Broodmare/Project horse needing home! Help!

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HayleyChapmman

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Hi All,

I'm new to the forum but thought I'd ask for some advice from you all as you seem to help those in need.

I have a 4 year old Chestnut TB mare (who I absolutely adrore!) who I am potentially looking for a permenant loan home for. I feel this will be the way to offer her the best life.

She has been lightly backed but she has flat feet which are currently making her 2/10ths lame. I am just about to start Barefoot with her to see if this will improve as a year of remedial shoeing hasn't as yet.....

anyway due to this she isn't completely sound and therefore, for obvious reasons isn't all that happy being ridden. However, I do feel that after a few years of barefoot she may come right. (Hence maybe a project horse)

She is a really lovable mare. I have had her nearly two years now (rescue!) and refuse to part with her. Rather than doing as some vets may advise and put her down I would rather see her go to be a potential broodmare or companion for a little while (she'd make an amazing mum) and then will re-access as and when. She is a wonderful, very intelligent mare but due to the restrictions at my yard she is VERY bored hence the need to find her a Companion/broodmare home.( with the potential of her making a brilliant project for someone). She is a real stunner and is bred by Northern Dancer (grand Sire) and I really think that she'll come right.

She MUST remain in the south though. Does anyone know of anywhere?

Please help! This mare is too special to watch do nothing!!! '

thanks in advance everyone! xx
 
I have to say that as she is already lame do you think she will cope with the added weight of carrying a foal ? It is something you really need to think hard about as it would be horrible to have to make a really hard decision when she is heavily in foal and potentially crippled on her feet.
Sorry to be such a bore but it would really concern me if she was mine.
 
The problem you might face as far as a broodmare goes, is she has an issue that can be passed on. There are so many good broodmares out there that she would have to be extra special, ie the rest of her conformation and blood lines. She has no offspring to gage, so the whole thing is one very big gamble. How big is she? Could she go as an recepiant mare?
 
rsc said:
I have to say that as she is already lame do you think she will cope with the added weight of carrying a foal ? It is something you really need to think hard about as it would be horrible to have to make a really hard decision when she is heavily in foal and potentially crippled on her feet.
Sorry to be such a bore but it would really concern me if she was mine.
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Agree with this.
 
I wouldn't breed from her for 2 reasons

1-her foot issue could be passed on
2-her lameness is likely to get worse in heavy pregnancy which wouldn't be fair on her.

Companion is your only option really :(
 
rsc said:
I have to say that as she is already lame do you think she will cope with the added weight of carrying a foal ? It is something you really need to think hard about as it would be horrible to have to make a really hard decision when she is heavily in foal and potentially crippled on her feet.
Sorry to be such a bore but it would really concern me if she was mine.
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Couldnt agree more! mares need to earn the right to breed a foal, being bored and having a famous TB as a grandparent doesnt really qualify your mare. What if she bred a foal with the smae problems who was a colt who was gelded? :(
 
Hi Dexter - Thanks for your reply - The vets don't seem to think that it would be passed to the foal... it isn't anywhere in her siblings or parents - More the fact that she was neglected in both shoeing and nutrition causing these problems... hence the reason that I think that she will come right with the barefoot and a few more years possibly. I agree it isn't perfect to breed from a mare with problems but when the vets advise that they don't think it will become worse when pregnant I tend to believe them (liphook equine hospital - not just any vet) But I do take your opinions on board - Thank you
 
I wouldn't breed from her either to be honest even if she had the most glittering pedigree, the TB market is totally flooded so why make more from a mare that has a bad conformational fault. There is a very high chance you will end up with a foal with potentially the same problem - flat feet are a conformational fault and can be passed on, nutrition can improve the quality of the hoof but not the conformation of it - it is a very common problem in TB's - hence so many end up as cat food.
Plus if she is lame with her own weight and can't carry a rider then she will be in pain when she is carrying the equivalent of a couple of riders 24/7 for months when in foal, not to mention the extra strain on her tendons - I wouldn't personally put a mare of mine through that.
Just let her be a pasture pet as you did rescue her rather than passing a problem onto someone else, and who knows maybe a few years with careful management at grass she might make a happy hacker if you can find someone willing to put a lot of time and money into a mare that may not be ridable at the end of it, which will be very hard! - but who knows - good luck with her!:)
 
I would take serious issue with some of the negativity here. I should very much like to see a picture of this mare's feet, if you have one. I would agree 100% with the OP's assessment of the causes, whilst the cure for flat feet in my experience is to find the right farrier who will reshape the hoof (effectively "dumping" it over a period of several months to steepen the hoof angle) plus good nutrition to support the growth of strong new horn. Remedial shoeing will not help, IMO.

