I posted the other day about how frustrated I was to have horses that I couldn't work with. A little background is that my dad has a quarter horse gelding he's been training. He's a bit of a problem horse (Disrespectful) and my dad didn't want me working with him for fear of me getting hurt or confusing the horse with different training methods. We also have an older gelding also, but he is used primarily as a slow trail horse and there is not much training you can do with him.
So my dad had been keeping his eye out for horses for sale, but a lot of the horses aroung here are just too expensive. Yesterday he saw an ad for two young horses for sale and the price was very very good. (Some of you would probably still cringe at the price, but in NJ it was good!) My dad surprised me by saying he wanted to go look at them. I was excited, but the ad said the horses were only about a year old and they cannot be trained to ride until at least 3. I wasn't really too sure what to think.
We went to look at them today. The guy wanted to sell both as a package deal, but what he said was a gelding was biting, disrespectful, pushy, and didn't seem like it had been gelded after all. The mare was a whole different story. She was just a sweet heart. She let us touch her all over, lifted her feet, backed up, walked on the lead fine and was just very respectful. She had nice teeth, decent conformation, and she was registered. (registration can mean nothing, but I did recognize some of the names on the papers) So my dad decided to haggle a bit and the guy put up a tough time, but finally let us take just the mare. We spent a little over an hour walking her, touching her, trotting her. Finally my dad decided that the price was so good, we wouldn't lose anything taking her home.
So off to the bank we went and worried the whole time about how she was going to load. We weren't going to pay for her until we loaded her. She hesitated a bit, but I was able to lead her right on the trailer after showing her some feed. She jumped around a bit after hearing her friend outside the trailer, so we moved the divided so she could turn around and not get injured trying to escape. My dad drove slowly home and she did wonderfully. She unloaded perfectly and settled right in. We currently have her in one of the stalls in the barn. She will be separated from the other horses until she is big enough to go with them safely. We have a separate paddock and shed that can easily be converted for her. My dad will work on that during the weekend.
So of course we jumped at this deal quickly (perhaps even too quickly), but things just seemed right. She does need her hooves trimmed and my dad will be having the vet over soon for the other horses yearly shots. It seems like she will be smaller horse, about 15.0H-15.1H, but that will be a good size for my dad and I. This is our first baby, but so far I am very pleased with her. We've had horses for many years, but never one so young. I hope to get her refined in groundwork and lounging over the summer and I would like to show her in some halter and showmanship classes next fall. Hopefully by the end of the summer I can start getting her used to the feeling of having a saddle on her back and next summer we are going to hire a trainer to work with us and break her. By next summer, she will be 3 1/4 (Her birthday is in May).
I am very excited! Not only was I able to get my mare, but now I'll have MY project, and my dad will have his. Now we will be able to work together without challenging each other's training methods. I know a lot of people cringe when I say two year old, but I think she has a wonderful personality to work with. I know it will be a lot of work, but I'm up for the challenge! I can't wait to start learning!
I do have pictures, but can't post until I go back to school on sunday. She is a black and white paint tobiano and we named her Cheyenne. The only thing I noticed about her comformation is the she is a little splay footed in the back legs, but I didn't notice it to affect her movement at all. My first mare was sickle hocked and while she was choppy in her strides, she was never lame because of it so I didn't think this was a huge concern. I'm hoping to make her into a good trail horse with a little fun showing on the side, but conformation is not all that important to us as long as it doesn't affect overall mobility of the horse. I'm also interested to see how big she will get, as another concern was size. I didn't want something too small, but it seems as if most of her lineage is about 15 - 15.1H. I've heard all different things about determining the potential size of a two year old, but what do you recommend is the best way to get an idea of how big she will get?
So my dad had been keeping his eye out for horses for sale, but a lot of the horses aroung here are just too expensive. Yesterday he saw an ad for two young horses for sale and the price was very very good. (Some of you would probably still cringe at the price, but in NJ it was good!) My dad surprised me by saying he wanted to go look at them. I was excited, but the ad said the horses were only about a year old and they cannot be trained to ride until at least 3. I wasn't really too sure what to think.
We went to look at them today. The guy wanted to sell both as a package deal, but what he said was a gelding was biting, disrespectful, pushy, and didn't seem like it had been gelded after all. The mare was a whole different story. She was just a sweet heart. She let us touch her all over, lifted her feet, backed up, walked on the lead fine and was just very respectful. She had nice teeth, decent conformation, and she was registered. (registration can mean nothing, but I did recognize some of the names on the papers) So my dad decided to haggle a bit and the guy put up a tough time, but finally let us take just the mare. We spent a little over an hour walking her, touching her, trotting her. Finally my dad decided that the price was so good, we wouldn't lose anything taking her home.
So off to the bank we went and worried the whole time about how she was going to load. We weren't going to pay for her until we loaded her. She hesitated a bit, but I was able to lead her right on the trailer after showing her some feed. She jumped around a bit after hearing her friend outside the trailer, so we moved the divided so she could turn around and not get injured trying to escape. My dad drove slowly home and she did wonderfully. She unloaded perfectly and settled right in. We currently have her in one of the stalls in the barn. She will be separated from the other horses until she is big enough to go with them safely. We have a separate paddock and shed that can easily be converted for her. My dad will work on that during the weekend.
So of course we jumped at this deal quickly (perhaps even too quickly), but things just seemed right. She does need her hooves trimmed and my dad will be having the vet over soon for the other horses yearly shots. It seems like she will be smaller horse, about 15.0H-15.1H, but that will be a good size for my dad and I. This is our first baby, but so far I am very pleased with her. We've had horses for many years, but never one so young. I hope to get her refined in groundwork and lounging over the summer and I would like to show her in some halter and showmanship classes next fall. Hopefully by the end of the summer I can start getting her used to the feeling of having a saddle on her back and next summer we are going to hire a trainer to work with us and break her. By next summer, she will be 3 1/4 (Her birthday is in May).
I am very excited! Not only was I able to get my mare, but now I'll have MY project, and my dad will have his. Now we will be able to work together without challenging each other's training methods. I know a lot of people cringe when I say two year old, but I think she has a wonderful personality to work with. I know it will be a lot of work, but I'm up for the challenge! I can't wait to start learning!
I do have pictures, but can't post until I go back to school on sunday. She is a black and white paint tobiano and we named her Cheyenne. The only thing I noticed about her comformation is the she is a little splay footed in the back legs, but I didn't notice it to affect her movement at all. My first mare was sickle hocked and while she was choppy in her strides, she was never lame because of it so I didn't think this was a huge concern. I'm hoping to make her into a good trail horse with a little fun showing on the side, but conformation is not all that important to us as long as it doesn't affect overall mobility of the horse. I'm also interested to see how big she will get, as another concern was size. I didn't want something too small, but it seems as if most of her lineage is about 15 - 15.1H. I've heard all different things about determining the potential size of a two year old, but what do you recommend is the best way to get an idea of how big she will get?
