Mel

I'm sorry :0( I went through the same thing with my first horse. I relied on a trainer to help me purchase a horse and at the time I knew hardly NOTHING (I didn't think so at the time). Turned out the trainer just wanted me to buy the mare for the bloodlines..wanted me to breed her to a stallion that she had a free breeding too and give the foal to her inexchange for finishing the training on the mare. When I said I'm not interested in that (after buying the horse) she said buy your own hay and left me on the weekend when everything was closed with no food for my new horse. I had to borrow food from other boarders. Horse turned out to have EPM (this is the one I broke the tailbone on) and after treatment was still rather fruity. Spent thousands trying to get her trained and was burnt by them after half a year with them the trainer finially said this horse will never be reliable (she flipped over twice ..and this was a good trainer). I ended up sending the horse to a rescue because I didn't want her to be bred for her bloodlines. So about $10000 and two yrs down the drain and I didn't even have a horse to ride. I can count on one hand how many times I got on her. Sucked very bad. I loved that horse but I was too new to try to keep a horse like that.

Took me about 3yrs with tons a lessons and a different trainer before I found the next horse several states away that I was willing to try it again. I still have her 6yrs later :0).

stealthq

I could easily join this party, except that I stayed in horses anyway - I just chose to leave out the negative side of horse ownership for this thread. Believe me, your experience is common. I posted in another thread about the low ethics of horse sellers/buyers/agents and it was definitely from personal experience.

__________________
Nicole

sweetheartsrodeo

Many moons ago I used to ride quarter horses. Loved it, and in my younger days trained a few horses. Loved growing up on a farm. Now that I am old and fat, my days of riding are over... But, as we were leaving the farm this weekend, I saw the most wonderful herd of mini ponies. There had to have been fifty of them. We stopped to take pictures from the road, and they came right up to the fence... I couldn't help it, I had to get out of the car and go pet one of them... Remington was simply appauled that I could pet another animal, and sniffed at me when I got back in the car... I plan on stopping there as we go to the house this weekend and asking if any are for sale... I have my eye on a little bay mare that was so sweet

I do agree that a lot of poodle people are horse people... but have you ever noticed that poodle people as a whole (there are some that don't fit), are just great people all around? They seem to love and respect animals... I think it is that poodles are so smart, and their owners have to be pretty smart and amazing to be owned by a poodle

__________________

"I know that dogs are pack animals, but it is difficult to imagine a pack of standard poodles ... and if there was such a thing as a pack of standard poodles, where would they rove to? Bloomingdale's? "
--Yvonne Clifford, American actress

LynnO

Same here! The older you get, the harder you fall is a true statement - LOL! Grew up riding bareback as a kid, and then moved on to Hunter/Jumpers. Did some halter and WP showing as well. Wish now that I had done some barrels or reining. Loved competing, but trail riding is the best. No horse in my life for the past two years now.

But I am hoping to add a new poodle to my life in the next few months! Interesting connection between poodles and horses

LynnO

I'e had a few horses that would "play" with dogs. Run with tail up and nose up, snorting. I would never had allowed that though if I didn't know my horse and my dog. My most recent gelding would tolerate anything from my labs and never bat an eye - he was such a bombproof boy. However, one of my other horses (a QH mare) was NOT safe around dogs. She would not hesitate to kick or strike them or run them down if she was loose. I had some dogs that would run loose from a few streets over (Beagle and a Boxer), and they would dig under my paddock fence. Not a good thing. I had to call Animal Control more than once to have them advise the dog owners that their dogs were in grave danger by coming in the vicinity of this horse. I would have felt horrible if something would have happened!

HerdingStdPoodle

I cannot imagine life without horses---the smell, the beauty, the friendship, the passion---and knowing that each day, you HAVE to get up and see your friends, because they are definitely waiting for you! They hang their heads over the fence, looking in the window, waiting for you to come outside for morning feeding and pasture grazing.

Someday, I hope to have a 4th-level or Schoolmaster Dressage horse to take care of and teach me how to ride Dressage. But most of them are exceedingly expensive. Patience is a virtue. Just think of all the WKC Poodle folks who show, endure, wait. HerdingStdPoodle

fairhavenmagick

I have 3 horse at the moment. But honestly, two of them were got to keep the first company!

