|
Shasta is a big, beautiful, and unique palomino mare potentially looking for a new home. I am Shasta's second owner. I purchased her in 2021 as a restart project, and a potential trail or pack horse for my partner. We are mainly a backcountry trail riding and horse camping household, and she unfortunately does not thrive in that environment. Shasta came to us angry, tense, and tender footed. We have worked hard for years to grow out her heels and get her comfortable barefoot. However, while she can be ridden, Shasta clearly does not want to be a riding horse anymore. She would make a lovely pasture companion, pet, or liberty partner to the right person. Shasta is smart and engaged during liberty activities, and will happily run around in the pasture, but has thrown out too many unpredictable behaviors under saddle for us to consider her a safe riding horse. We have tried multiple saddles, bits/bitless, and various disciplines, and she has been tense and unhappy with all of it. We have had many vets come out to evaluate her over the years, and we have been unable to find a physical reason for her behavior. She is more looky than spooky, and is comfortable around large machines, cars, atvs, dogs, and noisy air traffic. Shasta does not tie, and we have not been able to fix that. She ground ties for grooming and farrier work. She likes the occasional grooming and petting, but will get upset if it's not on her terms. Shasta is very treat motivated though, and will happily do tricks for snacks. She really is just a unique creature. She can go from being incredibly sweet, to acting like she's never seen a human in a matter of minutes. I do think she would prefer to bond with just one person, and she does better outside instead of being stalled. Shasta is an altered mare, as her previous owner had her spayed in 2020 (ovariectomy). We don't know if this has contributed to her temperament. We have tried her on Regumate, but we are unsure if it has made a significant difference. Shasta is up to date on medical, dental, and farrier work. She has no known allergies, and is a fairly easy keeper. She does not crib, trailers well, and is easy on fences. We are more interested in a good home over anything else, and I'm happy to answer any questions.
|