argh! Mare being returned from loan home

skint1

skint1

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Well less than a month after I drove 2 blinking hours to drop my daughter's mare off the loanee has decided to return her. I am going to do everything I can to avoid making the return journey, the mare doesn't load well and traveling with her is stressful and most people tend to sort their own arrangements when taking on a horse, well I always have anyway.

In all seriousness I don't blame the loanee, it sounds like the mare's behaviour has deteriorated quite a bit both on the ground and under saddle, I don't know what has caused this change. Perhaps she's still unsettled, perhaps the loanee didn't fully comprehend how challenging she could be at times (despite a full and detailed disclosure) perhaps (as I suspect) the loanee was just too soft with her.

I am relieved that the loanee hasn't been hurt... but I just feel so....frustrated by the whole thing. I'm sorry to sound negative but I bleddy KNEW this would happen and I should have put my foot down so I'm kicking myself right now. What a colossal waste of time and effort, and the mare sounds like she is even more unpredictable than when she went. Great. What fun, I am so looking forward to dealing with that.

I think she would do best as a brood mare or with competent horse people who know how to handle hot, reactive horses. The mare is fairly talented and I believe in the right hands could be a cracking comp horse, she is also fine with being turned away, happy as Larry, but if you're going to work her it needs to be consistent, she is not a weekend happy hacker. She needs clear boundaries too, this is not a fluffy bunny pony. When she went there she was very chilled on the ground and fairly good to hack and school- sounds like all that is out the window now though :(

I've contacted a couple of ex racer charities but they probably won't want her, I don't know how to get a horse into one of their programmes but if any horse needed them it is her.

She isn't suitable for ET because she wind sucks and when she was advertised before only people who responded to her for sale/loan ads were totally unsuitable, I tried approaching a few people on here and on Project Horses who say they want challenging horses but no one responded. Somehow I need to attract people who know what they are doing, not people who think there's going to be some fairy tale Black Stallion moment with her if they wave a carrot stick and drink some herbal tea (or maybe she's meant to drink it?)

As well as frustrated I feel so guilty, we made her this way so we owe it to her to see that the right thing is done by her, I just wish she was a little easier sometimes-she would have had the ideal home there if only she could have chilled out a bit.

Sad times. Internet vodka jelly if you get this far.
 
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Could you maybe say to the loan home that since you took her there would they mind bringing her back? That's often the way loan contracts are written out. Sorry it didn't work out for the mare.
 
I did stipulate in the contract that they were responsible for transporting her to/from, they asked if I would bring her there and paid me, so I did, but honestly my nerves were shot, I worried about breaking down the whole way and what would happen...she'll only travel on a trailer if it's a single breast bar and only on a lorry with lots of head room, she doesn't like to feel enclosed. I suggested a professional transport company but my daughter is concerned that they'll manhandle her and then she'll never load again (which is what happened once when we took her to a show)
 
I'm really sorry it hasn't worked out, it must be really frustrating especially the short amount of time that she's been away and appreciate how difficult it is but if it was me, I personally would go pick her up as at least then I know she's get the travel that she needs mentally. It sounds as though she's already gone backwards in the month away so rather than risk her having further issues, ie. loading, I would pick her up.

Failing that, I would perhaps look at professional transport and see which would suit her best and advise the family on who to go with, for her to come home.
 
How about contacting racehorse transporters - they are experienced in handling tbs and may be more sympathetic than the run of the mill transporter.

The is an ex Racers Club who have a web site, it might be worth looking at it as there is an ex.racers for sale section.
 
Thanks everyone for reading my rant. I realise now I have had time to absorb it that I've come across sounding harsh and uncaring, I do love this mare to bits which is why she went on loan, we didn't want to risk her being passed about to people that it would seem are even bigger numpties than we are, and I can't believe there are so many people more numpty-ish than we are either. That's scary to me.

Tammytoo that's an excellent idea re the transporter. I've also got some info of other racehorse retraining schemes that might help her.

She already does have loading issues, can take a long time and we have found it best not to fight with her, you just have to wait her out and make the trailer a happy place to be, but honestly you could never plan to take her anywhere with any certainty of getting there or back. Generally she is happier in a lorry, the bigger the lorry the happier she is, but even then she will still take time to go on.

