Hey i have really been debating buying a pmu horse..I even kinda have one picked out...but my busband is a little ify about it and dosent think its a good idea...can i get some input about the whoe process and just reading some of the discussions..it sounds like it would be an alright bet ...thanx

Unless you're really experienced with horses, it is risky. Please read my other entries. I would definitely NOT recommend adopting through Serenity Acres. Becky and Larry who run it, are GOOD people, they transport the horses well, and have very big hearts. BUT , the rancher they work with has over 700 horses, they pasture breed, receive little or no care or handling. He USED to be PMU, but now he is a puppy mill,just for horses. These foals are his cash crop to fund his rodeoing.If they don't sell, they stay out in the pastures to breed, or go to the sale barn. The first horse we got from him was horribly lame, and had to be euthanized 2 wks after we got her. It was heartbreaking, and very expensive. She was described as a " guaranteed sound riding horse".The replacement we got was a yearling , and on arrival he had a huge abscess on his hock that drained a cup and a half of pus, he was a "2" on the malnutrition scale of 1-10, he had ringworm, horrible intestinal worms, and his front hooves had been lopped off unevenly, while his back hooves were 2 inches overgrown with a split in one halfway through the hoof.He is healthy now, and we love him dearly, but would never go this route again. We have 3 other horses and a miniature donkey who were all adopted from private individuals who could not keep them. Being involved with, and leaving our name and phone number with our local horse rescue and Humane Society brought them into our lives. They are healthy, sound, and well trained, and a complete joy. I hope you find the horse of your heart , whatever route he/she arrives by. Good luck and and God bless !

I agree that if this would be your first horse and you don't have experience in handling a semi-wild horse, going the PMU route isn't for you. You would be better off getting a well-trained horse that ended up at a rescue.

On the other hand, I have had a wonderful experience with adopting my colt, Cody. I'm in CA and got him from United Pegasus and they represented him well, of course they were located about 45 min. from me so I got to actually go see him and choose him. They've been happy to hear of his progress and do a wonderful job with the horses.

Good luck, which ever you choose. My hubby loves Cody and he's not really a horse person!

iv had and been around horses most of my life. Im actually training my warmblood right now. So i do know for the most part what im doing but i do also have a lot of people to help me if needed. Cody is a beautiful horse to iv read ur messages and they people that do have them sound like there very impressed with them thanks for the advice!!

Thanks for your compliment on my Cody

Sounds like you'd be perfect to adopt a PMU baby. Goodluck to you!

where do you have one picked out? I have been around horses all my life and picked my girl off the unitedpegasus.com website and she came straight from Canada. I know of several people who have done exactly what I did and I will tell you some of their experiences. First some of the issues I have heard about and experienced myself. A friend's colt had a hernia that required surgery. My filly has a very small .5cm hole (smaller than the width of a pencil) in the abdominal wall, which my vet had decided was plenty small and will not cause any hernia issues. I check it about once a month for any changes, no changes over the past year. Another friend got a filly and at age 3 came down with ESPM, but she was a first time horse owner and the filly's environment changed. It took some testing and so on, but after 6 months with proper feed and normal care with a lot of turnout she has not had any further issues and is under saddle. Pretty much all the foals/horses come in with a heavy parasite load. My filly was skin and bones with a big worm belly, a cough and runny eyes. Not all the horses come in looking quite as bad as she did, but they do not have any vet care other than a negative coggins, which I consider a plus under the circumstances. Another person who adopted several years ago got a foal with pneumonia, but he got well with proper vet care. These are first hand situations from close friends. Recently I heard third hand that one came with a hip problem, but that also has been healed.

It just depends on what you feel you can handle mentally and monetarily. I was ready for my Halloween surprise whether she was in top shape or the worst case scenario and had to be euthanized. Even though I thought I was prepared for all events I still shed a few private tears when the delivery truck was running late, because I did not know if my filly was ok or not. I was volunteering to unload and care for the 30 new arrivals. lol, when Velvet jumped off the trailer she was nothing at all what I expected on first glance. She was dark instead of light as in the picture (it was just her stage of roaning), she was way bigger than I thought I had picked and skinny as a rail with stocking up that blew my mind. I felt so bad for her, but it all just took time and care. You have to be ready and willing to take a chance, but I do not know anyone of the PMU owners around here that would trade their PMU in for another. My girl, Velvet is a doll and a cow. lol She is a big girl, but way more gentle than my first colt (not PMU). Not all the foals were so easy, but I was able to halter her pretty quickly. She does have flat soles, which the farrier is gradually carving out as much as he can, although they will always be somewhat flat, but normally she has never gone lame except fresh after a deep carving and running on rocky ground. Now we are less aggressive with it and she is fine. This is my take on it, but I am completely in love with my Velvet.

