Need Advice Donating Mare

[Finzean]

Without going into the drama of it all, I have a decently bred TB mare (also approved w/one of the WB registries) who can no longer be used for riding (perm lameness due to injury). I’m trying to find suitable options as far as donating her for use as a surrogate/recipient…she’s nice enough to be used as a broodmare and has done so before but it would seem there are a plethora of nice TB mares. I thought I had her rehomed but he person’s circumstances changed - sort of got me thinking that donation to an entity might be more solid.

At any rate, a couple of vet schools have been suggested as well as a place in Florida that maintains a herd of recipient mares. I’ve never donated any of my horses before and need suggestions, advice (good, bad, ugly, etc.). Please feel free to PM me if there’s a place I need to steer clear of. I really like this mare, trainer likes the mare, but I cannot have another horse on the dole and have no interest in breeding. Donation to a reputable school or whatever seems the safest route for the mare’s well being.

TIA for your help/advice.

[tucktaway]

You might try Cornell- for the breeding program. I don’t know if they will take any TBs, but they might if she is well bred and could be approved GOV. In my experience, they will honor your request to contact you/return her if things don’t work out or when she is ready to be retired.

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/cuep/

[MrWinston]

Don’t do it!

[Finzean]

Mr. Winston why? PM me if necessary

[JWB]

Are you okay with her being bred year after year till she can’t and then sent to auction? I would euthanize first!

I did rehome a mare through horsetopia’s “free horse” ads. Got tons of requests, most I wouldn’t approve of, but found some actual qualified adopters, got references, and set up a situation where I turned over papers and ownership after 18 months.

[Home_Again_Farm]

Peterson and Smith in Ocala seem to take pretty good care of their surrogates. They also keep track of them and only keep good moms in the program. I was told that they have a list of retirement homes (folks who had them as surrogates previously) for some of the especially sweet mares, but I am not sure that this is really true.

That said, I know that many surrogates do not get much care and that if they have any problems at all, it is a short punt to a sale.

Once you sign over ownership to any horse - a regular sale of a riding horse or broodie or a donation - you have relinquished any control. Anything can happen. Sometimes, the less that was paid for the horse, the less happy the consequences down the road.

I would tend to agree with JWB.

[alto]

(perm lameness due to injury). I’m trying to find suitable options as far as donating her for use as a surrogate/recipient…she’s nice enough to be used as a broodmare

how pasture sound is she? how much might this change with carrying a foal?
She will get much more personalized care if placed with a small breeder than with an industry or research facility.

You might send her out on a single breeding lease & see how things go, before donating her to a program.

[Dalemma]

It’s hard enough finding a good home for a sound older horse …never mind one that can’t be ridden…personally I would euthanize. Keeping horses is so expensive these days most people can’t afford to keep a horse that is nothing more than a pasture pet…I just euthanized a 10 year APHA gelding that had PSSM, that was not rideable and could not be turned out to pasture and was sore from time to time rather then subject him to a life in a gravel paddock and intermittent pain. It was the kindest thing I could do for him.

Dalemma

[Kyzteke]

Make sure things are very clear between you & the university as to EXACTLY what the mare will be used for. If she is going to be used for “research” it might not be that pleasant a life for her. A friend of mine donated a mare to our nearby university with no restrictions and she was used to research gastric/nutritional issues…so they did stuff like induce ulcers.

This is the only experience I have had with this sort of thing, but I do know it’s not always a bed of roses for those horses.

Also be aware that if the mare is being used as a recip mare, when the donor mare owner “buys” her, there is no way of telling what happens to her after the foal is born & weaned. Sometimes the university will buy them back (at a highly reduced rate, of course) and sometimes not.

So just make sure it’s all very clear.

Good luck! Hope your gal finds a soft place to land…

[yourcolorfuladdictio]

Put a “first right to refusal” clause into your mare’s sale/donation contract. That would mean that legally they have to let you know they are selling the horse and give you the option to regaining ownership of the horse. There is one in my current mare’s contract and I’d never sell (or especially give away) a horse without one.

As for where you send her, a small time breeder looking for a surrogate maybe better, and may offer you the option of seeing the place and other broodmares on the property (especially if it’s a place that takes good care of their broodmares).

[can_t_re]

I would also never donate one to a University. I’ve seen first hand what can happen.

[crosscreeksh]

I wouldn’t!! Years ago one of our clients donated a GORGEOUS, BIG dappled gray TB mare, well bred, sound to ride…but not race to Cornell. A month later the owner stopped by the school to see her and NO ONE even remembered the mare!! I’m sure (via their contract) that the mare went right to a local sale. I’d go private home or euth before I’d send a horse to a school!!

