Tod and Jubilee

[karenandco]

Hi everybody,

ok there is no other way to put this, but i have now re-homed Tod and Jubilee, Todi's problems were way beyond me, and each time i thought i was getting somewhere, he would come up with something else plus the problem that i was trying to deal with, and i just felt that it was time that he went to someone that would do the things he enjoyed (i got so frightened of him that i wouldn't ride/drive/walk him anymore, and that was not fair on him he deserved better,

Jubilee on the other hand had learnt to be a horse, and let my girls know this by running away with them, both in-hand and ridden, so neither wanted to be with her anymore, so a more exprienced rider was required, before both the girls lost their confidence like me,

after a lot of soul serching i still had Pig and didn't want her to be on her own, and as i bought her on by myself as naturally as i posibly could (and she has turned into the lovelyest little pony ever, i got another youngster to do the same again,

his name is Shamrock (irish cob) 4 yr old and is the sweetest baby, already my confidence with him has come on in leaps and bounds, he is a totally blank canvas and i am going to start him on the parrelli road as soon as i can,

so here he is




i'm sorry if this upsets people, and it looks like i have just "got rid of another problem horse" to get another, but believe me, this really was a very hard desision for me, and i guess this just goes to prove that " 1 persons dream is another persons nightmare"

i wish you all a very happy new year,

karen and co

[Lorraine L]

Hi Karen,
I do apologise but i cannot remember the story of Tod and Jubilee. I am not sure why you are apologising as its a personal decision that each of us make whether we gel with certain horses or not. You may have given them a future, which you may not have been able to offer yourself whether it be through confidence issues etc.
I have seen many horses left in fields and given the minimum of attention just because the owners felt that they couldn't cope with them in one way or another.Basically its easy to keep horses ( if finances allow ) just because you feel you would fail them by letting them go. I wish you the very best of luck with Shamrock and hope that he is every thing you want him to be.

[karenandco]

thank you for your reply lorraine,
i fought for Tod for 11/2 yrs to try and sort his head out, and many people on here tried to help, i guess i felt i had let them down by not keeping on with him,
and that is exactly what i didn't want to do, keep them in a field with no attention, i loved Tod with all my heart, and i saved him from beatings that no horse should ever have, but i was not able to take him to where he needed to be, we did find that he can jump, and if you where a confident person the question was not can we, but how high shall we, i now think all i need is something to just have happy hacks, my days are over at doing everything at 100 miles an hour, and he is not ready to slow down, and indeed i don't think he will every be ready,
in the end, it was like Tod needed no-one, he had no herd instinct, every man for himself, he didn't want to be with anyone, not horse or person, and i found this sometimes to be very soul distroying, all i wanted to do was love him, all he wanted to do was be left alone, anyway end of chapter, time to start the next

and thank you for your kind wishes for the future,

[Louise C]

Shamrock looks lovely - I hope you have lots of fun with him - and totally agree with Lorraine - we have to do the best for each of our equines including selling them if it's not working out:-)

[Casper]

Karen, you have nothing to apologise for. You have done what you believe to be the right thing for Tod and Jubilee and should be applauded for it. Shamrock looks lovely, and I hope 2008 is a great year for you xx

[Teeni]

'Got rid of another problem horse' - not at all hun, after all we are only humans and we try our best. You did your best for them and still have by finding them suitable homes where they know what they're dealing with. Good for you hun.

All the best with Shamrock for the fututre and do up date us when you can.

[Deleted]

Quite honestly, Karen, instead of feeling bad about this, I think you should feel proud of yourself. Not only did you put your all into trying to work through all the problems you were having, you have now done the hardest thing for you by saying enough. Keeping horses isn't supposed to be a battle or an endurance test, it's supposed to be a pleasure for us and for them. When it's not working, sometimes the best thing is just to say so.

And as for getting rid of one problem to replace it with another, well in a way you have. The completely problem free horse is a rare beast indeed, so yes, Shamrock will test you. His problems won't be Todi's though, so it won't be swapping like for like, but for something different.

I sincerely wish you joy and love with him. You so deserve it.

[gilly]

Hi karen,

What a tough decision for you. I don't see it like you've given up on them at all. You did your very best with them and you've made the difficult decision that they weren't the right horses for you and your family. You haven't given up, or quit, you've made a sensible decision. (((hug)))

Shamrock is lovely, I wish you all the best with him
x

[specialsparkle3]

8-)I agree with all that's been said already. Tod and Jubilee, I'm sure would thank you for being so considerate towards them and taking the trouble to find them suitable homes. As you say, you have a blank canvas with Shamrock, enjoy "painting it"

[karenandco]

Thank you all so much for your kind replies, i completely agree with you Liz that there is no such thing as a horse with no problems at all, but at least this will be a "blank canvas" so to speak, i don't think i was "savvy" enough, to deal with the problems that Tod had, and i feel very sad for that, he had read all the books and was far cleaver at it than i'll ever be, but at least i gave him a chance to recoup, and regain some sort of horse sence, away from the stress of being beaten and gouded into things he didn't understand, and maybe he just might have understood that all humans don't behave in that way, and in return he was probably my greatest teacher in the equine world, and for that i will be forever greatful,

as for Shamrock, he is settling in nicely, he comes upto me when i go in to the paddock, allows me to put on a headcoller and take it off with no fuss at all, i can brush down his mane and neck, over his back, his shoulders and down to his kness across his sides, and over his flanks, i can lift both front feet but not without him tensing up, but this is work in progress, as he has never had any of these things done to him/with him i think he does pretty well,

as for me, well i feel like i have gone back to my "old" self in the confidence stakes, and i look forward to everyday with him, and Pig, rather than dreading the thought, which has to be a good sign eh?

heres to a good year for everybody

karen and co

[cokey]

Karen, I'm so glad for you!

It's the hardest thing in the world to admit that a horse needs more than you can provide, but it's also one of the bravest. So well done for that!

[horsey123]

it was the right thing to do i owuld of done the same good luck with your new cob he is a stunner !!