Would love to hear about the Escudo i/ii’s are progressing! I am pondering buying an Escudo ii offspring and would enjoy additional input. Temperament wise what are they like? How are they to start under saddle, over fences, and with dressage? How are their brains? Do they tend to be hot?
Would enjoy to see pictures and videos of anyone who has an escudo!
I have an E2 filly who will be 2 at the end of this month, I’ve started ground driving her and have done extensive groundwork, starting when she was a weanling. She has been loaded into the trailer many times, but we still haven’t closed the ramp on her or gone anywhere (I am almost always working with her by myself!), but this will come. I have desensitized her to ropes on and around her, etc., have lightly rested my weight on her in the stall while she was lying down (she was completely blase’), she wears a surcingle (no bridle yet), and I’ve been walking her over poles (set in a variety of “patterns”) since she was a yearling–she LOVES this! A natural jumper 
When she was 4 months old, she jumped out of her pasture over a 4 foot gate :eek: I would love to put her through a chute at some point, but where I board right now they are not set up for this.
She hates water :(, and it took me awhile (patience, treats, time) to get her to walk through puddles, but now she’s fine with it. Her dam (my former Prelim event horse) hated water too, and is suspicious of footing changes and textures under her feet–so I suspect this is hereditary.
If you’re on Facebook, here is a link to my page (she is in my profile pic and there are many photos of her from birth on):
https://www.facebook.com/lee.digangi
She is the spitting image of her sire, I see none of her mom in her!
She is also beautiful, elegant, and has a lot of natural presence (everyone thinks she’s bigger than she is because she thinks well of herself; of course her dam is the same way…) She has a lovely neck and head, great HQ (was a little goose rumped as a yearling but has grown out of it), straight legs and excellent feet. She DOES have a long back!! Not really sure where that came from…
Temperament-wise, she is by turns sweet, challenging, opinionated, compliant, and wicked, stinking smart. She has been a thrill to work with (since I enjoy a challenge), but she is a bit complicated and showed some “baby tude” when she was a weanling and yearling. I think this is partly because her dam spoiled her rotten (and she never met or interacted with another horse until she was weaned with other babies), and she felt that she was The Bee’s Knees. She is also VERY interested in other horses, and thinks that everyone should be her BFF.
:lol:
I have been working with a TTEAM practitioner (maybe 5 sessions over the past 6 months), and since my filly is a social, distractible girl, the exercises to calm and focus her brain have been invaluable. I’ve heard this about the E2s, they need to be mentally challenged and benefit from brain work, variety, consistency, and fairness. She responds well to timely correction and praise (and is VERY food oriented, so I have had to teach her manners and restraint), and is a wonderful student because she makes connections incredibly quickly, learns, and retains. She has a bit of a stubborn streak which comes out when she is asked to do something she is “unsure of” or doesn’t like, so I have had to be patient and persistent with her, putting pressure on and releasing it at the right time. She is very loving and sweet with ME (because we have a relationship), but can be a little suspicious of strangers–she is not necessarily the most trusting horse, but when you earn her trust, she is very willing. She is hugely curious, sniffs and investigates things (like a dog), and notices things over her head, cocks her head like the Victrola dog and “studies” them (I’ve never encountered this in my 40 years working with horses), so this should be interesting later on…She is probably the smartest horse I’ve ever worked with, though again–she can be reactive (her dam is, so that’s probably where she gets it), but she is sensible enough to calm right down afterward and re-focus on the human, and on her job.
I wouldn’t call her “hot”, she is sensitive in all the right ways (unless her stubborn streak comes out, or she is “testing”), and I think she will be easy to start and back, she has really matured this year and is settling down and figuring out her “job.” (For example, when I’m in her stall and attaching her surcingle and long lines, she stands like a STATUE: “I’m a good little soldier and I know it’s WORK TIME”. :winkgrin: She has “moments” where she “comes off the aids” (when distracted by something), but this is easily addressed with correction and re-direction.
Sorry to go on and on (and I could probably go on more, ha!), but I am completely in love with her and she is often my "reason to get up in the morning), even though I only get to see and work with her 2, 3 times a week.
Finally, movement wise she is not “fancy and uphill” like dressage bred types, but has a GOOD walk (like a hooker, good shoulder reach), a nice trot with some suspension, a very good canter (which I don’t often get to see!), balanced and ground covering–but not “uphill.” I have seen her gallop once, and she has a great gallop; much better than her dam’s! She was first premium at her inspection (8.3 total score) even with “barely any trot shown”, all she wanted to do was canter. And leave mom. And veer off to jump the cavaletti pole in the ring.
I hope others weigh in here, I know there are several COTHers with E2 babies, because I have been in touch with them, and a few are also FB friends!
Good luck, obviously you should evaluate the horse in front of you before making a decision, but in general the E2s, by reputation, are SMART, sweet, can be a bit stubborn at times (when you are introducing new things), and have opinions, but when they come around, they are fantastic riding horses. Good gaits, sensitive but sensible, great jump, lovely to look at
I have 2 EII mares…one is 3 and one is 6. Neither is hot. I call them fearless since they are the first to go investigate something new. Neither is spooky. The 6 yr old has been a broodmare the last 2 years and had a pasture accident as a yearling. She broke her trocanter but she looks sound. That hasn’t stopped her from jumping out of her paddock and then for fun jumping back in with her buddies. They are amazing athletes. Both mine are total love bugs who haven’t put a foot wrong training wise. They are the easiest horses on my farm. The 3 year old will be backed this fall but has had all the tack and everything else done to her with no issues. And in case I forgot to mention they are both stunning to look at. Their movement is a more flat knee type but could really go to any discipline.
