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Post by horseguy on Aug 23, 2016 15:29:46 GMT
I posted on the non-Horsemanship topics that we found a new barn. It seems to be a good one. We're not moved yet but have had several positive contacts with the people who run it. This has me thinking I need to look for a prospect. In less than 3 months I will be 70 and part of me think buying an unbroke 2 year old might not be the right horse for me now, but that's what I am looking for. It's what I've done. I like to buy prospects after the kids go back to school and through the winter because that's the best time to get a good price. It's been a while. Beaudant, the 15.1 Paint, was my last project horse. He turned out well. We moved him and Karen's TB here and have been boarding them, but I disliked going to the barn were they were so much I stopped riding him, so I sold him. Did pretty well. Now I am on all the horse sales sites, Dreamhorse, Equinenow, craigslist, Horsetopia, etc. Nothing screams at me that "gotta have that horse" feeling but there is one sorta Buckskin (not a big contrast in the body and mane/tail colors) 15.1 but young should grow. Nice conformation, might have a big head but the pictures could be badly taken. It's weird how people take pictures from the front and it makes the horse's head look big. Few people know how to take the correct "conformation shot". great picture to sell a horse The craigslist ad reads like a bleeding heart story, "rescued, blah, blah, blah" not a useful description but he looks good, maybe, so I emailed the seller. Right off the bat they want to know my plans for him. I find that annoying for several reasons. First it tells me that they don't know that a good trainer doesn't make that decision until they see the horse and evaluate him to see what he would do best at. Second, it starts a dynamic where they try to control the horse's future after its sold. I can appreciate wanting the horse to go to a good home and get good training, but some people really try to get in your business about the horse's future, and the CL post seems to indicate this is the type seller. It's been days since they sent their email and I have not responded. What should I do? In places like the shower or stopped at a stoplight I write emails in my head back to them that go something like this: "I intend to buy him and train him. If he acts up, I will beat the crap out of him and if that doesn't work, I will send him to the killer so he'll end up in an ALPO can."In other words send them their worst nightmare in response to what I feel is an intrusive email, but of course I won't. I am serious, I could use some help. This could be my last horse that I train. I mean who buys unbroken horses after 70? Karen thinks I should buy a green broke prospect, but then there is the undtraining process that can be just as dangerous as with starting the young ones. And at this age of my life should I take the time to work with a PETA type in a sale? They exhaust me. Such is the process of ageing, You are forced to think in unfamiliar ways. old horse trainer at hunt 2015 in field attire, no more staff work
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Post by jacki on Aug 23, 2016 20:28:12 GMT
Nice photo in field attire. Do you have any hunting clothes Laura's size you'd like to sell? She's a junior member of the Rose Tree/Blue Mountain Hunt Club this year and currently hunts 2 to 3 times per week. A friend has graciously allowed her to ride one of her OTTB's. They can wear anything right now; then there'll be a month or two of polo shirts, then rat catcher/formal. She has outgrown her shirts and jackets, and before I buy new, I thought I'd see if you wanted to sell anything that might fit her. School starts in 2 weeks, at which time her hunting availability will be greatly reduced.
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Post by rideanotherday on Aug 25, 2016 0:31:04 GMT
Be honest. Tell them you enjoy working with young horses and are looking for a personal riding horse. In regards to what you think he will be good at, you will let the horse tell you.
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Post by horseguy on Aug 25, 2016 2:57:50 GMT
Be honest. Tell them you enjoy working with young horses and are looking for a personal riding horse. In regards to what you think he will be good at, you will let the horse tell you. I miss a young horsed telling me what they want to be and helping them get there. But let me tell you something, when you get to 70 it begins to get a little scary, no matter how many you have trained.
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Post by rideanotherday on Aug 27, 2016 12:34:50 GMT
No shame in being sensible.
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Post by horseguy on Aug 29, 2016 0:46:15 GMT
I went to see the yearling (maybe older by teeth) prospect. He is very thin. The pictures do not tell the story. I liked him. He is scared to death of people but seems to want to connect. 20 +/- skinny horses there, overgrazed pastures, girl who showed him to me wore rhinestone flipflops into a wet manure paddock. Overall weird experience. Comments? Breeding?
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Post by horseguy on Aug 29, 2016 12:33:09 GMT
I like too sleep on my thoughts about seeing a prospect. This morning I was recalling a few I bought over the years that seemed calm and sweet but they were skinny like this one and with a few weeks of good feed they became much more energetic and some got a little nasty. Also, the pictures do not show how thin he is. I think the bright sun smoothed out his barrel. You can hardly see the ribs sticking out in the pictures, but you can count each one from 10 feet away. Run your finger down his spine and you can count his vertebrae.
I was thinking he has a slightly high tail but then I thought this morning that with some meat on his butt his tail might "get lower". I couldn't get him to square up for the conformation picture and the more I tried and the more I did the more he got frustrated, so the front legs are not right in the picture. I always like to try to lay across a prospect's back to see what they do. I leaned on him and then hopped up on his back and he took off. Karen was ready for it with the rope and spun him around. I liked that he had flight not fight.
