Roxie came from a horse dealer in 2022. She was advertised as an all-around, beginner level trail horse for $7,500. I noticed something unusual about her in the sales videos that sparked my interest, so I contacted the seller and requested a visit with the mare. The dealer claimed to have a long line of people wanting to see her, but he told me that if she didn’t sell right away, he would let me know. She was a gorgeous roan color and people were sure to pay top dollar for that!

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Days went by and nobody had offered to purchase Roxie, so the man contacted me and let me know that she was still available. I knew there was something wrong with her and was willing to negotiate with him to get her to a safe home. I drove out to Reading early on a Sunday morning to visit the horse in person and I immediately knew that Roxie belonged with us.

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It took about a week of back and forth, but I was able to get Roxie’s costs down to a fair number; the dealer had grown impatient of keeping her and was losing money on her feed and care, so he was willing to do a quick sale in order to bring in some “better quality” horses. Roxie was unable to canter normally and had a slight drop in her back fetlocks which was suspicious to me, but I knew that if I didn’t take her home, she could end up facing a terrible future at an auction.

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We put tons of vet work into Roxie, as she was thin and had poorly managed teeth when she arrived. Ultrasounds of her legs revealed extensive old injuries to her hind suspensory ligaments, which severely limited her as a riding horse. While we worked with her in the first few months, it became obvious that she had been very well trained in her past life, as she was extremely sensitive and responsive to pressure. She was about as push-button as a horse could get!

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The vet also confirmed through ultrasound that Roxie had given birth before, so it is likely that she was used as a broodmare following some sort of accident that took her out of the show ring. Our best guess is that she was sold to the dealer when she failed to continue producing offspring for profit. This is a very sad reality for many mares on the market; when they can no longer compete, they are sent for breeding until they fail to meet the demands placed on them.

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Today Roxie is pretty much retired, and only goes on the occasional, slow-paced walk on the trails. She thoroughly enjoys a good pampering session and a lot of treats! She has to be one of the sweetest horses I have ever worked with, and deserves a happy, healthy life from now on! She requires shoes on all four and is currently going through treatment for Lyme’s disease. We are always cautious with her back legs, but lots of turn out and very light exercise seems to help her with her stability and pain management regimen.