This is the 3 yr old next to her Mom Phoebe (Pablo/Nebelwerfer)
Her name is Estrella and she has the coolest compass looking marking only the South directional is missing.
[QUOTE=europa;7604903]
This is the 3 yr old next to her Mom Phoebe (Pablo/Nebelwerfer)
Her name is Estrella and she has the coolest compass looking marking only the South directional is missing.[/QUOTE]
Europa - you need to set the album to public or provide the public link. I would love to see your EII mares (I remember the injury to your yearling way back when). I have a Pablo mare and wonder how he’d cross with her. I did have a EII-Gold Luck-Pablo filly and she was lovely, but had to be put down at 2 due to a neck injury.
I’m thrilled with my Escudo II in every way a mum can be thrilled with her kid 
Conformation as a 3-year old:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-gr-MwptrYyQ/T0vRAk_2lGI/AAAAAAAAQH0/JfCnGI7xZVs/w720-h538-no/3+Confor.jpg
Canter/Gallop:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Agxnwzz7Xf4/U44XxCROtfI/AAAAAAAAUd4/brmDPIyahv4/w548-h822-no/gallop.jpg
Jumping into water:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9qK3iP6G-d4/U44XyTZMV7I/AAAAAAAAUeU/gJU4-MlyF9E/w960-h640-no/water.jpg
My biggest complaint is so far (up to 3’6") the jumps just don’t do much for him…he’s not impressed enough to lower his neck and really use his body but you can feel that he’s just not trying very hard yet.
He’s super easy and brave when it comes to new jumps / water / ditches / etc. However he’s easily overwhelmed by noise and chaos and when he gets overwhelmed or unconfident he has a bit of a melt down. He’s laid down with me on him twice and tried about 10 other times. He can throw a tantrum like none other and he’s too smart for his own good. He’s never had much respect for the “power” of people…even with a chain he’ll just walk off and leave his handler if he feels like it. I don’t take him in public without a mouth-chain or bridle for fear he’ll just leave.
Other than that he doesn’t have any naughty habits and he’s a total mama’s boy. He’s sweet and nickers when he sees me and will try his heart out. He’s just now coming 6 and just starting to try hard even when he’s not feeling super confident which is a huge step for him.
As those above have already stated, the E2 kids are super smart, very athletic, brave, great jump and many have the gaits for Dressage too. They are also beautiful. I have seen many E2 kids and he definitely stamps his type to almost every mare.
Here’s my FB album of my E2 kid (my favorite horse ever) Chanel. She’s all kinds of awesome. Wins at the shows and takes me safely down the trail. She’s just turning 5 in a couple of weeks and is solid as a rock - no spook. That said, she has tons of presence and personal expression. To say I love this mare is an understatement, she’s truly my heart horse.
Chanel
http://www.facebook.com/tamara.torti.5/media_set?set=a.1096467809939.2015506.1173902979&type=3
I’ll chime in I have two full siblings out of a Swedish mare by Budweiser.
2012 E II Gelding, won on the line as a foal at Upperville and Warrenton. As a colt he was a bit of a handful, bold, cocky, and very athletic. Had no problem walking on his hind legs, not a mean bone in his body though. Now as a gelding 
he’s a total pro. So easy and completely unflappable. Very people oriented and begs to come out and be messed with. He retains everything you teach him. I think he will make up in to a wonderful hunter. Lovely flat kneed, ground covering trot, and balanced metronome canter. He is very careful and balanced over poles in the roundpen, but not the cracker jack jumper like my Balou du Rouet foals.
2012 E II Gelding Upperville
SWANA Inspection
2012 E II Gelding weaning
Warrenton
Last week
Full brother, a 2013. Much more suspension in the trot, could do straight dressage but not so much knee that he couldn’t do hunters as well. Still a colt but not at all cocky like the 2012 was at the same age. He’s more of a worrier than the other but is very very easy to deal with, he just sometimes needs a moment to process. Hasn’t popped over poles yet. Super sweet and kind.
2013 Colt
Hope this helps! I absolutely love my two E II boys. Would repeat the cross, for sure!
Boy, he certainly puts beautiful necks on his babies, doesn’t he?
All the above E2’s are beautiful! Interesting to hear about the variety of temperaments–the reports seem to be pretty consistent (although there IS, of course, the “dam’s input”…)
My mare is hypervigilant and preoccupied with everything she sees :rolleyes:, and my filly, Ella, probably inherited a bit of this tendency from her–however, Ella is VERY teachable I’m hoping that she will continue to mature, she seems to have become more sensible and less distractable as she approaches the age of 2.
(She also has a flat-kneed trot and canter like NaniLio’s colts, but then again so does her dam. However, E2 doesn’t have much knee action himself, which is probably why he produces good hunters.)