In keeping with animals that need extra grooming- my guy is a Gypsy Horse, he was imported from England a couple years before I bought him. Traditionally Gypsy Horses pulled Romany carvans. We've done breed shows, dressage, eventing (baby stuff 'cause I'm a weenie!), and trails/camping. He's super comfy to ride, forward, and willing to try anything I ask him to.

And actually he's really smart too. Sometimes too smart, like a poodle. And always in our business! If we're pouring concrete he's dragging the shovel out of the wheelbarrel and bringing it to us. A "helper" that one is.

Here's my boy Merely Maxtastic! (His tail is up in this photo- it touches the ground and is SO thick!)

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________

neVar

I've been horseless since fall when i put my boy i talked about earlier on here down. (owned since he was 6 months off)
i had a younger horse but he sold a year ago. With school i just couldn't justify keeping him- nor enough time to really move him up the levels (and really? he didn't wANt to move up the levels. He's now a fancy kids/armature horse


Since september i've been lucky enough to ride a friends hunter. She's nowbecoming a dressage horse. Hoping to have her out at 2nd level this summer and hopefully she'll be ready for 3rd come fall (She has her changes) Sadly i think she'll be for sale after their daughter does her B level pony club In september. Pretty sure i can have her 4th/psg in the next year or so. The mare is so much fun- she's long and low and downhill with a massive wither and very little movement and she is one of the FUNNEst horses i have ever ridden.

full time student single mom- no way i could afford her once she goes on the market. ME and the daughter maybe are conspiring together to try and keep her parents from wanting to sell her "really she'll be worth more $ next year i swear you should wait until then"
Mare's had 10 rides all winter- pulled out of the field, (We died on friday) and rode her in a Breed Demo at the Equine Expo this weekend


Lead change!


I teach dressage and have about 20 students going as well as am competition manager/secretary for the 3 dressage shows in our area. Maybe i can find some funds and hitch a trailer ride to a show this summer.

Mom-n-Reiki

I was owned by two horses back when I worked at stables, and I ended up leasing both of them.
Ashley was registered as Furer Poeticus, and was a dressage champion before we met. We called him Ashley because his name was too big for him and he was so...foppish; like Ashley from "Gone with the Wind". I never once convinced him that barrels would be worth his time, but he really helped me become a good jumper. I couldnt even begin ti count the ways this horse saved my life and he will always have a huge place in my heart He is also the reason I became dog trainer; poor thing was mt guinea pig (but I taught him sone awesome tricks!) I worked with him all through high school and was saving my pennies to buy him, but then I lost my home and needed to put my money to finish school. His owner ended up taking me in for a bit, so I worked off a lease around the barn. He was my best friend and followed me everywhere (my first dog lol). I ended up having to move several hours away so I had to leave him. I drove up to visit him last May, and he came running to me like always....I still have the pictures of us cuddling. He died two weeks later; ironically, the day I was given Ashley the dog (his namesake).

Majestic was a tiny Arab mare that pretty much fell into my lap at my last barn job, mostly because I was the only person who could touch her. Her owner was trying to put people on her to trail ride, which was just horribly dangerous at the time, so I leased her to prevent this. Six months later she was a different horse and the lease terms were broken when the owner put a huge jerk of a man on her back because he wanted to say his first time riding was on an Arabian. Within an hour l, those past six months were gone. I need up quitting several weeks later, but she has a new home now and is doing great from what I've heard.

There are very few horses in the Keys and I miss being around them. If I ever have enough money l, I want a Gypsy Vanner.

kcp1227

I've been drawn to horses my whole life. I started riding at a very young age and got my best friend, a QH, at 7 years old. He passed away at 25, almost 10 years ago (I cannot believe it's been that long!) and I haven't really ridden since. I would love to get back in the saddle, and I really want to teach my daughter to ride. I miss having horses in my life so much. It's funny, even though I don't have a poodle yet, I am very drawn to them, much the way I am to horses. Every time I groom one, I'm reminded of a horse, and I think it must be because of how majestic they are and the way they carry themselves. They remind me of horses.