Autumn Horse Thoroughbred Willard, MO

Gentle, Safe, Athletic Mare Needs a Home!

Autumn, affectionately known as "Auttie" or "Auzzie," is very ready for a person of her own! She is incredibly intelligent, sensitive, and athletic and is also gentle, safe, and has excellent foundational & specialized training. Whether you want a stunning dark red chestnut mare to decorate your field as a clicker training pet or you want an athletic partner to take eventing with 100% R+ training - Autumn is your gal!

AUTUMN'S BACKGROUND

Autumn is a tattooed OTTB mare, registered as "Nothin' But Tough." She was born March 29, 2011, making her 14 years old. She had 13 starts and retired off the track to a broodmare & light riding home. That owner sent her on a broodmare lease, but she ended up emaciated in the slaughter pipeline instead. A person bought her from the meat traders and contacted her owner, but she did not take her back. Unfortunately, the horses this person got from slaughter ended up severely neglected and were then surrendered to SKE in June of 2020.

After arriving at SKE, Autumn gained lots of weight and underwent some serious farrier rehab. She quickly became the outstanding & gorgeous mare you see today!

AUTUMN'S TRAINING

Autumn was restarted from the ground up with 100% R+ (clicker training, fear-free). Her list of behaviors is LONG - too much to fit it all here - and includes:

Basic Foundations:
- Haltering
- Leading (with halter, off a target, or off body language/at liberty)
- Nose targeting (target stick & hand targets)
- Stationary targeting (at a cone, mat, or bucket)
- Body handling (for brushes, petting, vet, farrier, etc.)

- Reverse roundpen (walk with speed adjustments, trot with speed adjustments, some canter)
- "Go mat" (to a gym mat or rubber mat)
- "Go around" (a barrel or pole)
- "Go jump" (over a ground pole between standards)
- "Go touch" (to a cone station)

Cooperative Care/"Life Skills:"
- Veterinary handling (checking eyes, ears, nose, teeth/mouth, teats, etc.)
- Farrier/hoof handling (held & on the stand; pulled forward & from the bottom of the hoof)
- Cooperative injections (IV & IM)
- Cooperative oral medications (via syringe, though she will also eat medications in food)
- Cooperative eye drops/ointments
- Cooperative aerosol spray (like aluminum spray / aluspray)
- Cooperative fly spray
- Trailer loading (both ramp & step up; being lead & self-loading; turning to walk off & backing off)

Riding Behaviors:
- Saddling
- Lining up at the mounting block
- Mounting
- Taking reinforcements under saddle
- Targeting under saddle
- Walk, Trot, & Canter under saddle
- Speed adjustments under saddle (quicken/slow gait)
- Steering via hand targets, target stick, & weight shifts
- Steering via bitless bridle
- Cone, jump, and mat behaviors under saddle

Specialized Jump Training:
- Jumping single jumps up to 2'6" at liberty
- Navigating a variety of ground pole patterns at liberty & under saddle

Specialized Dressage Training:
- Shoulder over at liberty & under saddle
- Turn on the haunches at liberty & under saddle
- Lateral over at liberty & under saddle
- Beginning haunches over/turn on the forehand
- Beginning shoulder-in & haunches-in

Specialized Trail Training:
- Bridge obstacles
- Water obstacles
- Narrow spaces
- Gate obstacles
- Mailbox obstacles

Autumn is super familiar with consent cues & start/stop buttons. She is incredibly intelligent & communicative and has an amazing foundation in addition to lots of specialized training. She LOVES working for jackpots and solving puzzles & brain games.

Autumn has had tons of positive experiences in a wide variety of situations. She has competed extensively in The Equine Clicker Show, achieving scores in the 90's; she hauled from Missouri to Texas & back for clinics and was extremely well behaved the whole time; she's done great with lessons & kids games and she's been dressed up for Halloween. Her favorite non-clicker-training activity is splashing in her water trough!

She would make an outstanding competitive or casual equine partner. She has the athleticism for jumping and the sensitivity & precision for dressage work. She will gladly match your competitive passions or relax into a casual home setting. She loves consistency & builds meaningful relationships with those around her.

Watch videos of Autumn on her YouTube playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHTLjXzz3Q5PgXKD36wDmLrX6hOQZ84fO&si=820l0RDeH_5DRO0Z

AUTUMN'S HEALTH HISTORY

Autumn has not had any serious lameness issues since arrival. She had some footsoreness on rough/rocky ground during farrier rehab journey (mild & resolved) and she has sometimes been stiff during higher-impact work (high speeds/jumping/long rides), especially on cold/rainy winter days. She's never had any substantial lameness though, only mild stiffness/soreness that resolved without needing veterinary intervention.

Before riding, SKE always x-rays our equines to check for spinal changes or problems. Autumn's x-rays were clear with great spacing! Her conformation and large wither gives her a "swayback" type appearance, but she has never shown any signs of discomfort, is happy & enthusiastic with riding, and does not have any evidence of kissing spines, lordosis, or other back problems (confirmed with x-rays).

SKE is happy to share vet records & x-rays with potential adopters, and a PPE is always welcome.

AUTUMN'S CARE NEEDS

Autumn's digestive system was damaged by the high-grain, low-forage diet on the racetrack, combined with chronic stress from racing and being passed around "kill pens" before her rescue. Luckily, Autumn is very capable of living a happy, healthy life with a bit of supportive care: nutritious feed, attention to signs of ulcers, and preventative supplements as needed.

Autumn is currently thriving on a diet of free-choice pasture grass and hay, with supplemental alfalfa and senior feed. This helps ensure she gets plenty of nutrients, since her digestive system doesn't absorb nutrients as efficiently as other horses.

Autumn is prone to ulcers, a common issue when horses experience chronic stress and poor diet. Ulcers are very painful, and a bad flare-up can make Autumn irritable and restless. Luckily, she responds wonderfully to an affordable, over-the-counter ulcer supplement - just add it to her feed anytime you suspect she has ulcers (or preventatively before stressful events), and she's typically comfortable again within 12-24 hrs.

Autumn is very easy to trim & great for the farrier. She is barefoot & sound at the walk, trot, & canter arenas and on the trails, and she's had hoof radiographs that were clear of any issues. She'll gladly wear hoof boots if ever needed, too (ie, for long trail rides on rough/rocky ground).

HOW TO ADOPT AUTUMN

SKE seeks adopters who have good intentions & good core values to direct them on their horsemanship journey - plus the knowledge and resources to provide a great life to their adopted equine. If you feel that describes you, we would love for you to provide Autumn with an amazing home!

Autumn is available for adoption through SKE for $4500. She has tack & equipment that can be purchased to go with her to her new home.

She is fostered in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA, and delivery is available in the US & Canada.

Start the application process by filling the adoption application at skequine.com/adopt

Contact SKE with any questions or concerns:
adopt@skequine.com

Thank you so much for considering this truly amazing mare! She is absolutely wonderful & will certainly make someone very, very happy ♥