Please Critique Horse!!

[Rammy]

My concern is that you want to do everything NOW! and you are wanting to get a young horse and train it yourself when you yourself apparently have had very little training. Some horses take years of training before they are ready for showing and if you rush a horse too fast, as others have stated, you can hurt thier back, make they start refusing, or damage thier legs and have a broken down horse before its 8. Horses that are considered "hot", meaning they are more sensitive or energetic, need to be brought along slower. I would recommend, as others have also, to find a GOOD trainer, ride one of thier seasoned horses for a few years, THEN ask them to help you find an OLDER horse< around 8 to 10> that is well trained, to buy, thats is sound<still> and that you can show and no risk of injuring the poor thing. PLEASE take your time. When you get older and get more experience, you will see that many on here are trying to tell you to SLOW DOWN.


Rammy

 

[michickenwrangler]

Quote:
YES!

If you want to do eventing, find a trainer and a SEASONED horse. If the two of you are learning together, it isn't the best bet. Get a horse that knows what it's doing and it will help teach you. Don't be afraid of a 12-14 yr old horse if it has been actively competing in what you want to do. That means it is SEASONED, its muscles are developed for that sport and mentally it knows what is asked of it. My daughter is going to start distance riding next year and a friend is loaning us her 15 yr old gelding. I want her to ride a horse that knows what it is doing and can take care of her so she can build her own skills before we get her a horse of her own. Horses in their mid-teens make excellent starter horses but too often people only want something under 8.

So what happened to the Toby horse you were totally attached to?

As far as the horses go, I like the look of the first mare, but then I do endurance and she'd be a good endurance horse IF she has the right attitude to go with the build. The second horse hasn't been worked much, although he looks like an easy keeper. For eventing, the muscling is a little too heavy and you'd have a hard time getting him in condition and also keep his pulse/respiration low and metabolics high. Basically, he'd get too hot (temp wise).

Unless you have experience in a given sport, DO NOT TRAIN a horse in it. If you are only 12 years old and still learning how to jump, there is no way you should be training eventers. It's an extremely dangerous horse sport, second only to racing in number of rider and horse deaths.

You keep coming to us for advice, PLEASE listen. No matter how many times you post different threads, you will get the same advice. Those of us who keep posting are not casual backyard riders. Right now, I'm ranked 4th in the Midwest for competitive trail riding, have won year end awards and many points for Arabian Achievement Awards. The others on here who are posting have had competitive and show experience as well. We have chickens, yes, that's why we are here, but those who keep replying to you are not armchair horsemen.

Again, although my daughter is younger than you, I am giving you the same advice I would give her.

 

[BobwhiteQuailLover]

Quote:
I board my other horse..........

 

[BobwhiteQuailLover]

Quote:
YES!

If you want to do eventing, find a trainer and a SEASONED horse. If the two of you are learning together, it isn't the best bet. Get a horse that knows what it's doing and it will help teach you. Don't be afraid of a 12-14 yr old horse if it has been actively competing in what you want to do. That means it is SEASONED, its muscles are developed for that sport and mentally it knows what is asked of it. My daughter is going to start distance riding next year and a friend is loaning us her 15 yr old gelding. I want her to ride a horse that knows what it is doing and can take care of her so she can build her own skills before we get her a horse of her own. Horses in their mid-teens make excellent starter horses but too often people only want something under 8.

So what happened to the Toby horse you were totally attached to?

As far as the horses go, I like the look of the first mare, but then I do endurance and she'd be a good endurance horse IF she has the right attitude to go with the build. The second horse hasn't been worked much, although he looks like an easy keeper. For eventing, the muscling is a little too heavy and you'd have a hard time getting him in condition and also keep his pulse/respiration low and metabolics high. Basically, he'd get too hot (temp wise).

Unless you have experience in a given sport, DO NOT TRAIN a horse in it. If you are only 12 years old and still learning how to jump, there is no way you should be training eventers. It's an extremely dangerous horse sport, second only to racing in number of rider and horse deaths.

You keep coming to us for advice, PLEASE listen. No matter how many times you post different threads, you will get the same advice. Those of us who keep posting are not casual backyard riders. Right now, I'm ranked 4th in the Midwest for competitive trail riding, have won year end awards and many points for Arabian Achievement Awards. The others on here who are posting have had competitive and show experience as well. We have chickens, yes, that's why we are here, but those who keep replying to you are not armchair horsemen.

Again, although my daughter is younger than you, I am giving you the same advice I would give her.

I am getting too big for him... and I JUST got him.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Toby10--

I am an old hand at horses. I started cleaning stalls when I was 12 and had my first REAL lessons when I was 15. I have been riding ever since and I am now 64. I have read and reread your posts and I am SERIOUSLY worried that you are going to get hurt trying to do stuff you are not ready to do.

My first serious lessons came from the head groom at a breeding farm where I worked part-time after school and on weekends. His name was Charley and he took me seriously and treated me seriously. Using the owner's hunter-jumper gelding who was in his teens and knew his stuff, Charley put me up on a Borelli huntseat saddle with knee rolls. He put a lunge line on the gelding and we rode for an hour so he could see how much I did and didn't know. Then he took my irons away. Still on the lunge line, we worked daily for weeks until I could walk, trot, and canter with ease. Then he introduced cavalettis. When I got to the point that I could ride easily, he took my reins and we started all over again at a walk and worked up to jumps that were maybe 12-18"--just high enough that the gelding couldn't trot over them--he had to actually jump. At that point--still on the lunge line this whole time--he took my saddle. This whole process took me several months of daily lessons. But when we were done, I could sit a horse!

