michickenwrangler
Loving the herd life
Back in the late 90's, as a teenager/young 20s I worked horses for a woman who had some heart issues and couldn't ride herself. Even though I'm no longer working her horses, we are still friends.
Her husband died last November. He wasn't the technical owner of the house, it was in a trust to his kids from his first marriage. SO now that he is dead, his son wants to move in and my friend (we'll call her B) was told in no uncertain terms that she had to find somewhere else to live. She is meeting with an attorney next week regarding Michigan's dower law.
The kicker is that he said that the horses could stay.
Well, she doesn't have money to board horses and doesn't want to drive back there 2x a day to feed and take care of them. She's 72 years old and works part-time still.
And the horses aren't saleable. But she wants me and my family to take them.
Majik- 16 yr old purebred CMK Arabian mare. I owned and trained her full sister who is the only horse in Michigan to earn Achievement Award points in both dressage and endurance. However, this mare hasn't been worked with since she was a 2 yr old and I was the last one to work with her. She's sweet and has good ground manners, but has never been ridden or even saddled.
Sunni- 20-ish yr old medicine hat APHA. I have shown her at some small shows. She was a fun horse to ride when she was younger but hasn't been ridden since about 2001, which again, I was probably the last person on her. Main problem with her, is that Sunni has some kind of hoof injury. It may be an abcess, it was hard for me to tell. She can't put any weight on it. I do have a good vet and farrier, but given her age, if it's going to be a chronic thing, I will just put her down.
Murphy- Sunni's 13 yr old son, an Arab/APHA. STALLION! He's still intact. Gorgeous, gorgeous animal. My first husband wanted him as an endurance horse when he was a 2 yr old but bought an older Appaloosa instead. Despite his good looks, he has NEVER BEEN HANDLED beyond some brushing. He's friendly and you can pet him, but he has never had a halter on let alone ever been ridden. Hooves? Nope, never been trimmed but they are just as nice looking as any maintained hoof. Not quite sure how he's managed, but he has. I plan to get him gelded, but I'm still wondering how to even get a hold of him so that the vet can do that.
B did look in to horse rescues but they were either full or do not take stallions. She has a lot of trouble just getting around anyway and there will be a very good chance that these horses will be left to starve. Her late husband's cousin who owns a small beef ranch next door helps out but his assistance is inconsistent and he's getting close to 80 himself.
Now for our situation, we currently own a 21 yr old Arab/Saddlebred mare (well-broke, trail savvy, competitive trail and endurance champ) and an 11 yr old Welsh Mountain Pony (well-trained, spunky but safe, trail savvy good all-round pony). We were just discussing selling the pony and buying a horse so that DBF could ride more. We currently board but we have been clearing woods on our land to bring the horses home. We have lots of cedar posts from clearing the woods (see farm name) and other fencing materials, but we would have to put up the fence and a lean-to for them.
I could leave the horses at their farm for a while until we are done. My game-plan is to bring the broke horses home while taking the others to the boarding stable so that I'll have an arena to work them in and have our farrier and vet take a look at the one mare's hoof. I would like for her to be sound because she would be a good horse for DBF, but I know things don't always work that way. And I will probably have to work with Mr. Stud ahead of time before getting him anywhere near a trailer or vet.
Advice, insight, morale boosters appreciated.
Please no lectures (goodhors looking in your direction). I know this isn't an ideal situation, but I have been training horses since I was a teenager and I have worked with 2 out of 3 of these horses and for the stud, I have ridden both his sire and dam quite a bit.
Her husband died last November. He wasn't the technical owner of the house, it was in a trust to his kids from his first marriage. SO now that he is dead, his son wants to move in and my friend (we'll call her B) was told in no uncertain terms that she had to find somewhere else to live. She is meeting with an attorney next week regarding Michigan's dower law.
The kicker is that he said that the horses could stay.
Well, she doesn't have money to board horses and doesn't want to drive back there 2x a day to feed and take care of them. She's 72 years old and works part-time still.
And the horses aren't saleable. But she wants me and my family to take them.
Majik- 16 yr old purebred CMK Arabian mare. I owned and trained her full sister who is the only horse in Michigan to earn Achievement Award points in both dressage and endurance. However, this mare hasn't been worked with since she was a 2 yr old and I was the last one to work with her. She's sweet and has good ground manners, but has never been ridden or even saddled.
Sunni- 20-ish yr old medicine hat APHA. I have shown her at some small shows. She was a fun horse to ride when she was younger but hasn't been ridden since about 2001, which again, I was probably the last person on her. Main problem with her, is that Sunni has some kind of hoof injury. It may be an abcess, it was hard for me to tell. She can't put any weight on it. I do have a good vet and farrier, but given her age, if it's going to be a chronic thing, I will just put her down.
Murphy- Sunni's 13 yr old son, an Arab/APHA. STALLION! He's still intact. Gorgeous, gorgeous animal. My first husband wanted him as an endurance horse when he was a 2 yr old but bought an older Appaloosa instead. Despite his good looks, he has NEVER BEEN HANDLED beyond some brushing. He's friendly and you can pet him, but he has never had a halter on let alone ever been ridden. Hooves? Nope, never been trimmed but they are just as nice looking as any maintained hoof. Not quite sure how he's managed, but he has. I plan to get him gelded, but I'm still wondering how to even get a hold of him so that the vet can do that.
B did look in to horse rescues but they were either full or do not take stallions. She has a lot of trouble just getting around anyway and there will be a very good chance that these horses will be left to starve. Her late husband's cousin who owns a small beef ranch next door helps out but his assistance is inconsistent and he's getting close to 80 himself.
Now for our situation, we currently own a 21 yr old Arab/Saddlebred mare (well-broke, trail savvy, competitive trail and endurance champ) and an 11 yr old Welsh Mountain Pony (well-trained, spunky but safe, trail savvy good all-round pony). We were just discussing selling the pony and buying a horse so that DBF could ride more. We currently board but we have been clearing woods on our land to bring the horses home. We have lots of cedar posts from clearing the woods (see farm name) and other fencing materials, but we would have to put up the fence and a lean-to for them.
I could leave the horses at their farm for a while until we are done. My game-plan is to bring the broke horses home while taking the others to the boarding stable so that I'll have an arena to work them in and have our farrier and vet take a look at the one mare's hoof. I would like for her to be sound because she would be a good horse for DBF, but I know things don't always work that way. And I will probably have to work with Mr. Stud ahead of time before getting him anywhere near a trailer or vet.
Advice, insight, morale boosters appreciated.
Please no lectures (goodhors looking in your direction). I know this isn't an ideal situation, but I have been training horses since I was a teenager and I have worked with 2 out of 3 of these horses and for the stud, I have ridden both his sire and dam quite a bit.