My first TB mare had flat, split hoofs with an under-run heel; with hindsight my original farrier was basically afraid to correct this by trimming back the toes as the hoof seemed so frail. Her feet got worse. A new farrier took one look and said; "Right- shoes off; you are not going to be riding her for 6 months!" and began to dump the toe and steepen the angle. This left the front of the hoof very thin and frail at first but the subsequent improvement was enormous and permanent; given the chance, the hoof was able to maintain the correction. This was NOT the typical barefoot trim, of course, but a deliberate remedial trim designed to alter the growth angle of the horn.

There is a saying - "A pound on the foot is worth two on the back" - meaning that if you put heavy shoes on a racehorse you are handicapping it beyond the mere poundage as weight is harder to carry the further it is from the centre of gravity. By the same token an animal bred for speed is going to handicapped if it has the feet of a carthorse; so I think we should expect TBs to have have developed feet "engineered" for maximum strength with minimum weight; which means thin, but with good horn and a good basic shape. Flat feet, where the hoof has been allowed to spread and grow shelly are not a feature of the breed but of poor farriery, and where you see it in thoroughbreds, probably not heritable as such.

This mare went on to have two foals, both of whom had excellent feet; but by now, of course, I had a decent farrier.

I wouldn't be afraid to breed from a mare like this, if it is purely an issue of hoof shape, once she is comfortable enough to go ahead. Sadly, I'm in the North...
 
To offer this mare a decent chance you need to keep her and get her feet right before seeking a home.

1. TB's are not wanted as companion horses - they are (in general) costly due to feed/rugs and stabling requirements during the winter.

2. Most TB's have Northern Dancer in their lineage somewhere - he is/was a prolific sire!

3. She is unproven and has no competition history to base breeding on - studs breeding top class youngstock from proven competiton parentage cannot sell their youngstock in the current climate. Most breeders are reducing the number of in foal mares they have and to be blunt, the sort of person that would consider this mare suitable for breeding probably isn't going to be able to sort her feet out. (Plus the fact it is too late to cover this year so they would have to keep her for 18 months before getting a foal!).

4. She is at present lame - she may come right, she may not. There are many soud ponies offered as companions that are unwanted.

5. TB broodmares (proven) and young mares currently going through sales rings at £150-£300 - to the meatman. The TB studs are moving them on as they can't sell the foals and no one else wants them. These are mostly sound and put together well ( and have Northern Dancer in their pedigree!)

I don't mean to be unkind, and I'm sure this post will create a backlash - but at the end of the day you have an unsound horse in a climate where people are struggling to afford to keep horses - the markets are flooded with safe, sound, healthy but sadly unwanted horses that get passed around from sale to sale.

You only have to look back through the issues of H&H to read the loan horror stories. The sad fact is, if she's not with you, you cannot guarantee her treatment. Perhaps putting her down would be the best option?

Donor mare is a good suggestion - perhaps that is the route to go down - but again I have a horrible feeling that they do not want TB's? But could well be misinformed here!

Best of luck - I hope she does come right :)
 
I'll sit on the fence here and agree with both Jamesmead and Bertthefrog as I believe you should be the one to get the feet corrected to make sure it is done correctly; I don't think you should ask a loaner to carry out this work unsupervised.
As most people won't want a mare until the spring anyway it's a good opportunity to get started with the proper work she needs on her feet before she can go IMV. If after the correct work, they are in no better shape and condition, then perhaps it is time to PTS as you can't pass her on to someone else in that condition, it's totally unfair on the mare and unrealistic that anyone would want her anyway.
 
Maesfen said:
I'll sit on the fence here and agree with both Jamesmead and Bertthefrog as I believe you should be the one to get the feet corrected to make sure it is done correctly; I don't think you should ask a loaner to carry out this work unsupervised.
As most people won't want a mare until the spring anyway it's a good opportunity to get started with the proper work she needs on her feet before she can go IMV. If after the correct work, they are in no better shape and condition, then perhaps it is time to PTS as you can't pass her on to someone else in that condition, it's totally unfair on the mare and unrealistic that anyone would want her anyway.
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Sounds like a cunning plan to me Maesfen - big thumbs up! :)
 
I know this is a little contrerversial and I have had replies that say she should be put to sleep - But I now need to find my mare a home - DESPERATELY!! :O( She is actually coming sound now that she is barefoot!! so would make a BRILLAINT project horse for someone who has the time - Jumps like a stag!!! PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(:(:( xxx
 
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