Weeg
Enabler
A very good friend or our purchased a 25,000$ horse about 6 months ago. Magnus is his name. He's incredible! A silver Norwegian Fyord who is so incredibly smart and knows so much! He knows vaulting, dressage, and apparently loves to jump. At his old place, he let kids climb all over him, and was just the most incredible solid horse for learning. She already has 2 horses, Nova and Buddy, and she wanted to get Magnus to use for a pony party business she wants to start next year. Originally, I thought it was a great idea! He's a solid horse, she's willing to spend the money, he's a good size being a Fyord, why not. But I had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't going to work out, well, I was right.
In a nut shell, she doesn't have time to ride her horses. She's one of those people who says she's going to do all of these things, but ends up on some other little side project, like decorating the garden before she gets the important stuff done. In other words, it takes her forever to actually get around to the stuff she says she's going to do. She does get them done, but she also has SO many things she needs to do to develop her property for the business next year, that even if she did make time for her horses, she wouldn't have time to work Magnus like she needs to anyway. Nova and Buddy, her current horses did fine with her horse keeping. Buddy was surrendered to her by a friend. He's 20 years old and wasn't ridden much after his owner gave him up, so about half his life. He was really overweight when she got him, and he has some lameness issues. He does fine being able to run around her large pasture with light riding every now and then. Nova is 16 and could probably be ridden more than she is currently, but she has some back issues, so running around her pasture works okay for her.
She never had time to ride her current horses, she rides them once a month maybe? Now, she has this amazing horse, who's 8 years old, crazy smart, and she's not even riding him! We've gone down to ride him a few times to maybe help him hold onto any skills he still remembers, and he bucked the entire ride. We don't know what we're doing or his cues, we don't know dressage. She said she was going to take lessons with him, and clinics, we'll of course, she isn't. We don't have time to go ride her horse for her, especially if we don't even know how to ride him.
Magnus is sitting out in a pasture with one other mare (the pasture is divided in half, two horses in each) wasting away. He's so bored, he's tearing apart blankets, messing with anyone and anything they bring into the pasture, and bored to the point of tearing signs off of fence posts. She finds it cute and funny. All he has to do is eat hay all day, since she leaves a round bale in the pasture. It makes me so mad! I've always thought that all horses should get to run around a huge pasture when they aren't being worked, and get to trail ride and lope to their hearts content, but not Magnus. He needs to be in a stall in a barn, or small pasture, worked every single day, and do dressage in an arena, he doesn't know how to respond to loose reins, or how to react to trail riding.
He could have been sold to anyone, anyone who was going to do amazing this with him, but instead, all of his skills are wasting away and he's going to be a real pain next year when she realizes that he can't be used for pony parties, because all of his skills are down the drain. She also has balance issues, so she isn't able to put in the work for a horse who is trying to buck her off the entire time she's riding. If he was our horse we might be able to put the work in, but she isn't the kind of person who can handle that.
Don't get me wrong, we love her to death. I don't think I would have horses without her. She made it possible for me to learn to ride, and helped me get my own horse. She let us "board" our horses at her place for free for the first year. She is a very very close friend of ours, and a truly amazing person with a huge heart, but Magnus is not the right horse for her.
I really want to do something, but I'm not sure what. Anything we say will just offend her, but I just can't let it go. I've seen this horse and he's just the most amazing sweet boy, it kills me that he's wasting away, bored out of his mind in that pasture. Its going to be a huge bummer next year when she realizes that she can't use him for what she wanted, and she doesn't know what to do with him because now he's this crazy 8 year old gelding who she doesn't know how to work with. She doesn't know dressage cues either. What would you do in my situation? I'm at a loss.
Thank for reading, I know I wrote a novel. I appreciate any suggestions.
In a nut shell, she doesn't have time to ride her horses. She's one of those people who says she's going to do all of these things, but ends up on some other little side project, like decorating the garden before she gets the important stuff done. In other words, it takes her forever to actually get around to the stuff she says she's going to do. She does get them done, but she also has SO many things she needs to do to develop her property for the business next year, that even if she did make time for her horses, she wouldn't have time to work Magnus like she needs to anyway. Nova and Buddy, her current horses did fine with her horse keeping. Buddy was surrendered to her by a friend. He's 20 years old and wasn't ridden much after his owner gave him up, so about half his life. He was really overweight when she got him, and he has some lameness issues. He does fine being able to run around her large pasture with light riding every now and then. Nova is 16 and could probably be ridden more than she is currently, but she has some back issues, so running around her pasture works okay for her.
She never had time to ride her current horses, she rides them once a month maybe? Now, she has this amazing horse, who's 8 years old, crazy smart, and she's not even riding him! We've gone down to ride him a few times to maybe help him hold onto any skills he still remembers, and he bucked the entire ride. We don't know what we're doing or his cues, we don't know dressage. She said she was going to take lessons with him, and clinics, we'll of course, she isn't. We don't have time to go ride her horse for her, especially if we don't even know how to ride him.
Magnus is sitting out in a pasture with one other mare (the pasture is divided in half, two horses in each) wasting away. He's so bored, he's tearing apart blankets, messing with anyone and anything they bring into the pasture, and bored to the point of tearing signs off of fence posts. She finds it cute and funny. All he has to do is eat hay all day, since she leaves a round bale in the pasture. It makes me so mad! I've always thought that all horses should get to run around a huge pasture when they aren't being worked, and get to trail ride and lope to their hearts content, but not Magnus. He needs to be in a stall in a barn, or small pasture, worked every single day, and do dressage in an arena, he doesn't know how to respond to loose reins, or how to react to trail riding.
He could have been sold to anyone, anyone who was going to do amazing this with him, but instead, all of his skills are wasting away and he's going to be a real pain next year when she realizes that he can't be used for pony parties, because all of his skills are down the drain. She also has balance issues, so she isn't able to put in the work for a horse who is trying to buck her off the entire time she's riding. If he was our horse we might be able to put the work in, but she isn't the kind of person who can handle that.
Don't get me wrong, we love her to death. I don't think I would have horses without her. She made it possible for me to learn to ride, and helped me get my own horse. She let us "board" our horses at her place for free for the first year. She is a very very close friend of ours, and a truly amazing person with a huge heart, but Magnus is not the right horse for her.
I really want to do something, but I'm not sure what. Anything we say will just offend her, but I just can't let it go. I've seen this horse and he's just the most amazing sweet boy, it kills me that he's wasting away, bored out of his mind in that pasture. Its going to be a huge bummer next year when she realizes that she can't use him for what she wanted, and she doesn't know what to do with him because now he's this crazy 8 year old gelding who she doesn't know how to work with. She doesn't know dressage cues either. What would you do in my situation? I'm at a loss.
Thank for reading, I know I wrote a novel. I appreciate any suggestions.
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