I am sure there are probably lots better ways to do this, but these lessons have served me well my entire life. I do not ride hunters or jumpers. After I left that farm, I switched to cutting horses and never looked back. When you cut cattle, you have to move with the horse or you wind up sitting in the dirt. I really think it is because of Charley's lessons all those years ago that I have spent so many happy years in cutting and now in reining.

You need someone who can teach you the way Charley taught me all those years ago. I'm sure your trainer will have way more up-to-date methods, but you need taught by someone who is serious about the job and really knows their stuff. If you did know yours, you would not be wondering about your knees "popping out" and you would already have that imaginary straight line from your ear, through your shoulder and hip, and ending at your heel. You would have your irons sitting on the ball of your foot so you could use your foot and ankle like the shock absorbers they are meant to be. You are not supposed to sit on a horse like you sit on a chair--with your feet ahead of your seat. That is a formula for getting hurt!

I am worried about you, kiddo. I really don't want you getting hurt and I am seriously afraid that is what is going to happen without some knowledgeable help!


With all best wishes,


Rusty

 

[patandchickens]

Please excuse my cynicism but are these horses that your parents are about to buy you, or is this just "what if" wishful thinking. My money is frankly on the latter.

You should not in any way be asking US for advice on what horse to buy, you should be following your TRAINER's advice. Temperament, experience and training (also soundness) are FAR FAR more important than playing let's-analyze-conformation-from-a-photo.

So I am not even going to comment on the photos.

Look, please do not be too offended, but, you're familiar with the story "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"?

Well, the more you keep asking us hypothetical airy-fairy questions that are unanswerable and/or none of our business and should be being taken care of by YOUR TRAINER not by online forums, the less we have energy or enthusiasm for the *legitimate* questions you may want to ask. (Like, grooming tips for getting ready for a show, or reading 'show brag' type posts, or things like that)

So I know it is exciting to talk about horses but what about if you were to talk about them WITH YOUR TRAINER, and spend more time READING instructional material (which would answer all of your preceding threads' questions about what are hunter classes judged on etcetera).

Then we can have a better attitude about talking with you about things that ARE appropriate and relevant topics of conversation

Sorry, but, ya know,

Pat

 

[michickenwrangler]

Again, you are not my daughter, but I think it's time to find a new trainer who can match you up with the right horse. Honestly, we all wish you the best of luck, but I really think you should step back, decide what exactly you want to do. Establish one or two goals, one short term, one long term and try to find the best trainer and horse to meet those goals. Maybe you should wait a year or two before getting a new horse, ride lesson horses or a trainer's horse in the meantime. I didn't own my own horse until I was 19, but began riding lessons when I was 6. I never lacked for horses to ride though and it made me a better rider to ride and compete on many different horses.

 

[IcarusSomnio]

~*Sweet Cheeks*~ :

I too would be concerned about the use of chains. If a horse is trained properly, you shouldn't need the chains to inflict pain.

Stud chains, when used correctly, should not inflict pain in the animal.

To the OP:
The second horse is too high in the rear and too upright in the pasterns.


For jumping/eventing, I would consider an older horse. The four year old will take another 2-3 years of training to reach the higher levels and properly work up healthy joints and muscles. The three year old shouldn't even start hard work for another year.​

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I think both horses are much too young for you.

I have a three year old at home and she's a lot of fun and an absolute cuddle bug, but they are ALOT of work. My dad has done a lot of ground training with her, but she still needs a lot of work. We have not ridden her yet. We are waiting until she is four because honestly she just doesn't have the mental maturity yet to handle much more than a SHORT half hour training session. She is still very much a baby, especially compared to our older horses! She could be trained and ridden now, but I think waiting is a wiser option so we will have a happier sane horse in the long run.

Even though I've been riding for about 13 or 14 years and my dad for a little bit shorter than that, we will NOT be training her ourselves. My dad will be sending her out to a trainer for the basics and then we will shape her the way we want. The training we'll have to do will be little things, if anything at all. However, training takes money, and often times it takes ALOT of money! At your current riding level, I would not buy a green or unbroke horse and do any training yourself. Most likely you will end up with a lot of issues and not know how to fix them. This takes a lot of the fun out of riding and eventually you'll just want to get out of horses. Having a younger horse is fun and I've learned a TON, but it was not without a lot of research and a lot of frustration!

So if you are truly serious about finding another horse, look for an older experienced horse that can teach you. I know when you are younger (because I was there too) riding a spunky, crazy horse may seem fun but I promise you you'll have a better time on a sane, trained horse than anything else.

One last question though - are you in a 4-H club? If not, I recommend joining one for horses. I learned sooo much in my club.

 

[arabianequine]

Quote:
Stud chains, when used correctly, should not inflict pain in the animal.

Sure does something they don't like, right? or people would not use them to correct the horses bad behavior nor would people use them if the horses did not change the behavior when using them.