Larry has a price tag on his head now, though it isn't much - just a few hundred dollars. He's listed on the internet and I've been hauling him to every little saddle club show I can find (exploring some very rural and remote areas of the state to get there, I might add) armed with a stack of flyers and a smile forced on my face. Even glossing over and downplaying his condition, there has been only a little interest quiet trail horse with "minor" issues, particularly issues like his.
I have little doubt that I could give him away easily - to some scumbag who would put him in the next auction to turn a profit on a pretty horse's misfortune. From there, he would change hands quickly and often, falling into increasingly desperate living conditions as his chain of owners discovered that he wasn't right. I narrowly avoided this with the palomino horse of my dreams I bought from a horse trader a few years back. And I won't go through it again. (The abbreviated version: I bought a yearling from a shady horse trader, and as he grew a hip condition manifested itself. Despite extensive medical care and a year of stall rest, the horse couldn't hold up to more than occasional light work. When I tried to give him away as a pasture pet/light trail riding horse, the best offer I got was from a lady who told me everything I wanted to hear, including that she ran a horse rescue. I arrived at a shabby single-wide in the middle of nowhere surrounded by ramshackle fencing on a steep 3 acre mud cliff. Her "rescue" had just her personal mare, who was in foal. I left him there despite my better instincts, crying the entire drive home for betraying a horse who had done nothing but trust me. In short order, I discovered that she solicited free horses and quickly turned them for a small profit. I managed to get him back through a clause in the contract I made her sign, but it was a close call. I eventually found him a good home as a companion and trail horse, but it wasn't easy and I don't expect to get that lucky again.) And I won't go through it again.
What continues to amaze me about Larry is his willingness to stay cheerful and keep trying despite his pervasive (and by all accounts painful) problem. You'd think after years of living with discomfort that he'd become surly and withdrawn. I have no doubt that without the condition, he'd make a very nice horse for any rider or discipline. I also don't blame his last owner for the condition. HSS is not especially common and many horsepeople simply haven't heard of it. I knew something was off about Larry, but it took me several months to pinpoint what was behind his problems, and the horse came from a non-riding home. Under those circumstances, it's easy to attribute an occasional fit to simple stubbornness and to call his behavior in the stall a quirk.
I've ridden this ride as far as I can bear it, though, and it's time to get off. What kind of life is there for a headshaking horse whose biggest attributes are his beauty and tolerance? I'm down to my last few options. If I can't find him a trail riding home, I may try to have him placed through a horse rescue as a pasture/companion horse where he can live out his days eating and hanging out with a buddy (good work if you can get it!) or donate him to the university as a research horse where he could be used to teach conformation to the students and participate in nutrition trials. (I grant that the term "research horse" sounds scary, but having worked with them, I can assure you that they spend most of their days living the life of Riley and doing little else but loafing in the pasture interspersed by the occasional experimental diet and blood test.) I hope that these options work for him, though in this economy I'm sure there's no shortage of horses being offered up on either front. It's heart-wrenching to give him up, but it's even more heart-wrenching to keep him. I cannot continue to ride this roller-coaster of hope and despondency, hoping for a magic wand and being crushed because it's just a common ordinary stick. It's been a long ride in a short time, but it's time for me to get off now. It's time for Lar to write the next chapter with a new owner and a job that he can do.
Video of his rotary headshaking and mouthing behavior in the stall. Some days he does this nearly constantly when in the stall, other days not at all:
Awww, I am so sorry to hear about Larry and that things have not improved. You have done everything you can for him. I am hopeful that the right situation will come along!
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