Baxter left a month ago for a 3 month foster-to-adopt trial down in Spanaway with a local 4H leader. He’s looking fabulous and while still green, going well under saddle. He had also gotten a lot less aggressive towards neighboring horses so we were hopeful that it was just a matter of needing a bit longer to get over those stallion behaviors.
But unfortunately, this adoption did not work out for Baxter. While he has done well under saddle, both in the arena and out on the trails (even with other horses), he is aggressive towards the neighboring horse which is causing problems at feeding time despite a fence between them. Also, he has started pinning his ears and swinging his butt at the foster mom when she goes to catch him. While he has not actually kicked at anyone, her daughter is intimidated by him and it just isn’t going to be a good fit for him. This is a dominant horse that needs a firmer hand. There is a soft side to Baxter, but it takes a while to see it. I still think he will come around in time, but whomever adopts him needs to establish clear boundaries and clear lines of respect with Baxter. He will be coming back to SAFE this weekend.
