Why do we breed.... When they end up like this (rant)

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Amazona

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Over the weekend I went to pick up a mare I bred 11 yrs ago and which I sold as a 7 yr old.
She was a beautiful Arab/Lusitano and I owned both her Mum and Dad.
She ment the world to me but I wanted to see her acheive somewhere in competitions so sold her for £500 on the understanding that if she was not wanted or unsuitable at any time she was to be returned.
I finally got the phone call 4 weeks ago asking if I would still be interested in having her back and jumped at the chance as I had heard some sad stories about her condition.
I was told I couldnt have her it now so it would give them a chance to wean her foal. She has instead of being a riding horse instead has bred a foal every year in there care and is in foal again.
I had already bred a foal previous and didnt want her bred from again but what can you do.
Then I get a phone call 2 weeks ago saying she is ok to go but has taken a tumble in the field whilst they were weaning her and is lame but not to worry she is ok.
When I turned up to pick her up she was locked in a stable with the top door shut ..when I asked why they said she had been weaned from her foal an hour ago!!
As you can imagine she was going potty so dealt with the paperwork and loaded her up as fast as possible.
I have to say I did need to look close as she really didnt look like my horse. You would have thought that after only 4 yrs and in her prime she would be recognisable.
Now here is the sad bit.
On getting her home I put her straight out in a field with a mare she knew before she left.
She just walked away and grazed by herself. as she is in poor condition every day she is having a bucket of feed. It pains me to find that normally when I do this I can run my hands over her and check she is ok. Now if I attempt to touch her she pins her ears back and jumps back.
She struggles to walk over to the feed on four feet that have all collasped through lack of farriery and a poor diet.
Even more upsetting is that on getting her lameness checked out she appears to have cracked her pelvis and is desperatly in pain.
She will have nothing to do with her companion dispite her attemts to comfort her.
I have come to the realisation now that instead of having my beautiful mare back to now start her breeding career she at the age of 11 is already worn out and basically is in a miserable existance where she wants nothing to do with the outside world. AND that we are looking at having put her down before she foals as the foaling will probably kill her anyway as her pelvis is so damaged.
It is breaking my heart to see a horse in this state even more so that I bred her and sold her to these people.
 
I don't know what to say to you. we have just started breeding in a small way and the future of our youngstock is of concern. You describe the sort of treatment we expect from third world countries.

If her pelvis is damaged have you considered involving RSPCA or WHA? They might treat another mare like that.
 
I really cannot get my head around what to do.
These people are a stud....
but she was for a riding horse for a relation. I was promised a home second to none.
She apparently has lived out in all weathers and no rug ... and quite often knee deep in mud.
She is not a hat rack but you can hear every bone creak when she walks so obviously has not had the food needed to produce a foal a year without it damaging her own body.
She is currently on 2 bute a day and still very lame.
It is hard to decide how long this can go on for ...and why wasnt she getting this attention from them.
They were happy to tell me they had sold her foal for £4,000 !!!!
 
There are people though who will just ruin a horse and that sounds like what these people have done, Poor mare, I hope it doesnt come to having her pts . Im so sorry for you , have a hug **
similar thing happened to me, sold horse, also arab breeding, had not bred him myself but owned myself for 10 years , sold him, had him back 1 year later, he was a shadow of himself, lame, grumpy , underweight , just uncared for, unloved, he wasnt interested in me, or his companion as he just wasnt humself for a while,but he returned to his former self , i hope your girl does .

You can only try and help her, make her feel loved and safe again , they must have been very bad to her.What is to happen with the foal she is carrying ? whos is it , to be yours now or do you give it to these people or what ?

I agree with rollon, you should contact an authority re her condition , and why they have let this happen .

x
 
I fully inderstand if people really do disagree with me on this, but how far on in the pregnancy is she, would aborting the foal be an option to allow your mare to heal physically as well as mentaly????
 
I am so sorry to hear this. I can think of nothing more heartbreaking than to have a foal you have bred be treated in this way. Give her time emotionally, with your love and kindness and the lovely field mate she will come around, but it will take time.

Re the foal, do you know if the pelvic damage happened before the last foaling or after? Does the vet feel she can carry this foal and is there an alternative to natural foaling?
If you can get her through this, hopefully she can have a lovely retirement with you.

I am horrified at the way some broodmares are treated. To me they are precious and to be pampered, they should not be treated as money making machines with no feelings or needs of their own.

I truly hope your mare will be ok and I am very sorry at the distress this has caused you.
 
Thanks for all your support xx

The foal would be mine for what it is worth. Not my sort of breeding ethics as it is a coloured cob with no pedigree.
The foal would be due in april so i think too far gone.
Anyone had any experience as I dont know if that would be a trauma in itself at this stage.
I feel the last thing this mare needs it just to start coming round and have to go through what looks like a difficult foaling ...if she survives with her pelvis in tact.
 
I agree with many of the comments made here. Having looked on the Internet I think there may be a cahnce for this mare. There is also the possibility of caesarian section if she is too far gone to abort. Just wait for your vets opinion before committing - you never know medicine may have moved on to miracles by now. I feel terrible about what these people have done to her & I would strongly recommend that you report them to some authority - maybe not the RSPCA as they can be a bit lax, but how about one of the horse charities???

