i was in 4h for horses for 7 years and learned many things and had a great horse trainer to teach me things.
i would advise looking into contacting your county4-h extension office and contact the leader. i know oyu are too old to join but the 4h leader is supposed to be knowledgeable.
i know you dont plan to take him to shows or anything but ground work is the most important thing to teach a horse.
have you heard the expression "square him up"?
it is where you get the horse to put its feet perfectly under itself and have its head at normal posture.
it takes a while to get the hang of it. both feet must be even with each other.
i read all post and see you have come along way. i have a friend who got horses that were bonnier than yours and fattened them up.
if the videos you have dont say how to square the first thing is to walk. stop. see how he stands. then have them back up slightly. a little pressure to get the back foot lined up with its back foot. then focus on the front feet.
you want them to square so you can see how his conformation is. you can tell if his stance is off. horses carry (if i rememeber) 60% weight on the front and 40% on the back. you would be able to see if he is pidgin toed and all that, i know you are happy with how he is (once filled out). he might be a mutt but certain confirmations are carried throughout the bloodlines. i would love to see a 360 degree pictures of him squared up. you can tell the breed easier then too.
remember: paint is a color and a breed. i had a double registered paint.
i had a horse that i leases that came from one of the famous Quarter horse bloodlines. the Impressive line his name was Parz. there was a quirk in the confirmation of that line that required surgery to fix. but the owners didn't exercise him much after the surgery and so his gate was funny. he would slap one of his hind feet on the ground instead of the norm.
but a 4h leader (or a trainer) would be able to tell you what kind of saddle to get. under the saddlehorn there is a gap right? well depending on how wide or skinny his withers are will depend on the kind of saddle you need. and you might want to invest in a therapeutic saddle pad (thinking about suddenly having weight on his back again and being a bit bony for a long time, it would be easier on him.) after you fit the saddle size for the horse then look for the size for your butt.
my 15.7 h paint i had for 5-6 years was wide withered, fat but you still felt his spine if bareback. he had a very large head. i ended up making a custom bridle and halter for him. because mule size was too small and draft was too big.
The fly spray issue does need to be resolved. there is a brand called Wipe (?) and there are rags with the repellent on them (one time use) and there are the ball rub fly repellent. or the spot cream for around the ears, eyes and the sheath= his genital area.
this will be weird but in the summer my trainer showed my where to scratch him there because the flies would just get him bad (there times when nothing works). he would raise his head and curl his upper lip. that is a good sign. another thing i remembered. its another weird thing, but since you have a gelding ( i have never had a female horse), the flies go up in the sheath and bite in there you can apply cream, it gets itchy there and sometimes it needs cleaning out and it gets a bit nasty. but be careful about all this he might not be used to it.
on the inside of the front legs and on the backs of the back legs are horny things called eargots (if i rememebr ) those need to be picked off to almost norm level (soak them with warm water or try after a bath) i think this is more of an astethic thing but still a good bonding practice.
do you pick his hooves out daily? from all your last posts i would be worried about thrush (really stinky black build up in the hoof)
also if you have the time for it try out pat parelli's teaching methods. while in the club we went to his seminar and it was amazing what he could do.
honestly i have never had a horse younger than 11 years old. but even the older horses forget their manners and do go senile.
i ride western though since you have a young horse i guess a snaffle would be appropriate. but later go to a curb and he will learn to neck rain. there are transition bits. where it looks like a curb on the outside but is broken on the inside some have rollars for the horse to play with.
make sure non of your bits are made of alluminum (light wight) they color your horses mouth grey....
pm me if you need any advice. but contact your trainer or a 4-h leader they can help you greatly.
if you haven't already, invest in a shedding blade. use the teeth to shed and in the summer use the smooth side to "squeege" water off after a bath. and a curry comb. your best friends.
oh i know it seems silly but after he has filled out. look into having a horse chiropractor check him out. all the growing and suddenly gaining muscle and weight might put a few bones and joints out of place.
