Admirable? Yes. Practical?
The horse is in Canada, though, assuming the poster’s location of Alberta is correct. He probably wouldn’t get shipped to Mexico.
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You could donate him to a university veterinary program. He would probably be euthanized but at least it would help educate veterinarians. We have donated three horses to Auburn over the years who had chronic lameness. One lived for years donating blood. It was free and humane.
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Completely understand why you dont want to take this horse on, especially since you’ve seen for yourself how he is.
What discipline is he in?
Is it possible to reach out to an event trainer who wants to find a prospect to bring up the levels?
Good event trainers have a healthy sense of self preservation but they are also willing to take a risk where others may be hesitant.
If the horse is otherwise sound enough to enter training , then an eventing program may be a good thing for this horse.
Hunters and Dressage riders tend to put up with bad behavior as long as they still win on it, but most of the eventers I know wont stand for dangerous or unpredictable behavior.
I boarded with a woman who bought what was on paper the perfect event horse. But she found out very quickly that 1) he hated cross country and wasnt shy about showing it. Got to be very difficult to the point she wouldnt try to school him anymore.
2) She was and is a very capable horse woman but she knew her limits and she wasnt going to get hurt trying. She wasnt afraid but she also wasnt going to waste her time and risk serious injury.
She sold him to a woman who was looking for a hunter and he turned out to be quite good at it and loved it.
Now if the horse cannot be brought back enough or hes too dangerous for anyone to handle. then the kindest thing to do is to euthanize.
It may be a while because of pandemic, but eventers are always looking for prospects. As long as you are honest and fully disclose there is nothing wrong with trying to find a buyer.
I understand that NB doesn’t have a lot of resources but has she approached a trainer who might be willing to take the horse in on consignment,? Or maybe outright just buy the horse?
I am aware that there are unscrupulous trainers who wiil gladly take such a horse and sell it to some unsuspecting Noob, but there are good trainers out there who are good at retraining horses and finding them good homes.
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There’s not really enough info in the post to go from. But please do the right thing and euthanize if that is the choice, don’t send him to auction/slaughter
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I know the op clarified this, but for those not reading all the posts, know your terms.
Rendering =/= slaughter.
In fact if you do not bury or cremate your euthanized horse, there’s a good chance the remains were sent to a rendering facility.
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Or donate him
to a university program.
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I hadn’t thought of donating him to a university program. I don’t know if that is a thing around here? Worth asking!
he is super sweet on the ground (why she bought him). She has had the vet look at him, and he doesn’t have any obvious unsoundness. Nothing too in depth though.
It is sad.
Why not have someone try training him as a trail horse? It sounds like he doesn’t like an indoor arena or jumping. This doesn’t make him worthless. Obviously the horses owner sees something in this horse, as they are putting effort into making him into a nice horse. If he only has heaves in a stable, he may benefit from a different environment.
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U of C. Vet program will take certain horses! They took one of ours to live on their farm that had heart issues as they were doing a study! When the time came he was humanely euthanized! If he has heaves he might be of interest!
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This horse doesn’t sound unsellable it just sounds like he needs consistent training. I think he’d make a great project for someone that knows what they’re doing. Maybe reach out to local rescues?
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Maybe try reaching out to as many local trainers as possible? Even if they’re not looking they might know someone who is, especially if the horse has potential with some training. You migjt be able to find someone willing to take him on as a prospect or train him up amd resell.
If that is not possible then euthanasia is the kindest option. Much better than a trip to the slaughter house.
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1: Bad heaves.
2: Behaviour that may be neurological or physical. Beyond behavioural, both the persistent bucking and the refusal to ‘do’ poles hint at these as posibilities. (Back pain? Stifles?)
3: I will always question a mature WB ‘prospect’ going cheap. But then I think the odds are stacked against finding a diamond in the rough.
4: Always question why so much was put into the in-hand work and not the ridden work. Why?
5: Bad heaves. For a performance career? No way.
The chances of someone taking on a horse like this for a second career are pretty low. Sounds as though the OP knows that.
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Sending a horse through the slaughter pipeline is cruel…
Cruel to the horse - and somewhere along the slaughter pipeline - horse could be rescued by a kind hearted person.
Don’t do it to the horse. Don’t do it to whomever might buy the pretty, sweet warmblood.