Big hugs :-)
 
I am so sorry to hear about your mare and the condition she is in. However do not dispair, I have a mare with a damaged pelvis and she foals more easily than all my other mares because the ligaments are so lax. However your mare may well have a completely different injury so i would ask advice form your vet.

Please give her a chance because it can take ages for a horse that is unhappy to come around and be its old self again.
 
How soul destroying
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thankfully she is now back in your care and as others have said hope that you can give her the chance of a better quality life, as Delphie says, pelvis injuries can repair well, so fingers crossed that the vet can offer you an alternative solution that will be able to ease her discomfort and allow her a speedy recovery.
 
Very sorry to hear about your mare, I hope she makes a full recovery.

Out of interest who was responsible?

We saw brood mares in a simlar state at the recent horse auction in Shrewsbury. I was completly discusted with there condition, they were all for sale (in foal to some monster) as the stud had lost some of its grazing land, they were all skin and bone.
 
I know what would be worse, think if you hadn't told them about returning her if they no longer would want her one day? If you hadn't came to her rescue now?
Doesn't make anything better, but still, you cant change the past, only learn from it.

Hugs and hopeful wishes from Sweden.
 
Keep her comfortable and give her some time. She has been treated dreadfully, and she's also just had her current foal weaned. Get her in and keep grooming, and chatting to her, give her a routine and good food and some affection and you may start to see your beautiful girl again.

Let the vets guide you re the pelvis and good luck.

Some broodies have the most miserable lives
 
We have 6 year old welsh b who I 'rescued' in April. On getting him I imediately rang his breeder to get some info on him. She was very distressed to hear of what had happened to him in the 3 years since selling him and his full brother to a well known showing home that she had vetted.
The buyer backed and sold on the brother after 6 weeks of owning him to a novice family. After he'd been through 3 homes and been labelled dangerous the breeder managed to buy the brother back a year ago.
As our boy was younger, he had been kept by the buyer. He spent all of last winter on a welsh mountain without food, shelter or a rug. His back was completely shot as were his nerves. His teeth were so long that he had ulcers on the top and bottom on both sides of his jaw leaving him in agony. He was very thin and had become agrophobic.
Six months later his back and teeth are still being treated but he is now pain free. He has put on weight and he's got a full set of rugs to keep his condition on. Everyday, our pony is coming back to life. He is the loyalist of all of mine and reminds me of a rescue dog in the way he follows us around.
I've listened to his breeder sobbing down the phone saying she couldn't ever breed again if this is how people will treat her babies. I hope our story will give you hope. Not everyone is bad. There will be a happy ending- just give her time, love and enjoy having her back.
 
If anything can be done to help her, i no you can do it.
You are one hell of a horse woman and i know you'll do everything possible to help her.
I pray that she can be saved, she deserves to be loved and well cared for again like she used to be when she was with you before.
Dont give up hope, you can do it
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Debs x

PS you know where i am if you need me. x
 
Thank you for all your kind words xx
Funny you should say that springs as I was told they did loose some grazing and I know alot of the mares are for sale.
On the vets advise we are continuing with 2 butes a day.
We are worried what this can do to a foal so have taken bloods incase she may have already lost her foal.
Even on 2 butes a day she is still lame but is looking alot brighter. :-)
She seems to just trot really slowly and crabby, definatley not using the right hind properly.
After a week we are going to drop the bute to 1 a day and the vets will try and get a clearer look at what it going on.
At the moment she is so mentally unstable when we tried to look at her hindquarters she paniced and lashed out.
This was a mare that a child could handle
They have suggested 2 months box rest but I think she will go insane.
It is so difficult to know what to do for the best.
Thank you again for all your support xx
 
Oh my god (((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))) . I don't know how the people that did this to her can live with themselves
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can she be turned out in a very small area so she can still graze etc but not move around too much?
 
Unfortunately this happens more than you would think! And I speak from personal experience!!
I sold a handsome 2 year old gelding at the being of september, found a for sale ad then end of january ... found a new posible buyer for him and went with them to view the gelding ... I was shocked as I didnot even recognise him!! I was so furious I had to walk away otherwise I would have slapped the women silly!!
Happily they bought the youngster based not on his appearance but on pics/video I sent them of him in september and on the word of their trainer who knew both his sire and his dam and me!
How he was the end of august: http://img232.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img02932vq.jpg
How he was the end of january: 5 months later: ribs,shoulder,hips showing; dull eyed:
http://inlinethumb43.webshots.com/41642/2521308160049206887S600x600Q85.jpg

It is unfortunate that she is in foal and personally I would consider an abortion at this time (the foal is not yet full term in growth) as it would cause less damage than when at full term. It would give the mare the chance to recover without the possibility of further damage to her pelvis and even death. It more a case of the shorter pain so that in the long term with proper care and good feed and loving attention she can hopefully recover to such a level that she can be pain and drug free.
 
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