May trade for a new horse thoughts please?

[arabianequine]

Here is the response I got back on the last horse you mentioned "sweet"......


Hi,
I don't have any close-ups photos of his legs or feet but he has heavy boned legs and thick, hard hooves - couldn't ask for better hooves. I don't know his weight but he is near perfect, maybe a bit on the lean side. He is not in the least barn sour or herd bound. He is eager to go riding. He's not food agressive and I carry 3 buckets of grain or alfalfa out in his paddock twice a day and he just stays a respectful distance away. It's really amazing, does not try to grab the food but will follow or lead the way to his shelter. He is on the more intelligent side. He is in a separate paddock and not with other horses so I do not know how he'd be with other horses in a herd. He socializes with horses over the fence and there have been no squabbles that I am aware of. He's a bit grouchy so I would guess he'd be near the top of any pecking order. But that is only a guess. He might be a total pussycat with a buddy or mares - who knows!! He eats a LOT so am guessing he is more of a hard keeper. His winter coat is short but very dense. Hope that helps!!

Phantom Meadow Equine - A Nonprofit Corporation

 

[welsummerchicks]

That sounds good. I don't see any problem carrying your weight. Besides, once you start riding, you'll probably be having so much fun you'll wind up well - maybe not weighing that much for long.

 

[Hound]

How long have they had him? Again, being the devil's advocate, but I want to buy a horse the seller knows well. The most honest person in the world can't tell you what a horse is like if they've only had them a short time themselves.

 

[welsummerchicks]

I don't think so. A person doesn't need to have cut the umbilical cord to know a horse.

Most horses are sold with the agent knowing the horse for a very short time, and they can still do a very good job at matching horse to rider - all they need is to be ethical, and they can do that. A decent agent can suss out a horse in a few minutes AND honestly tell what sort of person he'd be a good match with.

But whether or not the seller recommends a customer should get a given horse he has for sale, is not important. Sellers nearly ALWAYS glowingly portray their sale animals and usually recommend to every single customer that the horse would be PERFECT for that customer. That's just how things are.

The buyer needs to do his homework when he meets the horse. To ride him in the ring, outside the ring, around another horse, to get the horse drug tested and looked over by a vet. To look for little telltale clues the horse is being misrepresented - evidence the horse was worked very hard before he showed up (sweaty tack, etc), etc. Watch how he behaves in his stall.

I think people make a big mistake in buying horses in wanting 'information' from the seller.

I ask 4 questions - 1. What work was the horse given today and for the two days prior 2. Is this the horse's usual stall 3. Has the horse, during the time they had the horse, been treated in any way by them or anyone else for any health issues including lameness, uneven strides or abnormal gait or movement 4. Does the horse have any conditions, habits or disease that would make him unsuitable for my stated use

I ask these questions not because I need the information in the answers, but to make sure the questions have been asked.

I on the other hand don't expect much of the seller, and I don't really need much from the seller. I listen, but I don't assume any of it is true unless it's evident that it's true. I don't care how well they know the horse or how long they had the horse.

I don't expect or need to have someone tell me all about the horse's little cute habits. I don't much care if the horse is 'crabby' with other horses. We can accomodate or fix whatever little quirks he has.

My job is to find out if the horse is right for me. I'll watch how he reacts to passing cars, other horses, my motions (some of which will be deliberately clumsy), and how he reacts to other people as well. If he's already tacked up, I ask to have him untacked and put back in his stall. I want to see how he acts in a stall, then I tack him up, if allowed, or watch him be tacked up.

The burden is on me, by trying out the horse properly and appropriately, to figure out what this horse is, and have him examined, and determine if he's healthy, suitable, appropriate.

 

[hollyclyff]

Looks like this is a rescue group. They have a website.

http://s2.webstarts.com/PhantomMeadowEquineRescueRespiteRehabilitationRetirement/

IF they are a good, reputable rescue they will want to make a good match and won't mislead potential adopters.

 

[welsummerchicks]

What a nice looking outfit! I am impressed!

Non profit papers are posted and up to date, all horses look well fed and cared for, and all appear to be VERY honestly described with helpful detail and no baloney. Riders and handlers look like normal working people and the rider rides well.

They look like they buy unwanted animals at kill auctions and then determine what would be the best thing for each animal.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Precisely.

