getting bigger, too, and Shivna is growing into a lovely young
horse. She is going to be quite striking when she matures!
I'm looking forward to all the new things that spring will
bring, and I have a feeling that Shivna will really start to bloom in
the coming months. |
Written by Victoria Hanke
November
Shivna has been progressing
nicely. She's a fun filly to be around, and really loves people and
attention. She's curious and eager to explore; she walked down most of
the 'scary aisle' in the barn without a fuss, sniffing around at
everything along the way. She has also settled down a bit, and is less
stubborn about doing tasks that displease her.
For Shivna's second farrier visit, she was so much better than
she'd been previously! She only tried to pull away once, and then
calmed down so that her feet could all be worked on. Unfortunately, she
has gotten toed out in the front, but we'll be doing everything that we
can to correct the issue.
I'm quite sure that Shivna will continue to impress me with
her growth as the months go by, and I look forward to being a part of
her development. |
Written by Victoria Hanke
October
RU Shivna arrived at the
beginning of September and has settled nicely into life at Rutgers.
Sired by Cadillac Coyjack (known affectionately as Bobby), she's a full
sister to last year's RU Sergeant Pepper. She has some of the same
personality traits as her big brother, like his love for scratches and
attention, though she's turned out to be more opinionated at times!
Shivna, right off the bat, was curious and friendly towards
the people and things around her. Not particularly spooky, she adjusted
to the barn fairly well... with a few exceptions. At first, she really
did not like getting on the scale! After throwing a few temper
tantrums, however, we managed to convince her that it was a lot more
pleasant to just calmly walk on and off, and now she does so without
hesitating. She's also great for grooming, including picking up all
four feet, though she's not too fond of having them held up for long
periods of time. With work, though, I'm quite sure that she'll improve
with that! She's definitely a fast learner.
In addition to those tasks, Shivna has had saliva samples and
blood taken, been orally dewormed and, most recently, been I.V.
catheterized. She stood still and didn't put up any fuss, and patiently
let us draw blood samples for our low-dose oral dextrose trial.
Overall, Shivna is a lot of fun to work with! She's
definitely got a very distinct personality, and I can't wait to see how
she continues to develop throughout the year.
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Written by Victoria Hanke
Equine Science Center
Rutgers University
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