[Eventer55]

Just remember once you donate to a University or equine med center, you lose all control of the mare. She can be used for colic and drug research, ulcer research and any other kind of research, some of which is good for medicine, not necessarily kind to the mare. She may be used for breeding where they do colic research on the foal (induce colic then research drugs and treatment) the foal is put down and the process starts all over again.

Paperwork gets lost and management changes hands. . . just as crosscreeksh stated, euth is a sure thing, sending her out for research is not.

[Laurierace]

It is hard to think of people using our beloved horses for research but the truth is, they have to learn somehow. I would donate a horse for medical research long before I would ever even think about donating one to a college riding program. I have sent horses to New Bolton. They told me exactly what their plan for the horse was and were only looking for specific horses so they wouldn’t just take any horse. All programs are not created equal so do your research. Colorado State University for example has a pipeline straight to New Holland. Many, many times I have seen horses bearing their brand in the kill pen. A terminal study is fine to me, sending them to slaughter is not.

[Finzean]

Laurie - agreed. My dear friend did send a horse to a terminal study for IR (only donation I’ve ever been a part of & then only peripherally). Didn’t make it easy to know he wouldn’t end his days in the front field munching grass, but his life had been one of “doesn’t fit anywhere for any job.” His IR made managing him stressful for everyone - him included. At least he could help his fellow equine in the end…

Just to clarify - this mare is NOT suitable for riding and 2 vets made mention of her going to a university breeding program. We are holding out for small, responsible breeding farm…there’s a story how I came to have this mare and while I didn’t go looking for her, I like her enough to make sure she doesn’t end up in a bad situation. This economy isn’t suited to rescuing things that eat while we sleep.

I really appreciate everyone’s replies - send some jingles this mare gets her soft landing…

[Kyzteke]

Why not just put her down? I mean, I guess that sounds harsh, but I know and have seen too many things that are FAR worse than a quick & painless death…

[Finzean]

[QUOTE=Kyzteke;7183533]
Why not just put her down? I mean, I guess that sounds harsh, but I know and have seen too many things that are FAR worse than a quick & painless death…[/QUOTE]

If it comes to that, everything is already in place. It doesn’t sound harsh - it sounds realistic. We will NOT have her go into some yahoo situation or somewhere where “life sucks” until they are done with you and then life sucks worse until the end mercifully comes. However, she is a nice mare and if she’s suited to someone’s breeding program, great. If not…we gave it the ol’ college try and will do the responsible thing.

[Hillside_H_Ranch]

You do have to keep in mind what happens when the mare can’t get in foal any longer. Few people will just continue to care for a mare that can’t produce (as sad as that might be). I will be honest in that when our recipient mares can no longer carry a pregnancy we do euthanize them and bury them on the farm (in our program the recips are leased out, not sold to the breeder using them). In larger programs that is generally not the case; they almost always go to auction when they are no longer suitable to be a recip.

[Irish_Love]

Call me young and sentimental and ignorant, but I’ll be damned before I put a horse down just because she isn’t riding sound. Maybe it’s a GA thing, but we have reputable rescues and sanctuaries and qualified companion homes if you look hard enough.

Hell, I just took on a 19yo emaciated import (sound, albeit, but certainly not ridable for a long while). I also had 2 proper rescues that would make room for him, and 2 loving forever homes lined up within a week in case he was more than I could handle. In pain? Sure…but just inconvenient to do a little research and leg work? Wow. Maybe I’m the stupid, unrealistic 26-year-old minority, but my horses are and will be happier for it. monday grumpiness rant complete lol

[Finzean]

Irish Love - while I hear where you are coming from…

I have several geriatrics right now and have a graveyard in the back pasture when maintenance quit working for the beloved animals.

Putting this mare down is just as much for her as the people that 1300 lbs of hurting can hurt. People can’t be trusted to use good judgment and to jog this mare out, one wouldn’t see the unsoundness. She’s big and beautiful and if in the wrong hands and in pain, she will end up being treated as a rude & high strung TB mare…someone will get hurt and I won’t worry for the rest of forever over it.

That said - how many threads are there on these forums where the rescues have turned out to be hell on earth for the animals? We will do what’s best for everyone involved in our situation…hence this thread as part of our research. We’ve sunk THOUSANDS of dollars into this mare and been told by the vets that sinking more into her might give us a more specific diagnosis but that even if that happens, treatment options for what they are pretty certain is going on, aren’t usually successful.

When I was 26 I was in over my head with 11 horses - several of whom were barely serviceably sound. I worked and worked to maintain their comfort at the expense of a great many other things. I’m not trying to have my own Monday Grumpiness Rant, but humane euthanasia is FAR from the worst thing that can happen to animals.

FWIW - this thread has generated a few inquiries about the mare. All of them seem to be wonderful homes…hopefully a suitable situation will present itself. NONE of the university donation options are actually options anyway (I didn’t contact anywhere outside of 400 miles).