Here at the rescue, we receive calls and emails each day about horses in need of a home.
Over the years, it has been easy to see which are most in danger. It is the horse who has never been placed undersaddle, taught to stand for the farrier and load into a trailer. It is the horse who cannot be caught, cannot be led, cannot be ridden safely.
The reasonably well mannered horse who accepts tack and a rider, even if green, has many, many more chances of falling into safe hands than the untrained horse ever will.
Chances are high, when an untrained horse leaves your care, a death sentence or years of extreme neglect will await him.
It is very difficult for rescues to help owners with horses unable to be ridden because few experienced horse people are looking to accept the horse as a project. And the cost to put the needed training in an unstarted horse is very high and requires many months of investment.
The well trained horse has a far broader buyer/home base. The price of the well trained horse, though we know the value of most all horses is very low, can sometimes keep the horse out of the hands of the person unable to afford vet care and hay costs.
If the well trained horse finds himself at the auction, he has far and away the best chance of coming out of that place alive and headed to an actual home than does the unhandled or unridden horse.
The greatest disservice that you can do for your horse is to leave him untrained. It is also a disservice to purchase or take on a horse in need of a great deal of training if you are not well versed yourself or unable to cover the cost of a professional trainer you will learn from while they give the horse a solid foundation.
Love and hay is not enough, friends. An unhandled domesticated horse is dangerous to both people and themselves. “Pet only” horses have no real clear safe possibilities.
So when you’re looking to adopt or buy, please know the type of horse suited to you. Be willing to Continue YOUR Education, and offer a home to the type of horse you can learn from and with, too. Be able to afford a talented trainer to learn from and give your young or untrained horse the RIGHT start.
Training alone will not protect a horse from encountering a bad fate; however, training is the best layer of protection for your horse. And this supersedes even intending to keep your horse for life, as many things can make that impossible. You can’t always go with him where he goes, but his training foundation can!
This Foundation May one Day save his Life.
Heart of Phoenix believes in trainers and training, and when a horse comes to us, we invest in them to make them a safe partner.
We are so thankful for our national partner network of equine professionals, including trainers, as their partnerships help us all create good horse for adopters. #RIGHTHORSE
