Seems like we’ve done everything for this horse, but there’s always more. We’ve done EPM meds (both generic and Marquis), we’ve treated for ulcers, we’ve chiro’d him, acupunctured him (a lot), Bemer’d him.
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Have you fixed his feet? I lots of behavioral issues stem from terrible feet making everything else hurt, then ulcers on top due to the constant pain.
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He got you off once and landed a kick. I totally get being done but without seeing the full picture euthanasia is a hard thing for me to recommend. I got nailed in the knee in 2023 by a fairly solid horse in a freak accident.
I know throwing money after a horse isn’t fun but personally, I’d scope for ulcers, X-ray all four feet, and x ray neck and back. It’ll set you back $2k. If there’s something super nasty and only fixable with surgery and extensive rehab, I’d say enough is enough. If there are some yellow flags of issues, I’d list him explicitly with these things and see if someone wants to take the chance that an ulcers NPA horse will come around.
I think giving him away without doing some basic why is a hard thing to justify because you’re asking someone else to take on all of the risk and I do think it increases the odds of them getting bounced or dumped.
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Call the person you bought him from. They may have some ideas. I tell my clients when the trust is gone it’s often impossible to replace, so I get where you are coming from on wanting to be done. I’m also always the first to say when it’s unlikely that a horse will find a place in the world, as I work with rescue horses and know how hard it is to place the complicated ones. But this one sounds, at least from this small window, like some bad luck and bad timing. Your foot thing could be anything basically, so it’s too early to say it has long term soundness issues, and the incidents are unfortunate but not so uncommon as to label it dangerous beyond the normal horse. Talk to your trainer, the seller, anyone else who knows the horse, and see what pops up.
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Sure, I 100% get that you are done.
Maybe give him over to a QUALITY NH horsemanship trainer. I mean one with a great track record. They can retrain him and move him on to a good home.
Here’s an example of what they can do.
https://fb.watch/vw1V3U5ECe/
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I’d move him along. Agree that the behavior does not, to me, warrant euthing - BUT, should you not be able to find him a home I’m also not opposed.
Any chance you can find a gutsy young rider to care lease him for awhile to get him legged back up, and agree to give them 10% (or more, depending) of sale price?
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Jesus. That’s beyond my skillset for sure.
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OPs horse certainly was not “ delightful” under saddle when he sent her to the ER.
This video, IMO, shows several serious indications something is really wrong. First off, he never settles. Oh, he looks good for a circle or so then suddenly blows…then quiets down only to blow again. He’s not playing out of freshness, not porpoising or screwing around, he means business cracking that back end up that hard. Thats no playful kick out of an abundance of energy And he’s not wearing out, he’s getting stronger and higher behind.
Of greatest concern, IMO, is when trainer approaches him at the end after he seems to have quieted? Horse lets him get close them turns away and lets a double barreled kick fly in trainers direction. I wont have that. That can kill.
Something is wrong. Doubt it’s in the front with him so willing to buck and kick way up behind. Back maybe? Or it’s neurological.
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That’s not OP’s horse.
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Ohhhh….my bad. Too early. But that video is a good illustration of problematic behavior, will edit the text.
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Not everything can be fixed by a “QUALITY NH horsemanship trainer”. I know because I have worked with one of the best.
Just like anything else in life, there are no guarantees, except for death and taxes. Just like people, not every horse can be fixed.
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Very true, the femur breaking incident was probably the least delightful thing I’ve ever experienced!
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Not sure about rehoming him to a NH trainer, but I do have one coming out later this week to work with us on ground manners.
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But an athletic 5-6 y/o that’s probably feeling himself on a cold day isn’t a reason to PTS. At one point he was well behaved under saddle, went to shows, etc.
If OP said he was an outlaw and bucked off herself, her trainer, tried to run her down, super aggressive, never be sound again…. By all means euthanize and I’ll support that decision all day long. I don’t support it when OP is probably just over horsed and horse is probably used to pro handling and learned to take advantage.
5-7 y/o horses are not for the faint of heart. They (many) get confident, test boundaries, and think they are somebody. Many need work and have their brain busy or they do dumb things. They also do dumb things and injure themselves.
OP doesn’t trust him and doesn’t seem like she likes him. That’s ok. Just move him along to someone that’s willing to put in the consistent work. You don’t have to jump to euthanasia.
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But also you can.
Animals live in a day.
From the limited information shared I think horse may have a career ahead. I also don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with euthanizing an animal. There are lots of great horses out there and the minute he leaves her there isn’t any guarantee about his safety or outcome.
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@luvmyhackney, maybe 5-7 year olds in your world are questionable, but in my world that are solid citizens who know their boundaries on the ground and what their jobs are under saddle. If they get to 5-7 years old and do not know these things, that is a problem.
My current 2 year old knows his ground manners, and certainly knows better than to kick me!
There are not enough sanctuaries and rescues in this world for some of these horses. There are not enough trainers, who can successfully work with them.
Some horses just have issues no matter what you try. But hey, I have only owned horses for 45+ years, so what do I know!
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I think people don’t see the thousand ways horses test and check who is actually in charge, and what is or isn’t allowed. I saw it every single day when I boarded. The little tiny things that people ignore, that build into bigger things. Problems “come out of no where” when in reality they have been building for weeks/months without being checked.
I’m sure some people think I’m a czar about ground manners. But every little thing adds up.
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It is very difficult to know what to do with a horse that has behavioral problems. I rehabbed a TB that had come from a neglect situation. When I got him back to a good weight, he started displaying behaviors (rearing, napping) that I didn’t want to deal with. I did find a situation for him with a trainer that was willing to retrain him (I sold him for $1), but we made a deal before hand that if he didn’t improve, we’d either find a retirement home or euthanize him. Luckily for this horse, he’s been doing a lot better with a serious program and a rider who has the experience to deal with him and who is 30 years younger than I am. So it is possible, but it’s hard to find the right situation.
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At least you can speak with them about options that might be available to you.
BTW, it really is not easy to give a horse away and if you do, you cannot really control what they do with the horse.
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Not related to OP but I have a low budget to purchase and generally misbehaving athletic 4-6 y/o’s with poor manners are in my budget and fun to work with.
2-3y/o’s are people pleasing sponges and then someone doesn’t maintain those manners from 3-5 and they turn into little hellions at 5-7. I’m sure with your 45 years of experience you keep working with them and remind them of the little things vs waiting for it to escalate. Most people don’t have that skill and your 45 years of experience to lean on.
I sent mine to training as I was working 80 hour weeks and hard to be consistent which all horses need at that age.
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