Ive been offered a horse, what do i do?

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cloverleaf1985

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I have been offered a 15.2 7yo grey tb mare that it heavily in foal on loan. She is in bad condition as her owner has given up on her. she has 'issues'. apparently she is nice to ride but on the ground she has no respect for personal space, ie if scared will barge u etc. she is bullied by all other horses at her yard. a very experienced friend who knows the horse and she thinks that with one on one care and abit of tlc she could be a really nice horse. also the foal will be conniextb and i could keep it for sorting out the mare's problems. what would you do?
 
How long would the loan be for?

I would go for it if you have the experience. But make sure you have it in writing and witnessed that you get to keep the foal!
 
yup i have the experience and said friend would be on hand too. not sure how the loan would work out, we haven't discussed in much detail as yet. i have seen her once and really feel as though i could have a nice horse and spoil her rotten!!!
 
agree with what others have said - you need to make sure that you have it in writing about the foal as you can bet your a**e if the foal is nice you'll lose out....
 
oh i will do thats for sure. thing is her confirmation is not the greatest and people have come to see her to buy for £1500 but no one wants her hence being offered to me on loan. im going to spend some time with her before i commit but is it worth the expenditure ie pumping full of food, feeding foal etc if she turns out to be too nutty to change?
 
thats what i was thinking. its hard to tell as she has no muscle or condition, she is slighty goose rumped and has slightly weak pasterns. maybe i could see what the foal turns out like and decide then? i think the whole behaviour thing could be sorted out. im prepared to spend lots of time handling etc so could pay off in the long run??
 
I'd say no - this could cost you a fortune in bills (trust me, I've bred foals), you'll have to keep both the mare and foal til weaning time...so potentially at least 6 months of vaccinations, foot trimming, livery, hay, feed, time, vet's bills, rugs, equipment etc.
If you want a foal, save your money and buy one as a weanling. That way you can pick one with good conformation, a nice temperament, etc to suit you.
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You know the old saying - never look a gift horse in the mouth!
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I echo the others as long as you have the facilities and finances to keep a mare and foal separately from others especially if you are on a livery yard.
It could well be that she is crotchety because of her condition and it might well improve as her condition improves; it might have been because she has had to be defending herself from the others all the time. I personally think she deserves a chance and if you feel you can help her I'd go for it but do make sure you have a good contract even if the owner is a friend.
Just a word of warning if she is very poor, (hope you don't mind!) don't start pushing all sorts of feed into her for rapid weight gain if she's been having none in the past; she particularly shouldn't go straight onto a stud feed, that would be far too much protein too quickly, better to go for something like a cool mix (Baileys Economy Mix is excellent, very clean and easy to digest) you could always add Blue Chip which would give her all the vit's and minerals she needs without the bulk. Depending on when she is due, if it's any closer than 6 weeks, I would not give her any sugar beet or at the most a cupful, she won't be able to take the bulk. She should also have ad lib hay or haylage all of the time too even in the field if there's little grass.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.
 
That's an ideal situation I would have thought.
I have to admit, I have no idea about C & C; have heard of it but never used it!
Your best bet is to ring the feed helplines, explain her situation and see what they suggest but when I bought my first brood mare she was in a similar situation although she was also still nursing a 11 month filly too! It was my vet (who is an old horseman too) who suggested the low protein plus as much fibre as she wanted route at the beginning and it was very successful (six weeks later she had a healthy colt and six week later she was awarded a brood mare premium at our local show (by another vet as it happened!)
 
I think you do have to give serious consideration to the costs involved...what of there are complications foaling? As we all know, buying a horse can be the least of the expense..it's the ongoing running costs and vet's bills which can lead to heartache ..and overdrafts!
On the one hand, it sounds as tho' the mare cd have some upside and it would be very satisfying for you to be the one who transforms her ...but on the other, she comes with several ifs and buts. There are a bazillion horses in the world...maybe you don't need one with flagged up problems...
 
Be very careful. I can see you returning her to good health, turning her around into a nice, easy-to-handle horse, then having to return her so they can sell her on for a good price. Where would this leave you? Out of pocket. make sure you are getting something in return, maybe the foal for free?
 
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