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Post by rideanotherday on Aug 30, 2016 0:28:34 GMT
Well, he's a pretty color.
Clearly if all you did was bring him home, get him halterbroke and well fed he is worth more than he is as he shows in these pics.
I've taken horses just like him and turned them into upstanding equine citizens.
He's a bit younger than I thought though.
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Post by horseguy on Aug 30, 2016 10:54:53 GMT
I like him. I think he may be closer to 2 years old. I am wondering if he will grow into his head more. It looks a little large to me but I need to see him without the oversized halter, which is so big he could easily get a hoof caught in it. There is a big Labor Day horse auction south of here in Maryland this coming Friday. www.rsdhorseauctions.com They get 200 + horses. Sellers bring horses from 4 or 5 states and some horses go for over $5,000. It starts at 6PM with tack and horses around 7:30PM. By 9 PM individuals who came to buy a horse usually have bought one. It can run to 10:30PM sometimes and the horses sold between 9PM and the end go really cheap. It's only dealers bidding then and they are all cheapskates like me. So I think I will go to the auction, see what's there and then go back to see this young one over the weekend. Conformation posts on the young one would be welcome.
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Post by rideanotherday on Aug 30, 2016 12:52:09 GMT
The pictures are really not great to give him a fair evaluation.
He's not horribly downhill, which is good. Legs look clean, but hooves look long. His head is big, and the halter doesn't fit right, so it visually makes it worse. Chili was like that him and grew into his head just fine. (Is this guy a quarter horse or is he grade?)
I think a lot of his sins would be cured with care. He seems to have a short hip, but that could be lack of muscling. He's close in front, which could also be due to lack of muscle. He does have a soft looking eye. His shoulder appears to be reasonably well laid back. His topline seems ok and I think would (again) improve with conditioning. He appears to be slightly cowhocked, which is really not the worst thing for a horse to be. Front legs appear straight.
Better pictures make for better evaluation.
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Post by horseguy on Aug 30, 2016 22:00:50 GMT
You had to be there to see what it took to get even those pictures. Those three are the best of a bunch.
He's a grade horse. I have to get him moving out in the pasture to see if he's gaited. TWH are very popular around here and if he's at all a Walker (they have big heads) I'm not interested. He is a little downhill but he's young and I have had many grow out of that in time. The long hooves are part of the care standard there. As for the head, I was afraid to take off the halter. The narrow front is not a big deal for me, although it could be for a typical buyer. I have had some great narrow front horses. I think there are a lot of myths about them like they have small lungs and no stamina. I like his shoulder the best and he does look slightly cow hocked, but I have had that improve a bit with age.
Bottom line, with good feed and conditioning I think he could look like a different horse.
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Post by rideanotherday on Aug 31, 2016 8:44:40 GMT
I usually have more to say about conformation. I just want to be fair to the horse. All of my observations were merely comments based on what the photos suggest.
You had mentioned the standard of care was substandard. That's not his fault. I don't give the same level of concern to a young horse being close in front that I would to an older horse, and even then, as long as they don't interfere with movement I'm not bothered by it. Being close in front just makes me watch their movement for problems.
Sometimes with minimally handled horses it can be difficult to get good pictures. Can you take video?
I agree about passing on gaited.
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Post by Laura on Aug 31, 2016 16:10:33 GMT
This horse does look very skinny, but with more muscle, he would look fantastic. As for the gaited issue, I almost agree but I have seen many gaited horses that have been used in other disciplines and excelled (maybe not at say olympic levels, but still). I also used to ride a horse that was part walker and she is still one of my favorites. I think gaited horses can be tricky when considering to buy one, but when one is so young it will not have been exposed to exaggerating it's gaits, etc. and the horse will more than likely just have a naturally "higher" gait. I haven't seen the horse move at all so its difficult to give a very detailed analysis or opinion, but I do really think it depends on the horse. Some horses, no matter what breed, can be perfect for different jobs.
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Post by horseguy on Aug 31, 2016 22:44:21 GMT
Gaited horses are limited in their athletic ability. It is difficult to do many athletic things from a "running walk". I very much dislike the feeling of going to a jump in a walker or Paso Fino gait. I've done it and it feels "weak" (that's the best description I can give.) Around 20 years ago I had a very bad back injury. One Orthopedic specialist said I'd never ride again. I found a gaited horse and rode in 6 months. I gained new respect for them, but as my back healed and I got stronger, it was clear that I was done with gaited horses, but thankful for them.
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Post by horseguy on Sept 5, 2016 12:35:26 GMT
Laura, Jacki and I along with Karen went to the barn and looked at the young gelding. A different young girl showed him to us and she too was wearing flipflops. All agreed, he is a good prospect. I will purchase him and Laura will help me train him. She has not yet started a horse from scratch and this will be a good experience for her. We will start right away with picking up his feet. Then we will use the old English backing in the stall method, followed by ponying him and walking him in a lead with someone sitting bareback. I am thinking we could take videos and do a documentary. He will come to the new barn next week. He had some snot running and I did not want to bring him to the barn in that condition.
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