Winter Hill Aetna is my 10y/o gorgeous registered Percheron mare (#277329). She came to me from Winter Hill Farm in Glastonbury, CT - of which is owned by Peter & Nancy Saglio. I can�t thank them enough for giving me the opportunity to take this lovely lady in! I can�t believe I could have such a magnificent Percheron for free. That�s right - FREE! I was lucky enough to come across her ad on Equine.com. Her owners were looking for a new home for her. After a few seasons of not keeping her foals, they decided to find her a new home. Being a breeding farm, they couldn�t afford taking another chance of her not taking again. Though she had carried two foals previously to full term. I�m hoping to breed her in the future - maybe I�ll be lucky enough to have a foal from her. If not, though, it�s not a big deal - I just enjoy her immensely.

We met the Saglio�s half-way at a truck-stop. It was a long trip, but it was so worth it! We arrived there first & when I saw them pull in with their gorgeous trailer, I could hardly contain myself. When they finally came to a stop & opened up their trailer, I swear my heart skipped a beat. There she was - well, her lovely dappled butt, anyway! *haha* They backed her off & let her stretch her legs a bit. God, she was gorgeous! I had never been near such a large horse before & I was just taken aback by her perfection. I don�t care who you are, you just have to be in awe of a horse over 17hh! Especially of one that�s so sweet & careful of where she places her feet. It was so funny because when she got off their trailer, she just looked at me & looked at, Mike, and seemed to say... OK, you�ll do. We said our good-byes & our thanks & were on our way. The poor dear, our trailer was considerably smaller than theirs � any smaller & she wouldn�t have fit. Her ears touched the ceiling. I was glad that our trip wasn�t any longer - she must have felt so cramped. Needless to say, we made it home safely & she seemed very grateful to be off the trailer. She took in her new surroundings & pretty much settled in quite quickly. At the time, it was winter, so we had to keep her in the barn for the most part. I loved when spring time came, though. The first day we let her out, she took off like a rocket - galloping over the hill. It was so beautiful. And of course, Remington was hot on her heels - he�s always up for a good run. When I see her everyday, I remain thankful. She only deepened my love for the Draft breeds.

My girl is just the epitome of the saying, �gentle giant.� She�s got a heart of gold - proof that good things don�t always come in small packages. I couldn�t ask for a nicer mare to grace my barn. She does have a minor case of arthritis in one of her hind tendons, but this only flares up during the colder months... and she is blind in one eye due to a pasture accident as a foal - this doesn�t seem to hinder her in the least. She gets around great. She isn�t pushed around by Remington, either. Which I find to be rather funny. Remmy is quite the spoiled brat & seems to be the bully of the herd, but Aetna always puts him in his place. I�m thankful that someone will. Sometimes his head just gets too big. *hehe*

As of now I haven�t backed, Aetna. I�m not sure if I ever will. I don�t think it would be a problem, but I wouldn�t want to cause her more injury. If I ever did, though, I�m sure she�d take it all in stride. Her temperament is so laid-back, I love her. She�s gentle with my step-son, Matt, as well. The first time she met him, she just lowered her head & gave him a little nudge on the cheek - I wish I had my camera, because it was an adorable moment! So, for now, yes... �Etty�s� my little pasture ornament & buddy to the other horses. I think she�d be an awesome foal-sitter too. Either way, I think she�s content - she�s certainly not skinny. Which reminds me of a story that I was told by the Saglio�s.
Aetna was once starved. The poor dear. Apparently her previous owners told me that they did lease her out to someone once. Who ever the person was didn�t feed her enough - or at all. Which broke my heart to hear. They said they hardly recognized her when they saw her. I just can�t understand how someone could do that to an innocent horse - ANY animal for that matter! We domesticated them & asked them to live with us. Now they depend on us. It sickens me when I think of how she must have felt. And still she remains so trusting of people & so sweet. This is something else that I love about horses - they�re so very forgiving. So now I really don�t feel bad that she�s a bit overweight - I think she deserves it. *hehe* She was still a bit skinny when we got her, so I�m glad she�s put on the weight. As long as she�s happy & healthy, she can eat as much as she wants (within reason, of course). So again, my thanks go out to Peter & Nancy for entrusting me with this �big momma.� I�m looking forward to my life with her. I truly think that things happen for a reason. I was meant to have this beautiful spirit in my life!

The above pic is the first sight I had of Aetna. This was taken by her previous owners @ Winter Hill Farm.

These next pics were taken within her first few weeks here (Jan/Feb 2006).



You can see she was still a little skinny at this time.

This image shows the size difference between her & Remmy. This was taken in the spring of 2006. He looks like a little colt! *hehe* Please, excuse the mud.

Here's another shot of her in the summer of '06. It's so hard keeping her clean!

Goodness, I'm so ashamed @ how out of shape she is here!

Here's her lovely head again. You can tell she's such a sweetheart!

:: Her Pedigree ::
born on August 16th, 1996

White Clover Mark	Mc Gee	Did
		La Ruby
	Maverick's Judy	Maverick
		Judette
Lydia's Sue	Patrick's Bill	Patrick
		Starlight Silvers Monet
	Esquire's Lydia Sue	Esquire
		Susan's Silver Louise