Duchess is a 17YO grade Quarter Horse mare who has had a rough time of it. Her approximate foal date is Spring, 1992. She was rescued as one of the last 32 horses left at the Cavel slaughter facility in Illinois when it closed. For the past months she has been allowed to be a pasture horse and learn to appreciate life again. During that time, she has become more and more accepting of humans around her. She still needs tons of loving handling, desensitizing and consistency in her affiliations with humans. She was recently seen frolicking with the other mares in her small herd, a big change because she had been such a loner. Duchess tries hard, she is very gentle with her ground manners and has learned again to stand for the farrier as long as he goes slowly. She stands at about 15.2 and weighs close to 1200 lbs. We haven't even tried to ride her, although we can tack her up with saddle and pad and flop over her back. There is a "no breeding" stipulation in her contract.
Update: Duchess continues to thrive with gentle human contact and shows her willingness to trust. She is concerned about handling her muzzle, but can be handled all over with a calm and patient approach. Duchess needs a special human that she can bond with and continue her desensitizing training and get her going under saddle again.
Update: After consistant handling and gentle desensitization, Duchess will allow her mouth and muzzle to be handled as well as her ears. We were able to deworm her with paste wormer. She allows herself to be fly-sprayed, she is much improved with having her hooves handled and trimmed and she hooks on very nicely in the round pen.
Update: Duchess can be tacked up easily and even mounted. She is nervous under saddle and needs more time and consistent handling. She has an appointment with our wonderful veterinarian, Dr. Sandra Grover, who is not only an equine dentist, but an equine chiropractor as well. We are hoping that some of her nervousness is due to discomfort from misaligned vertebrae. More coming soon!
Adoption donation: $350