Also wanted to clarify my comment about manhandling her onto a trailer at a show.
It was getting dark and raining when a couple of people helped get her on by using lunge lines round her back end so it wasn't overly terrible but she thought so and it took my daughter hours to get her near a trailer again. They didn't beat her on or anything.
 
We're in Wiltshire, the mare is currently in Hertfordshire.

My daughter said if we can't find her a home via an ex racer organisation she's going to turn her away til next spring and then look at getting her professionally reschooled, this will give her the chance to completely unwind and also give my daughter a chance to save some money for that venture.

Behavior wise she's been known to rear under saddle (not recently thank God) she bucks, (usually out of spirit but the loanee felt the mare was trying to throw them off) she has also plunged,and when really feeling challenged (mostly at the comps we've taken her to) she's been known to reverse at high speed She can be prone to tantrums in the school but if you sit quietly and push her through she gets past it and will work beautifully then, once she's in a good work routine she is generally quite well behaved (except for at shows) However, there is an element of unpredictability about herwhich means that her good behavior can never be fully guaranteed

On the ground she can be bargey and nippy and will also attempt to kick, she needs clear guidance or she wouldn't hesitate to escalate and become dangerous. We ourselves haven't had that many issues with her on the ground, in fact children could handle her, leading and brushing (under supervision of course) but the loanee has told us she's been quite bad :( not going in her stable, freaking out when tacked up and the like.
 
Sorry to hear about the problems you are having. How long has she been out of training for? She sounds like she has had her way and gotten away with it, she also sounds like she needs a s***load of work. The more work TB's get the better they are. Probably better off that she's coming home from the loanee as they obviously don't have a clue and are making her 10 times worse. I wish you all the best with her in the future and hope you get all her problems ironed out.
 
I dont know if they are still going, but blue rose horse transport were amazing with my horses on long trips, I have always had quirky horses tb types and the patience that lady had was just what my horses needed. They were quite good on prices to.
 
skint1 said:
On the ground she can be bargey and nippy and will also attempt to kick, she needs clear guidance or she wouldn't hesitate to escalate and become dangerous. We ourselves haven't had that many issues with her on the ground, in fact children could handle her, leading and brushing (under supervision of course) but the loanee has told us she's been quite bad :( not going in her stable, freaking out when tacked up and the like.
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Not going in the stable, how low are the roofs on the stable and how wide are the doors, you mentioned she didn't like feeling enclosed could they be escalting it without even realising?
I'm sure you checked the stables that she was going to but has she moved to a different stable within the yard?
 
Naryafluffy said:
Not going in the stable, how low are the roofs on the stable and how wide are the doors, you mentioned she didn't like feeling enclosed could they be escalting it without even realising?
I'm sure you checked the stables that she was going to but has she moved to a different stable within the yard?
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It was a fairly standard stable, comparable in size and light quality to the one she had at home except it is brand new and made of wood. Tbh, during spring/summer she never really comes in to the stable, daughter tended to groom/tack up tied in the yard. I'm not sure why the loanee felt the need to keep trying to make her go in there if there was no need til winter. In the colder months she is more than happy to come in at night.
 
Little Squirrel said:
Sorry to hear about the problems you are having. How long has she been out of training for? She sounds like she has had her way and gotten away with it, she also sounds like she needs a s***load of work. The more work TB's get the better they are. Probably better off that she's coming home from the loanee as they obviously don't have a clue and are making her 10 times worse. I wish you all the best with her in the future and hope you get all her problems ironed out.
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She last raced in 2007, we bought her about 2 months after from a dealer in Wales, he said she was reschooled and suitable for a teen, she was 3, nearly 4 and very poor (even allowing for race conditioning) all her ribs and hips were visible and her spine very pronounced, she got a BC score of 2 from our vet.
 
Just another thought re. feeding. Is she getting a hard feed or is she just on fibre i.e. grass, hay and feed balancer?

