Need some opinions!

I am going to make this as short as I can so bare with me! Last year a person I know brought in this mare for "training"....lets just say this person should NOT be training....she had her for 3 months and messed her up worse then when she came in. Heres a little info on the horse:

She is about 15.2-15.3 Appy/welsh cross mare. She's a nice looking mare, quite thick and stocky. The people that own her have owned her since a weanling and have used her as a lawn ornament. She will be 8 this year. She is/was very obese and had a crested neck from being so tubby..lol..but that did come off when she was at the facility due to her feed being controlled. I havent seen her in a year so I am not sure what she looks like now...so theres a little info about her.

She is a nice mare. The owners and the person who "trained" her had a big scrap because she had her in for three months (2100 dollars in training) and she sent her home "unrideable". Basically this person didnt know what the hell they were doing and created more issues such as rearing undersaddle etc..no groundwork just hopped on and hoped for the best type of situation..wasnt the mares fault but she now needs ALOT of work as you can imagine. She can be fixed. I will mention this mare is extremely dominant as well so she needs a firmer hand to work with her, not just any person. SO, anyways, this lady has tracked me down wondering if I would take her...

I do have the experience to take her on. I board my horses and with the market being so crappy right now, I am wondering if it would even be worth it to put the time into her with her age, if I can't break even in the end. I don't intend on keeping her, I would just be taking her in to spin her and finding her a good home. Im not a person to can horses because of someones silliness.

Any opinions appreciated. I do like this mare because she is challenging and I had a connection with her. I did get a chance to work with her when she was here last year and she was fun .... just wondering what you guys would do?...I need to phone her back and let her know I am just a little on the fence with the market and her age...

Thanks.

Personally I wouldnt. But if you have the time and patience then why not?

I got the patience but time is a bit of an issue for me, would only have 3 maybe 4 days max to work her....

I enjoy working with problem horses, and I've never done it for a profit. I suppose it boils down to how much you feel like having fun and rehabbing this mare, if it's worth doing it for free as it sounds as if you won't be making any money off her. I'd do it personally if it wasn't going to cost me much, as I enjoy helping horses find better homes if they're going to end up on a one-way truck anyway.

Ya your right..I am like you, I enjoy working with the ones with issues.. this mare certainly has many! I should just go for it...she is a nice mare, she doesnt deserve to go to for meat because she wasnt trained properly that's for sure.

Whoa, 3 or 4 days total time ever or 3 or 4 days a week? Has she been offered to you for free or just for training? If you think you are able to help her, then by all means try. However, something to consider is how much it is going to cost you to keep her the time it takes to train her (probably many months or more than a year) and whether or not you think she will bring more than that total cost at the end of it all. If you are more interested in just getting her to a better home, then go for it. However, if you are counting on making a profit, think again. You will likely lose money in the end, but she will be safe and in a home.

I would stay far away from this. There are too many good horses in the world to risk health and reputation on someone elses screw up.

Don't let her age be the deciding factor...as she is still pretty young and teachable; I've retrained horses as old as 20 years old, and while it takes a little longer for some concepts to sink in, they are far from teachable. The old saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" is far from 'truth'.

As far as this particular horse, you may only be able to make a decision if you are able to go an work with her a couple of times, and see if you would be able to retrain her in a reasonable amount of time, and still be able to make a little bit back, or atleast make back what you put into her.

Wow, I agree with kevinshorses. What if you got busted up trying to fix this horse? If you are only doing the training to sell it then its really not worth it

This is what I think. The owners should be paying YOU to board and train her. If they want her sold, then tell them you will help them for a 10% comission, with them still paying for board and training. If they don't want to pay for THEIR horse then move on.

Yes, the economy is terrible, but should that be your problem? I had someone ask me if I would work with the pony, boarded at another clients of mine since I currently don't have my own facility, for ONLY 10% comission. Granted she wanted to sell the pony for $1500, I said no. I would be losing money big time here, granted I am a college student currently and barely sraping by (paying for it on my own). I love horses and ponies and love working with them, but it is their horse not mine, and I shouldn't be paying for their horses. (Ok, I used to take in anyone and everyone until my significant other knocked some sense into me).

Hope this helps :)