'AITA for kicking my mentally ill mom off of my property over my rescue horse?'

"AITA for kicking my mentally ill mom off of my property over my rescue horse?"

So for context, I (29F) recently adopted a rescue horse, Juniper. She's a 14-year-old mare who came from a neglect case. She's sweet but extremely skittish, especially around loud voices, sudden movements, or people she doesn't know. I've been working with a trainer and a vet to slowly build her trust. It's been going well - she'll let me brush her, lead her, and she's even started nickering when she sees me.

My mom...is complicated. She has untreated mental health issues that she refuses to acknowledge. I'm not using "psychotic" as an insult - she has had actual psychotic episodes in the past, including paranoid delusions and erratic behavior.

She refuses medication and insists she's "spiritually gifted" instead of ill. I've kept distance for years, but she recently moved back to my area and has been trying to "reconnect." Last week she asked to come see my property.

I was hesitant, but she sounded stable on the phone, so I agreed as long as she respected boundaries. I specifically told her not to approach Juniper without me because she's still recovering and easily frightened.

The moment she arrived, she made a beeline for the pasture. I told her to slow down, but she started talking loudly about how she could "heal" Juniper's trauma with "energy alignment."

Juniper immediately backed away, ears pinned, clearly stressed. I asked my mom to step back. She ignored me and kept trying to approach Juniper, waving her hands and chanting. Juniper panicked, bolted, and nearly ran into the fence.

I yelled at my mom to stop. She snapped at me, saying I was "blocking her spiritual work" and that the horse "wanted her help." She tried to climb into the paddock again, and at that point I physically stepped between them and told her she needed to leave.

She started crying, then screaming, then accusing me of "choosing an animal over my own mother." I told her she was scaring my horse and crossing every boundary I set. She refused to leave, so I told her I would call the police if she didn't get off my property.

That finally made her go, but she's been blowing up my phone ever since, calling me heartless and ungrateful. My sister says I should've been more patient because "mom can't help it," and that kicking her out was cruel. I feel awful, but I also have to protect my horse - and myself. So...AITA for kicking my mom off my property when she wouldn't leave my rescue horse alone?

Here's what people had to say to OP:

ChaseBank06 said:

Your mom shouldn't be around animals. Period. Let alone a traumatized one. If you and your mother are gonna reconnect, it should.be at her place or a neutral one, never around that poor animal. Thank you for having the heart to work with the mare, that's amazing.

Ashamed_Quiet_6777 said:

You need to stop. You can't help her if she doesn't want help and she's obviously not ok to be around.

Single_Examination_4 said:

NTA. As you know, a frightened animal can be very unpredictable. It's not impossible that your actions saved your mother from serious injury.

soldejaneiroobsessed said:

Absolutely NTA- horses cannot be spiritually healed, that’s not how it works. Hope you and Juniper are doing well, she sounds very sweet and you made the right choice.

DaddysStormyPrincess said:

NTA that woman is so unhinged. Poor horse.

biroace said:

NTA. You didn't "choose an animal over your mother" your mother chose being a CU (in the) NT over reconnecting with her daughter. If she genuinely wanted to reconnect she wouldn't have headed away from you let alone keep going when you told her to stop.

Spinnerofyarn said:

NTA. Tell your sister that if you hadn’t gotten your mom to stop, she would have been kicked, bitten, or both, so your mom just trying to help at best would have gotten her injured and at worst, your mom killed and the horse put down. You’re allowed to go NC with your mom if you want.