Heartbreaker

Heartbreaker, born in 1998, is an American Paint Horse who came to us after a very hard life and being horribly mistreated. Originating from Washington state, she was handled by a group wanting to train her to be ridden. When Heartbreaker wouldn’t cooperate under a saddle, she was hogtied and left without food and water for days. Her owners abused her in hopes of instilling submission by fear. The breaking technique used, commonly known as “gentling a horse”, traumatized her to the point where she was now considered dangerous. Consequently, Heartbreaker was sent to slaughter. Luckily, a fellow rescue group came in and saved her. In 2013, Spirit’s Promise was called to step in. Heartbreaker was struggling to navigate through and recover from her trauma, so we immediately took her in. Allowing Heartbreaker time to trust again, with lots of patience, care, and routine, she learned to heal through the herd. She is still head shy when it comes to her face being touched and will often not engage in tour groups, however, she now spends her days relaxing and looking after her friend, Flirt. She is Marisa’s best therapy horse in the round pen, as she teaches boundaries. She has been helping many people in their healing journeys here at Spirit’s Promise, as she can recognize trauma and signs of abuse in others. We’ve noticed she works very well with those who are struggling with addiction.

In addition to her meals consisting of Hay and Grains, Heartbreaker also receives daily doses of a dewormer, Devils Claw, an anti-inflammatory, and Vermont Pro, a prebiotic/probiotic.