We needed a horse for our son, but we had a rather limited budget and were okay with a project.
This mare is 12 years old. Apparently, she’s a Medicine Hat, blue roan overo paint. The owner found her starving at this guy’s farm and took her home. She had her teeth done and has fed her up some already (got her past the “will she even survive” stage). She was going to keep rehabbing her but had some unexpected vet bills with her other horses, so she offered her at a reasonable price.
We did what we could to test her temperament and she seems easy going enough to work with. A little buddy sour. We expect she’ll get more energetic as she gains weight. Our plan is ground work until she gains more. Her diet was free choice round bale and some oats. We’re maintaining the free choice hay and giving her a little alfalfa and senior mixed until the vet sees her on Monday. The vet can recommend a feeding plan. She is quarantined. The flies were bothering her quite a bit, so she is happier with her mask and a generous amount of fly spray.
I know there are much better ways to buy a horse, but sometimes, you just got to throw one a lifeline before they sink. The owner was relieved when we said we’d take her. Good family. They just got into a tight spot trying to help a few more.
Pictures, anyone?
I’ll see what precautions the vet recommends in our area to prevent cancer. She is really beat up. Shared a small pen other mares who were bigger and stronger. Some of that could be from where she came from. The people we bought her from hadn’t had her that long.
