Hi there- I am desperate for advice on rehoming my dangerous mare. This has been something that I have been thinking over for months and I am at a loss on what to do next. Im sorry this is long, but I am desperate.
First and foremost, I do not want to send my horse somewhere where she will injure someone and/or where she will be beaten. I just want to see if anyone has any thoughts, opinions, or just some word of encouragement.
A little history of the horse- She’s approximately 11 years old, percheron/tb and I have owned her for the past 4 and a half years. I purchased her from a family friend, and the first two weeks of owning her were great. She’s incredibly calm under saddle-she jumps anything, loves water, trail rides, and packs around little kids. Her old owners said that she was a PMU foal, they bought her when she was about a year old, and that they do not know anything about her prior to that. When I went out to try her, she was great on the ground and in the saddle. About two weeks of having her at my place, she ended up biting me pretty badly in the arm- I was brushing her off while she was munching on her hay. I figured it was my fault and she was just a bit sour. About 4 months later, she bit me again, completely out of nowhere. After discussing in length with her previous owners about what she was like when they had her, I found out that she sent someone to the hospital once and that they ended up carrying around PVC pipe to scare her off. She has never been unsound or crabby while riding, she will just randomly become violent on the ground.
For the past four years, I have tried everything I can think of and can afford. I have tried Depo and regumate, she has been tested and treated for EMP, she has been treated for ulcers, we have tested her for cushings and lyme- both negatives, and we has tested for hormone imbalances and ovarian tumors. As far as ridding and training, Ive given her weeks off at a time and then ridden her multiple days in a row, we have tried clicker training and a more firm approach. I have really looked into what I could be doing wrong, and I know I’m flawed, but I just don’t seem how I could be causing so many problems that were present before I even met her.
Like I said above, I do not want to give her to someone that she is going to end up injuring or being beaten for her behavior. But I also haven’t been able to justify that putting her down is the only option-since she is so great under saddle. However, I am in school and cannot afford to pay for her, school, and myself at this moment in my life. I have tried my hardest to keep her in my possession because I know her so well and I know she is being treated kindly, but I am at my whits end with this horse and don’t know where to go from here. It breaks my heart to have to part with her, she has been my best friend for the past 4 and a half years, so I want to do right by her and do the most humane thing I can.
If anyone has any advice, I will greatly appreciate it and thank you tons in advanced.