Buttercup

About Buttercup (Paso fino) in Cottontown

Buttercup is waiting for you at Safe Harbor Equine and Livestock Sanctuary in Cottontown, TN 37048. Buttercup was originally adopted in 2017 and then re-adopted in 2018. Fast forward and the neighbors elderly geldings both crossed the Rainbow Bridge, leaving Buttercup alone and mourning. Stressed, lonely, and heartbroken, she dropped a tremendous amount of weight and became nearly untouchable for lack of handling. Luckily, the adopters reached out for help, and under our lifetime safety net, Buttercup returned to us. Buttercup is fairly straightforward to handle, but she does look for a quiet confidence in her handler. Her best match is someone willing to listen and meet her where she is. Buttercup has some special considerations important for a prospective adopter to understand: 1) She was a pet for her first 8 years, started under saddle, and adopted in succession to two homes that were inappropriate for a quite green older horse, neither of whom understood that additional training and lessons would have solved their confidence issues (and honestly, no one in charge at the rescue during that time period understood that either, and so here we are all these years later). 2) She very likely would have been a candidate for a spay as a young mare. She comes into heat just from being pastured next to a gelding or from a change in her environment, and she is more sensitive/reactive while in heat. As a teenage mare, Regumate, Depo, or marbling would be options someone could explore. This is also why we recommend a MARE ONLY environment. 3) Paso experience is strongly recommended. She is sensitive, "flight" minded, and has absolutely no use for someone who trains with force, "flooding" or hard hands - and remembers the person in her past who did. 4) She is a horse that needs daily or close to daily handling. You can't turn her out in a field for 4 days and expect to walk right up and catch her on the 5th. This is due to the years she simply wasn't -- get her in