There are gems that end up at auctions / kill pens.
There are some that should have been shot / PTS and not taken to auction.
These kinds of horses put a black eye on auction/kill pen horses.
Most people assume horses end up in these horrible places for a reason.
It makes me angry that folks drop off a potentially dangerous horse at an auction.
If you / anyone knows a horse is “useless” - do the right thing.
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I think you can find an experienced AA like myself to take this guy on for free, but it depends how bad the heaves and bucking are.
Also, there are a lot of trainers in the world that make their living turning around horses like this. It sounds to me like he just needs regular, assertive, consistent handling and riding. If he hates the indoor and isn’t that into jumping that’s ok. If he managed to take his (sounds like) somewhat timid and less than experienced owner on a hack a couple summers ago I think he would do fine as a trail horse and low level dressage mount. Which appears to be what most middle-aged+ women want anyways (though not myself). AND, would it be the worst thing in the world if he found one of those financially secure middle-aged ladies that isn’t terribly motivated to ride and does end up doing ground work for the rest of his life? There are people that love that stuff.
Anyways, she could always “lifetime free lease” him to make sure the home is suitable and then hand over ownership once it’s clear it’s a good fit. I wouldn’t euthanize until I’d made an honest attempt to find that home.
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I think with total transparency, a good place for him could be found. As many here have echoed, some are willing to take on such a horse. I would have a decade ago.
I suggest reaching out to some trainers with decent reputations and offering him for free.
”‹”‹”‹”‹Might take some time for the right person to hear about him, but it’s his life on the line so at least to him, worth the effort.
This thread could already be putting the fates in motion, and I am pretty sure as horse people, we are all thinking of someone the might be a willing recipient.
Location is the preventative element for me to help with suggested people, or I certainly would!
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That’s silly. The auctions/kill pens have historically been where bad actors go. It’s what the kill pens are for. What gives these horses a “bad rap” is the idiots who think they are all Black Beauty or Snowman and think that loves conquers everything.
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No disrespect to any vet, vets do an awesome job for our horses.
The average vet once-over to “look at him” will not find a plethora of serious internal issues. Was it enough to identify an SI? To pick up on possible ulcers? Many basic exams would not find either (although one could argue that an experienced vet would pick up on the possibility). The SI alone can lead to a lot of serious bucking, and seemingly untrainable behavior. (It is untrainable until the problem is fixed because SI can cause jabs of excruciating pain beyond which an animal can even control its reaction.)
In-depth diagnostics that can identify causes of these kinds of behaviors can be expensive. For a horse owner with marginal finances, it may be out of reach - but without it the horse is an ornament (aka “useless”). If several hundred dollars would be an issue, then this horse is likely to go undiagnosed and probably shouldn’t be anything but an ornament aka useless.
And this is why ‘rescue’ horses can be very expensive to rehabilitate. And why it is so hard to find the right home for horses such as this. Especially with pasture-ornament homes being so much more scarce than they were a few decades ago.
Words matter. “Useless” means there is no place for him in a world where owners want to use their horses. “Ornament” means there is a place for him, but it is one that does not ask him to work.
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Just a side thought - This type of need is one reason that charity rescues exist, because they will provide or network a home for a horse that no one else can afford due to non-use conditions. Charitable rescue orgs depend on donations for the possibly significant expenses required to rehab a horse like this. Or they network pasture homes for “companion only” horses that are ‘useless’ aka ‘ornaments’.
However, a rescue may not take this one on if he already has a home. They are typically over-subscribed and have to select, however hard it is for them to say ‘no’. But the owner could try a rescue, if she wishes to do so.
None of us have seen your horse so of course we are all just speculating.
Horses can buck for many reasons, pain , feeling good, an unbalanced rider.
Now an unbalanced or tense rider can mean different things to different horses.
Last month I let someone on my upper level horse because she wanted to try to ride changes every 2 strides.
My mare objected to her aids and threw in a couple of pissy bucks.
This horse has never bucked with me or my trainer, I think my friend ( who is a good rider was just clamping with her leg)
So honestly as many people here have suggested, talk to some local trainers, an event trainer would be a good starting point, and see what they think.
The fact that he is a warm blood is definitely in his favor, it is possible that someone who is capable with very little money might want him.