Most tbs don't need any extra energy (they have enough already!) and if she is getting hard feed it could be making her worse. Did the loaners overfeed her? Another thought is ulcers - lots of tbs develop ulcers whilst in training and this can also lead to eratic behaviour, it might be worth having a word with a vet who is experienced with race horses to see if he thinks she should be scoped. Ulcers in horses are far more common than is generally realised, particularly those under the stress of competing.

I would say that the dealer was optimistic in saying she had been retrained in the space of a couple of months. Unlearning her racing training and re-learning to be something else takes longer than breaking in and training a youngster. Her eratic behaviour could simply be her way of showing that she struggling to cope with so much new stuff. She will be used to the strict routine and consistent handling that you give her which is why she is better behaved with you. It might be worth contacting the racing stable she was in training at to see what she was like there.

I really hope you can get her sorted, tbs are the most wonderful horses and I wouldn't have anything else.
 
I agree that TBs are wonderful, my daughter wouldn't have any other horse either(I don't think). We recently bought another, older and more experienced and he is just a superstar, and in her own way the mare is a superstar too, she's just misunderstood and we ruined her when she was younger. She always had it in her to be difficult and though we meant well we were the worst possible owners she could have had tbh, this is why I feel responsible for her and have to do all I can to ensure her a safe future.

She's not on any hard feed, she has HiFi Chaff and Everyday Fibre Cubes with apples in them. She was on a calmer and hoof supplement but whether she still is or not I don't know.

It's hard to say whether the dealer misrepresented her, we went to look at another horse, drove over an hour and when we got there he said he'd forgotten that one had been sold but here's this other horse... there was never an ad for her that I saw, it was only what he said to me verbally. My daughter once spoke to someone who worked for her trainer and said she fine at home but a handful at races.

Once we'd sorted the initial errors we made by being too soft and having no routine she's been relatively good at home (though as I said she can be unpredictable) but nothing with her has ever been easy, it's just that my daughter had her confidence knocked one too many times with her and just couldn't go on anymore.

eta- when we first got her in 2007 I believe she was given a 2wk course of gastroguard, or something like that, because her condition was so poor and she wind sucked.
 
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Personally I would go and bring her back myself but take someone experienced along for moral and actual support. At least that way you know she is coming home safely etc.

Have you considered sending your mare to someone to work on her issues? A friend used this lady : www.troublesomehorse.co.uk. Results were amazing. It might be worth a call to have a chat with her? Ladies name is Charlie.

Good luck
 
Yeah, I am kind of coming round to the fact I am going to have to get her myself.

It just upsets me because I find towing so stressful, especially with her, and the whole thing could have been avoided if I had just gone with my gut, been a negative nancy and said no to the loanee. My towing set up is old but well maintained but you never know do you?

I want to have the opportunity to get 4x4/trailer checked and serviced but my mechanic is on holiday for 2 weeks and I guess the loanee doesn't want to have her for a minute longer than necessary... I have these terrible visions of what would happen if we broke down, I have specialist breakdown cover but it would involved transferring the horse between vehicles on a busy A Road which I can't guarantee would be very easy... When we dropped her off I didn't sleep for 2 days beforehand.

Thank you for the troublesomehorses link, it looks interesting and when my daughter is ready to deal with her as a ridden horse again I'm sure she'll consider it (if we can't find her the right home in the meantime) Over 3 years we've spent thousands on lessons, supplements, vet checks, chiro, osteo, remedial farriery saddle fitting, even one of those horse psychics...and they made tonnes of progress but in the end something would flip and they'd slide right back... right now my daughter just doesn't want to ride her anymore.
 
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I'd have her, if I didnt already have a very similar ex-race mare with as many time-consuming issues (but it'll all be worth it, she's talented....)

There are people like me who actively seek projects like this but you're talking peanuts- I paid under £500 for mine. Horsedirectory ex-racehorse forum is a good place to try, NFED is another good place as they have a project horse section.
 
Ah thanks The Mule, money isn't the main issue, her being safe in a permanent situation with people who aren't dreamers is more important. She'd come with a heap of tack and rugs and stuff too so it would be a bargain in that respect for the right person. I will check out the sites you've suggested.

Thanks to everyone for your support, it means a lot me
 
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