So you have to think it through and decide it is worth the risk or not. For me there is no question, although when she came off the truck she smelled so bad that I did wonder what I got myself into, lol and I have been around horse forever! btw...the stink went away after a month of brushing and fresh air.

Hi, Alisha.

I've had my PMU filly for about a year now, and honestly, it's been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. That being said -- it can be INCREDIBLY difficult at times. My filly was a year and a half old when I adopted her last December, and she was completely untouchable until May -- and that's with solid, several hours a day, every day work with her doing all the recommend natural horsemanship sort of things. There was definitely some sort of abuse/trauma in her past that had to be overcome before she could trust people again... She's an absolutely doll now, though. Still fairly leery of new people, but she's incredibly rock-solid for a two-year-old and a very fast learner. She saddles, lounges great, is getting fairly decent at ground driving, and she's very loving towards me and super personable. I just love her!

Surprisingly, my filly, Freya, was in very good condition when I got her. Maybe 50 lbs. or so underweight -- but pretty darn good on the whole, aside from front feet that were quite long. I adopted her via Serenity Acres, though I think my Freya came from a different farm than Inirish's horses. Larry and Becky, who run Serenity Acres, work with I think two or three different ranches, so I think there are some quality differences both in terms of breeding and health care practices between the ranches. So, I would not necessarily rule out Serenity Acres; I'd work with them again -- depending on which ranch the horse came from.

Ideally, it's nice to be able to see and evaluate your new horse in person, so if you're close by to any of the rescues or can travel to them, I'd definitely recommend that. I have heard great things across the board about United Pegasus, too, and many of the horses they have at their California locations already have had some training/handling, if that's something you're interested in. If you are like me and are wanting to take the plunge and start an unhandled, semi-wild horse, my best advice is to avoid having too many expectations at first... Things likely won't always go as you've envisioned. Generally-speaking, younger horses are easier to start from scratch than older horses are, too, so it might be a good call to get a yearling or younger, but then it'll be a few years longer before they're ready to ride.

Good luck! And if you do decide to get a PMU horse and are ever in need of advice, these message boards are a great resource

Kristin

hey,
well I was looking at one on the united site and one in the serenity acers..but when i went back the other day they were both gone ..so theres one more that i am kind of looking at..and im glad that i know that not all of the horses are as sound and health as they say. Im a bit of an disadvantage as far as going to look at them because they are all in north dakoda and the one that was at united im not sure where she was from in canada,,,but i must say iv been doing a lot of research and i figured that alberta would have lots of the closed farms since its such a farming province..and once again i am very greatful for everyones input!!!

Cody looks a lot like my first horse he was a big clevland bay..hes very beautiful!!

Hi Alishahicks,
I'm aware of several 2008 PMU weanlings in temporary homes in various parts of the U.S. They are getting initial care and training but still need homes. Perhaps you could visit before you decide whether to adopt? The foals are in AZ, FL, PA, WY and TN. Feel free to send me private email.
Karen salukifan2@yahoo.com

Hi,
I'm new to the forum, but thought that I would login to post something about my upcoming trip to Western Canada (leaving Thursday) to bring home 2 loads of PMU yearlings and adults.

It was very interesting to me to see the wide range of experiences and advice that past adopters are giving on this forum.
We (Virginia Sport Horses) have been active in bringing PMU horses down to the states for about 7 years now and I have either been to or am familiar with pretty much all of the ranches that organizations on this site are drawing from.
I think that after reading about the experiences, and being involved, there are a few things worth noting...
There is a great variety that exists across all of the ranches which once collected urine. Just as there is a great variety for instance across all farms that breed quarter horses. Many of the ranches that I have been to that were at one time involved in the collection of urine are operated by 2nd, 3rd or even 4th generation ranchers. Some are operated by veterinarians. Others by dressage or hunter/jumper trainers. Many by those who breed and show draft horses and a few by folks who breed bucking horses for the rodeos or horses for meat. Many of these breeding programs even predate the collection on urine which started in the 60's. While there may be some good hearted folks trying to move the horses off a farm that is substandard by most people on the forum's standards, I think that its great that people do take these horses and I think.. that it is fairly easy to get a feel for what you are getting into just by talking to these folks. Thats the important thing in my mind...know exactly what you are looking to do...be honest about your goals...and honestly represent your horsemanship skills to the organization. One of the great things about taking on a PMU for a lot of people is that it takes them on a journey of recognition of what "horsemanship" means and then learning that step by step with a partner...

