poo lover

be careful with a barn sour horse and ex barrel horses bought one without x-raying feet and was sorry she had been nerved and had coffin bone remodeling and they said she was a little herd bound but you could not even get to arena without problems and I found barrel people and the trainers one of the worse sorry to sound to sor but have run into even more bad people looking for a new horse for my daughter so be careful and good luck

Michelle

I went to visit and to sum it up, not what I hoped for.

An underweight horse who was not 15.2 hh, maybe 15hh at most...it was obvious the owners could not afford to feed her. The pictures posted must have been from late summer because she looked more filled out and healthy. I didn't even stay for 20 minutes. I asked my questions, stood in pasture with her for a bit and she had no interest in any human contact...she didn't even acknowledge us when we clucked, kissed and called her, she just stood there nibbling while I petted her. I hope she finds a home soon, she is a very sweet horse but is too small for me to ride even if I did bring her back to my barn and get her to a healthy weight.

On a happier note, I have found a 10 year old paint gelding that I will be taking a look at on Sunday. If all goes well I will be arranging for my barns vet to go out with me on the next visit to check him over for me.

HerdingStdPoodle

Hi Michelle,

An underweight horse that is depressed and apathetic just breaks my heart.

Is there any possibility of talking to a reputable horse rescue organization in your area or a vet? They are usually so very helpful in knowing just how to help equine. Sometimes they can provide donated feed or vet care.

Many people are without jobs and are suffering with drought conditions and the price of hay is extremely high. Lots of people just don't know where to turn because they list their horses for sale (or free) and no one responds.

?? I've seen horses that have not been wormed for a long time and they eat and eat and don't gain weight.

HerdingStdPoodle

Lepski110

I am new to this forum and Poodles, but have owned horses for years. I am curious - did you like the gelding? (Horse talk always gets me excited!)

Michelle

Absolutely in love! He's the sweetest, most willing horse I have ever ridden. He is still green...he has been walked around basically and knows how to stop and back up. He didn't refuse anything I asked of him, and I even got him to trot a nice slow trot a couple times around the arena both directions and he was SO eager to please and was SO happy to be worked. I also did some steering exercises around barrels and he did extremely well with that too. Not once did I see him get annoyed or frustrated, he tried SO hard and had his ears perked forward the entire time...it melted my heart to see how happy he was to be worked with. He is very light on the bit and it takes nearly nothing to steer him, and his trot is a dream...I can't wait to feel his canter. He works very well off of leg pressure and stops on a dime. He is going to make a wonderful horse. I don't ever plan on competing with him if I do get him...but he is going to be a fun project. As I was leaving he leaned his head into me and gave me a horse hug, and stood at the pasture gate watching me as I left.

There is just something about him...I can't get him off my mind, we just clicked. Im going to take a couple of days to think it over and then I'll arrange for my vet to come out and check him over before I decide to bring him home.

Also, he is registered and I was shown his papers.


Untitled by adayinmylife9, on Flickr

BorderKelpie

This sounds promising. That's how I chose my first horse, we just clicked. Yeah, he had some health issues, but I learned so very much from him and he was bomb proof and sweet and fun - the best horse I've ever owned. I do hope this works out for you both, sounds like he liked you, too.

Lepski110

What a sweet face! Our current horse, a Tbred, was 6 when we got him, and all ribs and untrimmed feet. The only reason we looked twice, was his sweetness - he wanted to cuddle(as best as a horse can). He vetted sound, and after a year of love, good feed and training, he became an awesome little hunter. We retired him just for light pleasure riding a couple of years ago because he has some early signs of navicular, but,as expensive as it is to keep a horse,he has a forever home with us - he is such a love. He also has papers, and after looking up his tattoo, we discovered he was raced for only a year and actually did ok. I suspect an injury led him to where we found him. I shudder to think was his life was like before then, but am trying to make up for it now! Enjoy your beautiful boy!

Carley's Mom

He sounds great, but I learned the hard way not to trust what you have been told. Because of this , I only bought colts and broke them myself. I want adult dogs and baby horses...lol I had a mare that looked just like him when I was 16, my first colt. She was a great horse, hope you have the same luck.

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Jane Day

So happy to hear it was a positive experience! That's the exciting part of looking for a horse, and he sounds absolutely adorable.

Couple of questions, has he just been backed/started? It sounds like he hasn't had much time with a saddle on his back, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Most horses with good stock horse (aka quarter horse) breeding are "bred broke", that is, they're easy to start under saddle and generally remain happy in their jobs. Howevs, some horses (I'm looking at you Debbie, aka mare I used to own), start off easy, then hit their teenaged years, for Deb that was when she was 5. They're like kids smoking behind the gym, skipping class, and TPing yards. With Deb, this last a couple of years until she matured a bit. Oh the stories I could tell...

So, do you have a trainer who likes to work with young horses? Because I truly believe with young horses, you need someone who'll work with you through issues you may not see from the saddle. Again, with Deb I didn't realize how my tension was causing her to feel anxious. So my trainer used to say things like, "Think of how your arms would feel if you just had a margarita." Bam! I relaxed, the mare relaxed, all was well.

Okay, enough from me. Can't wait to hear how this goes!

Michelle

He is 10 years old now, and will be 11 in April and has only been started. The owner said he had the saddle on a couple times and decided to hop on one day and he took to it like nothing (this was a year ago). The fact that he is so calm, eager and willing, I don't think I will have a problem with training, everyone has to start out somewhere right? If I was dealing with a younger horse, or a different breed (TB for example) I would definately seek out training help. This is part of the reason I was looking for a quarter horse or paint, I love their easy going nature and eagerness to please. I've ridden TB's, warmbloods, arabians, appaloosas, QHs, paints ect and mixes of all of these and the ones I have worked best with are the quarter horses and paints. I've been wanting one as my first horse for as long as I can remember.

Once he figures out what you are asking of him he is more than willing to do it. I just need to do my part and make sure I am asking him clearly and correctly. I have some experience with green horses and worked with a 4 year old filly this summer (although no one is on her back yet...we've got a saddle on and lounge perfectly. she has injured herself in pasture and put training on hold).

Depending on what barn I decide to go to will determine if I will have a trainer to help me if I need. The barn I'm currently at has one, and I don't think the other one does.