I am slowly starting to look for a very special home for my 15 year old Brabant draft mare, Annabelle. She is an incredible horse and one of my heart horses, but needs a very special person and more time than I can give her. Her price is very flexible to the right home (currently upper 4s). PLEASE read the full ad and her story before messaging for more info.

Annabelle is a 15 year old, 15.3h (and very wide) draft mare and was previously trained in dressage, has done trail riding, and a lot of casual riding. She’s very solid w/t and knows her leads in the canter but is very out of shape so has trouble holding the canter at the moment in the arena. She has a complicated past with some trauma likely from when she was very young, and is very sensitive. She needs someone who will take things at her speed and who wants to put in the time and work on the ground as well as under saddle. Most days, she is amazing, and I have had a lot of fabulous rides on her. She can ride bareback or with a saddle, steers off leg and seat, and is usually forgiving. She can, however, sometimes get nervous and reactive around new things or things that she thinks are scary (this can change, and her normal reaction is just a skin shiver and little jump, nothing crazy). She has NO buck, rear, bite, or mean bone in her body, but has bolted in the past. Most days she can be ridden by a novice rider, but due to her sensitivity I am selling her as an intermediate rider or up horse because she needs someone who isn’t scared by a spook or a quick jump sideways (she’s wide enough you barely feel it, and she’s never had anyone fall off her). She mostly needs someone who is AWARE of the horse they are with and can pick up on her subtle cues of discomfort and adjust accordingly.

She is trained extensively with natural horsemanship as well as clicker trained and is learning to work at liberty (which she loves). She lines herself up at the mounting block (was restarted recently after a mounting issue), steers off of leg and seat, stops with an exhale, and is very responsive to cues on the ground and under saddle. She is very fun to work with and bonds very deeply to her person. She loves all the groundwork and really gets into the liberty, clicker, and R+ methods.

The perfect home for Annabelle would be someone who is wanting a friend and a partner who they can build a relationship with, as well as be willing to work through challenges (such as just taking things more slowly if she’s having a more fearful day) if they come. I am not in a hurry to sell her and will be extremely picky where she goes.

UTD on farrier, teeth, vaccines, worming, etc. Lives great in a herd outside, easy keeper, great ground manners. Great for the farrier as well.