If your goals are to find the absolutely cheapest horse regardless of what that may entail then you might have some hernias and abcesses, strangles, worms and wild horses in your future...and if you are unaware or uninterested in horsemanship, then young horses in general...PMU's included... are not for you.

There are however many other organizations and many other ranches that the organizations deal with where the horses and level of care are different.

There are differences in the experience level of the organizations themselves and the individuals who run them, resulting in a difference in the level of support that that organization may be able to provide.

For instance, we bring down a very nice quality colt. We are not a 501C, so that in order to do what we do, we must make enough of a profit by raising, training and selling sporthorses to continue with our passion which is these horses. This in itself is a tall order... We have to start with healthy young horses with the proper conformation suited to their future endeavors.

Over the years, we have learned how to select horses and how to and how not to transport horses if you expect to keep them healthy. We have also discovered what to do when they arrive so that they continue to be healthy.

We know that their hooves need trimmed and know how to do this with out traumatizing them and we offer these services to our customers. We also know about care and feeding and we at least advise our customers about this...whether they take it or not.

For all of our horses that come to virginia, included in the price is one week of board while the horses are awaiting pickup. At that time if the owner chooses, their hooves can be trimmed, they can be halter broke and we will even board them for longer periods such that a full quarantine can be provided prior to moving them in to their new barn. We even bathe horses for a fee so that you can be proud of your new horse when it walks into your barn for the first time.

I really cringe to see PMU horses characterized as "wild" and "unhealthy". The draft cross horses that we raise have a well deserved reputation for their sane and sensible demeanor and the ease with which they are trained.

Veterinarians and farriers are always commenting about how sturdy, sound these horses are as well as their "hybrid vigor".

There is a tremendous value in being able to raise a young horse properly and then having it be "your horse"....this you just cant get from traditonal rescues. Dont get me wrong..they are needed as well, but there is a place for everyone and you need to know which organization, type of horse and experience fits for you.
I know that there are other PMU placement organizations out there with a lot of experience and support structures in place as well. United Pegasus has been there since the beginning and I'm sure that they are able to provide support to their adopters. Its a well known fact that consumers are quicker to vent about bad experiences than to share the positive ones..so I think thats also important to keep in mind...whenever you read a vent on a forum...

So, I hope that I didnt offend any one but I just think the world of some of the horses that come from former PMU ranches and hate to see them cast in the same light as horses that are vastly different.

If anyone is looking for a good, sport horse quality horse from a former PMU ranch is an experienced horseman or is interested in pursueing that journey...we have several good colts left and are available to support our custmomers. We will do our best to help you..provided you dont trash us on this forum..LOL

And if you are on the fence about what to beleive about PMU's I invite you to visit the customer comments pages on our website.

Thanks for you ear!
Liz

I have to add my two cents in here. When I got my PMU foal in 2005 I had only been a horse owner for 6 months. Prior to becoming a horse owner I considered myself as an experienced horse person. Looking back now I knew very little about horses or horse ownership.

I have read several times on this site that if you are not an experienced horse person you should not get a foal. I have to interject here. I think my greatest experience and greatest bond is with my PMU foal, Bella. Who is not a foal any longer she will be 4 in May! I have to say if you are inexperienced, as I was, if you have access to quality assistance there is nothing wrong with taking on a PMU foal.

I understand breeds and personalities differ and I may have just been very fortunate, but Bella was not at all hard to handle even to this day. I brought her home and with in the first half hour I had my hands on her.

I currently own 6 horses and Bella has been my most rewarding experience. When I am out on the property regardless of what I am doing or what horse I am working with Bella is always staring at me waiting for her turn. When we are riding (walk/trot only) I can get her to do things without hesitation the first time I ask. It is just an amazing feeling to know “I” have brought her all this way! To have Bella go from little/to no human contact to anticipating being with me. I just wish more people could/wanted to experience this feeling.

I think as long as you do your research on what it takes to raise a foal, and you have competent guidance to help you, and you are aware of the dedication of time it takes to raise a foal. It is worth the experience regardless of your past horse experience.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

I went up to Pegasus and Helen was very nice and honest. I actually saw a horse I wanted there but she was adopted before I could get her. I'm still looking