Dauntless Courage was purchased at 6 months old by Asbury college as a potential police horse. He was born on a PMU breeding farm in Canada. What is a P.M.U. Horse?
Premarin is a very common drug prescribed to millions of women worldwide as a hormone replacement therapy. The name stands for Pregnant Mares Urine, as the drug is produced from the hormones present in the mare’s urine. The horses used to produce this drug are referred to as “PMU” horses, for short.
The Problem With Premarin:
Premarin is created by collecting the urine of pregnant mares. The mares are kept in small standing stalls to limit their movement, so as not to displace the urinary bladder bags used to collect every drop of urine. The mares are kept in this manner for a lengthy portion of their pregnancy, normally about six months. Once the mares are full-term and ready to deliver, they are turned out to have their foals. The mares can nurse their foals until weaning age, about 4 months, at which time they are separated and the mare is bred back to repeat the whole process. This cycle of breeding has created an overabundance of unwanted foals, most of which are sold to the slaughter industry.
PMU farms used to exist all across the USA, and were also prevalent in Canada. Conditions at PMU farms vary, and some farms work very diligently to place their unwanted foals. Many others are not as responsible. Due to increasing pressure of animal welfare regulation, and public outcry over the horrible fates often suffered by the foals, current PMU production has moved overseas.
Because of the move overseas, PMU foals are no longer available in the US. On occasion, we do see some of the mares who managed to escape the industry and have now traveled throughout the equestrian community. Most are easily recognizable by a large freeze brand often on the left hip that is usually 3 to 4 numbers. – cited from https://www.gentlegiantsdrafthorserescue.org/pmu-industry
Once he got to America he went straight to Asbury college where they attempted to start his police training. After a couple of years of unsuccessful attempts and a few injuries, they decided that Dante, at the time 2 coming 3, would be better suited for something else so he was sold to a fox hunter. Luckily for me, he was shortly returned and I believe sold another time only to be returned yet again. From there Dante was purchased for me by my parent for my 16th birthday! It was a rocky start for us going from trainer to trainer but once I decided to just try and get to know Dante on my own terms things started looking up. We started Eventing and went through prelim with ease! Then we decided to make the move to intermediate and shoot for young riders. We were lucky enough to achieve that goal and make it to NAJYRC where we had a mishap with my rein breaking in the middle of our SJ round but because of the bond and partnership Dante and I had built I was able to tie my twin back together and finish the course. We didn’t end where we wanted to but we were able to finish in the bronze medal position as a team and went home with great memories and a lot of learning experiences! Then we had our sights set on Fair Hill in the fall. We got there and absolutely crushed it! Dressage put us in the bottom 5 but after a smashing XC round where we finished with a double clear round, we moved up to 10th! Then on to showjumping. We came in ready to jump and that’s exactly what we did to finish in 11th place Internationally and 10th place nationally, we also managed to be the highest places young riders of the whole competition! From there we cruised through a few advanced horse trials and on to our first 3-star (now 4-star). When I tell you that Dante is unlike any horse I have ever met I mean it! He is so game to compete and has accomplished everything he is faced with flying colors. We cruised through a couple now 4-stars and were able to get half qualified for Kentucky 5-star. Unfortunately later that year Dante came down with a low level of EPM. His recovery was taken very seriously and we made sure that we took our time to get him back to form. He has been cleared to get going again for a while now and has been showing great promise that he is more than capable of crushing the competition this year and in the future. We were ready to make a statement right before the COVID-19 hit and due to the lack of shows, we have had to put somethings on hold. 2021 is our year no doubt, the comeback kids are ready to compete. Dante is the motivation behind my business and the reason for my success for years he has been my main reason to keep pushing when times get tough. He is my best friend and partner in crime who absolutely owes me nothing at all so I truly believe that every day with him is a blessing regardless of how good or bad it is.