Unfortunately it seems to be primarily *novice* riders who want to believe what they're told and think it means something (even if the seller is totally honest), and base their purchase decision largely on that. And it is soooooo common for what you're told not to pan out. Again, EVEN WHEN the seller is totally honest. And of course they aren't all. And novice riders are the ones least prepared to deal with the fallout, i.e. a horse who is not physically or temperamentally or in terms of training what they thought they were buying and what they perhaps *needed*.

Words words words words words. Words mean whatever a person thinks they mean. You're buying the HORSE, you have to evaluate the HORSE and decide on ITS merits.

Returning to the subject of the most recently mentioned horse, I would suggest it's unwise to get one's hopes up, since this sounds like the kind of rescue group that is extremely picky where they send their horses and may not be entirely enthusiastic about a horse carrying more weight in the saddle than average. Dog rescues are often hyper-picky, and my experience is that a certain type of horse rescue (that usually writes ad copy a lot like this one's) can be too. Doesn't matter what WE think the horse's weight-carrying abilities would be, just matters what THEY do. So while this sounds like a good horse, at least in pic and on paper, it may also not be the easiest to obtain and while worth pursuing it should probably be regarded as kind of a long-shot.

JMHO,

Pat

 

[Hound]

Quote:
Your missing my point. I don't believe every word a seller tells me, nothing is a fact unless I see it with my own eyes. As I said previously, getting to know a horse well takes place in the months following the purchase. It happens with exposure to different people and different scenarios. The quietest horse in the world can have something that tips them over the edge. They are not automatons, especially not anything worth buying. Nobody knows a horse inside out after looking at it on one or two occasions. They may THINK they know it all, but that's another story.

 

[welsummerchicks]

We may agree to disagree, then. I think a fairly competent horse person can figure out who a horse is and what he is pretty quickly. They basically tell us loud and clear, all we have to do is keep our peepers open.

I think people miss valuable clues, that's all. I used to wonder why, when I would go along on a buying trip as a lackey, how some of the old timers (or not so old timers, but learn quick) would be so - well, disorganized. They invariably somehow got there a good hour before they were supposed to ('Oh! Guess I mixed up the times!') and why we always wound up standing around for a good hour, staring at the horse doing nothing in its stall...looking like we was doing nothing, wasting time....but even the not-the-swiftest-deer-in-the-forest types like me eventually figure that out...

Fast forward to about 20 years ago, and there I am, showing up early for an appointment, horse isn't groomed or tacked up and I am left to stand in front of the stall and 'do nothing' for a little while.

Nothing but look at how the lovely bright bay with 4 whites and a star, perfectly conformed and proportioned, absolute model of a 3 yr old by one of the top sires at the time in the whole country, was walking around his stall, eating, standing, balancing.....OR NOT....

I stood there and watched while that 'perfect for you' horse took a step, tipped forward, and smashed into the floor and (this was the weird part) stood up just as calmly as if to say, 'No problem, happens all the time'. Then I looked at the inside of his two front legs - the hair was scrubbed up, roughed up, and there were two great big splints, but located in a funny spot, and an awful funny shape. Like....callouses. Like every single step he took, he was interfering.

I just stood there with my mouth open. Duh...they were going to sell this neurological disaster to me, they were going to let me GET UP ON this neurological nightmare.

Agent walks up (French Canadian) and says, 'Deed you see a ghost?' And I said, 'let's get outta here', Agent yells out, 'AU REVOIR!' to the proud owners coming down the aisle with the tack, and we RUN out to the car.

I ain't even makin' this up.

Moral of the story, those old timers know what the hay they're doing when they're 'doing nothing'. They're WATCHING.

 

[WIChookchick]

I like him, and I like the organization...
I have two things that made me a little worried about him...

HARD KEEPER

>>>>>I am working with a friend that has a horse that is a hard keeper, he needs a blanket on when it rains, or snows...He paces and looses weight when he does, he paces because
he feels the need to have food all the time.. OR if there is not enough pasture or its feeding time...
AND

I carry 3 buckets of grain or alfalfa out in his paddock twice a day

He is in a separate paddock

They are feeding him 6 buckets a day of grain or alfalfa or both???!!!!
WOWOWOWOWOW

That could be a big feed bill....

Just my opinion.. see what other horses they have... THAT is a lot of food...​