Dutch harness horse drama. Update major mare/ foal neglect Nov 2023 post 1782 Update Kate Shearer responds post 1930 Nov 25/23

No.

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Mares love their foals - big difference in loving being pregnant and the process to get there.

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I think you are crazy if you think my post is even comparable to KS’s viciousness.

Regardless, if you have a problem with the post, flag it and let the moderator do their job.

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I don’t think this is necessarily an equals statement.

If I were to fall into $$ I would absolutely breed my mare. Although the appeal of her raising a foal is lovely, there are other considerations to take into account such as age, soundness of limb (although she is, she did have a nasty laminitic episode a few years back), soundness of respiratory tract, and temperament*. It would make a lot more sense to have a younger mare with a proven record of carrying and foaling out easily as surrogate.

And that’s just my one case. Mares that are showing - what if their careers don’t end until their into their mid to late teens?

As with so many other things, it’s not black and white - the surrogate mare has less value.

*no foal needs to learn to be as much Queen of the Universe as her lol let’s give the little bugger a chance at normalcy by being raised by a horse with a normal-sized ego. Rofl.

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I completely understand your thought process here BUT…

I also know which one of my horses I would try to save first in a fire.

I’m also guilty of sometimes thinking too much/too deeply about some things.

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Look at it differently… many recipient mares are thankful to have this job-- and a worthy life. In my neck of the woods, a lot of recips are “unwanted” TB mares… unfashionably bred, slow, not worth breeding themselves, poor genetics, unsound, track injuries, not suitable for a riding career…those mares could end up in a scary situation at a kill pen or as a neglected wormy “pasture pet” with unkempt feet slowly dying of malnutrition in someone’s backyard. Instead, they become mothers to sport horse foals…producing lovely WBs, QHs, and other well-bred animals. The recips enjoy lots of turnout, proper nutrition, vet care, farrier work, and have a respectable quality of life. Is there a risk during/after foaling? Of course…but it’s a reasonable trade off, IMO.

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10. Private or Sensitive Information on Public Forums.
It is important to remember that comments submitted to a forum may be recorded and stored in multiple places, both on our Website and elsewhere on the Internet, which are likely to be accessible for a long time and you have no control over who will read them eventually. It is therefore important that you are careful and selective about the personal information that you disclose about yourself and others, and in particular, you should not disclose sensitive, embarrassing, proprietary or confidential information in your comments to our public forums.

Which you did, by copying private text messages and personal information which I’m sure you had no permission to expose.

@Moderator_1 seems to be asleep on the job. Is your conscience asleep as well?

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Those texts were posted by the author on a public page.

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Calling people “old coots” is definitely a thing on COTH.

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Great viewpoints to consider re the recip mares, I appreciate the conversation. Thanks all!

Really good points @EventerAJ a local breeder uses recip mares for a few reasons and treats them like gold. They have a lovely home with her, and they might not otherwise have such a nice life!

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The horse version of “A Handmaid’s Tale.” :grimacing:

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Yeah I knew a repro vet who had a field full of the fugliest OTSB mares. Nice sturdy horses but very plain. Not a bad life having babies.

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Go look at the posts. They are screenshots Kasheare took of text messages between her and the braider and posted on FB, which @Warmblood1 reposted here and then, absurdly, castigated Kasheare for shaming the braider.

The braider did not post them. I don’t understand how you can defend that violation of the TOS of this board.

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Well, it’s not totally that. Not entirely. Part of it is that I am attached emotionally to my own horse but not to some abstract horse I don’t know and have never met. But that’s not all of it.

It’s partially that a surrogate mare has carried a foal to term and delivered before with some predictability and my mare hasn’t. I know she has done this successfully and can be a good mom. I have… some doubts… about my mare :wink:

Also it’s that my mare has value as a riding horse (both to me and in an abstract sense)-- more value than her value as a broodmare. A surrogate mare isn’t valueless. Her value is different. A surrogate mare’s value is her ability to carry, birth, and raise a foal. That’s her job and what she’ll be doing whether with my foal or someone else’s.

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One of the two writers posted them publicly on FB. If HB wants them removed she will ask the Mod to remove them.

It doesn’t reflect badly on HB, IMO. It does reveal quite a lot about KS, who employed her for a time, then and now.

HB was given incorrect information and did a lovely job. I hope the owner who accidentally gave her the wrong barn/stall paid her anyway.

In addition, HaleyBot came here and stated she was the braider. So she knowingly identified herself.

She has chronic injuries and perseveres despite the pain and side effects of her legally prescribed medication(s). She has no reason to feel ashamed. Not now and certainly not in the past for asking for a loan!

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I was thinking about this point too. I hope that owner paid her extra for all that hard work. Braids that lovely take quite a bit of time.

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We removed the screenshots of the texts per a request by the other party, but all of this information is being discussed publicly on FB, both parties have chosen to identify themselves on this site, and individuals are allowed to post information about their experiences with other professionals in the industry.

We’ve edited out some accusations and quotes referring back to the inappropriate comments.

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I wrestled with that same mind set, ie that mare’s life is worth less than my mare’s when I did my ET but then I decided that wasn’t my decision to sell/donate the recip mare to the vet hospital so it wasn’t my value that mattered. I treated my recip like the queen that she was including feeding her 17.2 self 18 pounds of growth feed per day while she was lactating. We were given the option of purchasing at the end of her contract because she was an older mare that they were hesitant to use as a recip again but we passed. We did help her find the perfect home for her with a friend however so yes, we valued her life somewhat less as we weren’t willing risk our own mare to carry the foal but we went above and beyond to make sure she had the best chance to be safe.

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Animals lack free will/autonomy and don’t choose ANYTHING they do. This is a pretty inapt analogy. Mares don’t ever “choose” to get pregnant, regardless of the means by which they get pregnant and whose foal they carry. They get pregnant because we allow or cause it to happen.

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And feral mares generally have a foal every year.

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