On the road to recovery

BACKGROUND

Cantour is one of four horses removed from an abusive owner in April of 2010.  He is well-known in jumping and breeding circuits, but has had a checkered history both because of his owner’s personality as well as his own.   For more information about his owner’s history, see our Blog.

Cantour has been previously used as a breeding stallion, and has a fairly impressive show history. 

German-born Cantour is the last-born son of Cantus, a highly respected Holsteiner who stood stud at the famous Maas J. Hell stable until his death in 1994. 

THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

Cantour bears the marks of past injuries - both physical and behavioral.  When he first arrived at the shelter, his coat was dirty and matted.  His teeth were dirty and stained and badly in need of a float.  He had not received dental care in so long that his mouth was full of ulcers, causing pain when eating.  His hooves were worn and untrimmed.  His body lacked muscle tone, and he was underweight.

Cantour had been allowed to roam freely among three other stallions and four intact male giant breed guard dogs, and he was not one to back down from a fight.  His body is covered with scars and scrapes some healing, some poorly treated.  It’s a sad state of affairs for a horse that once had a brilliant career ahead of him.

But the worst scars are those that leave no outward physical mark. 

Cantour has had a history of being “difficult.”  A lot of his behavior is typical of stallions, but there is also strong evidence that he has been physically abused.  Despite the fact that Cantour is a superb athlete, his owner put him in situations he was not prepared for - jumping fences that were too high, riding him when he was already lame or uncomfortable, coercing him into unnatural behaviors. 

The result is that Cantour tends to act out when he is confused.  He rears and can be difficult to handle.  He paws the ground and has damaged more than one stall wall.  These behaviors will improve as his testosterone level drops post-gelding.  But there are other behaviors that require special rehabilitation.

Cantour was sexually abused and sometimes reacts inappropriately around men.  He is likely to become erect when approached by more than one man at a time, and may otherwise exhibit unusual behavior around men. 

LOOKING AHEAD

We are excited about the future for Cantour.  He is a wonderful athlete and at 16 still has a long career ahead of him.  He could easily return to the show ring as a hunter/jumper or dressage mount.  He would also make a terrific schoolmaster for advanced riders.

We anticipate that it will take six months to a year for Cantour’s rehabilitation, and will update this page continually as he progresses.

Cantour will ultimately be available for adoption at a fee appropriate to his breeding and capability.  If you are interested, please let us know.  We will begin taking applications in November/December.

If you would like to participate in his care or rehabilitation, please

consider making a donation on his behalf. 

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