|
|
Post by horseguy on Feb 20, 2017 21:11:29 GMT
I have been working with a 7 year old, turned out for years mare that has few ground manners and is a belligerent horse to ride. She come with the common story, bought from a breeder with the intention to start her but life got in the way.
She is very average in her movement, looks and athletic ability. She has a constantly bullying marish mind. The only thing that has saved her is she in an easy keeper that allowed her to stay fed month after month, year after year.
Part of me thinks horses like this should find there way into an ALPO can and another part thinks calling a rescue and condemning her to a life as a pet horse would be better. She is just over the line of safe, so I think giving her to a young trainer, as a free prospect, who would do the required training may not be an option. Besides, the younger trainer seems to want easier horses than my generation took on.
There just are many better horses out there to invest training hours into. What to do?
|
|
|
|
Post by rideanotherday on Feb 21, 2017 13:27:10 GMT
I have been working with a 7 year old, turned out for years mare that has few ground manners and is a belligerent horse to ride. She come with the common story, bought from a breeder with the intention to start her but life got in the way. She is very average in her movement, looks and athletic ability. She has a constantly bullying marish mind. The only thing that has saved her is she in an easy keeper that allowed her to stay fed month after month, year after year. Part of me thinks horses like this should find there way into an ALPO can and another part thinks calling a rescue and condemning her to a life as a pet horse would be better. She is just over the line of safe, so I think giving her to a young trainer, as a free prospect, who would do the required training may not be an option. Besides, the younger trainer seems to want easier horses than my generation took on. There just are many better horses out there to invest training hours into. What to do? Cranbury. Life's too short to waste on shitty horses. It's one thing to work to save a horse that has redeeming qualities like athleticism, work ethic, hell - even looks. If her only redeeming quality is the fact that it doesn't take much to maintain her, shipping her is a viable option. Or offer her to a pet home. But don't waste your time on her. |
|
|
|
Post by horseguy on Feb 24, 2017 17:16:27 GMT
I have net been posting much in the past few days. I have been hurting, which at my age puts me in a "mood".
This mare hurt me, not in any dramatic way but the day after and for several days after that, it was difficult for me to move around. It wasn't any one thing she did but the entire ride with the rearing, twisting and stuff. I never came off her. She is not that athletic. Her cumulative jarring movements touched all the bases of my former injuries. 70 year old soft tissue is not that soft and I can't seem to not stick with training a difficult horse. That combination is what produced the hurt.
So, I have had several days to think about this whole situation. I'm not going to ride her again. I think if she showed more promise, I'd do a few things to move her forward so she'd be safer for a good young rider, but she's not worth even that. When it would be all done, she'd still be below average.
I am not angry with the horse. I am angry with myself for being compulsive about saving this type. Maybe now I am cured. We'll see. I am upset with the owner who let the opportunity pass when this animal was younger and more open to training. I am angry with the horse world because this is too common a story. Good intentions do not train horses, they do the opposite. Good intentions like buying a young prospect and not doing anything with it can, and it often does, put a horse in a state of uselessness that takes a lot to overcome. Once in a while a let go horse like this is worth the effort, the trouble, the hurt, but this one and many others are not. This is a well bread equine that now probably belongs in a can or as a pet, and I hate to see pet horses.
|
|
|
|
Post by rideanotherday on Feb 27, 2017 12:56:00 GMT
Sometimes it's easier on your body to take the controlled fall than it is to stay on through that kind of foolishness.
Of course you don't blame the horse for being put into a lifestyle that ruined her for any kind of usefulness. You can't save them all and shouldn't at the cost of yourself.
|
|
|
|
Post by horseguy on Feb 27, 2017 21:49:46 GMT
Feeling better. Body not so stiff. Yes, "You can't save them all". I'm thinking I have saved enough for one person. I was thinking today that my favorite horse to train is one that appreciates the training. Not at first maybe but a horse that comes around and discovers that a rider is a joy is my favorite prospect. There have been many of these. Mosby and Riley come to mind. Riley was a 17+ H 3 yr old gelding striker but there came a time that he enjoyed running and jumping cross country so much that he started to become difficult to mount a the mounting block because he got so excited to be ridden. This was a huge change from the beginning when you couldn't get near him and when you did and managed to get on him he bucked and twisted. He didn't trust humans. he was scared. Mosby was a lot like Riley except he was smaller and had sneaky lateral moves and spins to unseat a rider. But like Riley, once he understood a soft hand and a unified connection, he loved his work. And when he hunted, he was in heaven. Both these and other like them are worth the risk of hitting the ground and the time it takes to change their habits. I just don't see that kind of potential in the mare. She doesn't seem to appreciate anything.
|
|