i would advise looking into contacting your county4-h extension office and contact the leader. i know oyu are too old to join but the 4h leader is supposed to be knowledgeable.
i know you dont plan to take him to shows or anything but ground work is the most important thing to teach a horse.
have you heard the expression "square him up"?
it is where you get the horse to put its feet perfectly under itself and have its head at normal posture.
it takes a while to get the hang of it. both feet must be even with each other.
i read all post and see you have come along way. i have a friend who got horses that were bonnier than yours and fattened them up.
if the videos you have dont say how to square the first thing is to walk. stop. see how he stands. then have them back up slightly. a little pressure to get the back foot lined up with its back foot. then focus on the front feet.
you want them to square so you can see how his conformation is. you can tell if his stance is off. horses carry (if i rememeber) 60% weight on the front and 40% on the back. you would be able to see if he is pidgin toed and all that, i know you are happy with how he is (once filled out). he might be a mutt but certain confirmations are carried throughout the bloodlines. i would love to see a 360 degree pictures of him squared up. you can tell the breed easier then too.
remember: paint is a color and a breed. i had a double registered paint.
i had a horse that i leases that came from one of the famous Quarter horse bloodlines. the Impressive line his name was Parz. there was a quirk in the confirmation of that line that required surgery to fix. but the owners didn't exercise him much after the surgery and so his gate was funny. he would slap one of his hind feet on the ground instead of the norm.
but a 4h leader (or a trainer) would be able to tell you what kind of saddle to get. under the saddlehorn there is a gap right? well depending on how wide or skinny his withers are will depend on the kind of saddle you need. and you might want to invest in a therapeutic saddle pad (thinking about suddenly having weight on his back again and being a bit bony for a long time, it would be easier on him.) after you fit the saddle size for the horse then look for the size for your butt.
my 15.7 h paint i had for 5-6 years was wide withered, fat but you still felt his spine if bareback. he had a very large head. i ended up making a custom bridle and halter for him. because mule size was too small and draft was too big.
The fly spray issue does need to be resolved. there is a brand called Wipe (?) and there are rags with the repellent on them (one time use) and there are the ball rub fly repellent. or the spot cream for around the ears, eyes and the sheath= his genital area.
this will be weird but in the summer my trainer showed my where to scratch him there because the flies would just get him bad (there times when nothing works). he would raise his head and curl his upper lip. that is a good sign. another thing i remembered. its another weird thing, but since you have a gelding ( i have never had a female horse), the flies go up in the sheath and bite in there you can apply cream, it gets itchy there and sometimes it needs cleaning out and it gets a bit nasty. but be careful about all this he might not be used to it.
on the inside of the front legs and on the backs of the back legs are horny things called eargots (if i rememebr ) those need to be picked off to almost norm level (soak them with warm water or try after a bath) i think this is more of an astethic thing but still a good bonding practice.
do you pick his hooves out daily? from all your last posts i would be worried about thrush (really stinky black build up in the hoof)
also if you have the time for it try out pat parelli's teaching methods. while in the club we went to his seminar and it was amazing what he could do.
honestly i have never had a horse younger than 11 years old. but even the older horses forget their manners and do go senile.
i ride western though since you have a young horse i guess a snaffle would be appropriate. but later go to a curb and he will learn to neck rain. there are transition bits. where it looks like a curb on the outside but is broken on the inside some have rollars for the horse to play with.
make sure non of your bits are made of alluminum (light wight) they color your horses mouth grey....
pm me if you need any advice. but contact your trainer or a 4-h leader they can help you greatly.
if you haven't already, invest in a shedding blade. use the teeth to shed and in the summer use the smooth side to "squeege" water off after a bath. and a curry comb. your best friends.
oh i know it seems silly but after he has filled out. look into having a horse chiropractor check him out. all the growing and suddenly gaining muscle and weight might put a few bones and joints out of place.
