Post by beckybee on Feb 7, 2007 13:51:38 GMT -5
My sister adopted Pie (Sparkle) and got her home weekend before last. Sparkle is doing great and is still settling in to her new digs. I'm encouraging my sister to spend at least another week or two just hanging out, grooming, etc. and not really "working" with her. Let Pie get used to the new routine, stable, horses, etc. and have them get to know each other more. (The one thing I've learned with these younger horses is that they can be a different horse every day so you need to be able to recognize this and change your plans accordingly!)
So anyway, her husband (actually ex-husband, but I don't have time to explain THAT! :
is all gung ho about horses now, and went last weekend and bought a 9 year old gelding - 3/4 TB, 1/4 QH (Appendix?). This horse was initially trained by an Olympic 3-day eventer. He apparently didn't have enough fire in the belly for that, so was sold to a woman who has done endurance racing with him for the last 3 years.
His "test drive" was apparently pretty ridiculous - the horse was bolting, crow-hopping, etc. because he was crossing all of the horse's wires, poor boy. (They later realized his gait of preference is a fast pace, so hard to ride if you don't know what he - or you! - are doing.) Unfortunately the woman who sold him is going though a divorce and needed the money, so didn't stop the sale, much to my sister's dismay.
This horse is WAY over-trained for his purposes. Well trained does not mean suitable temperment! He walks, trots, canters, stops with voice commands while lunging, side passes, half passes, flying lead changes, etc. Obviously he gets very confused when my brother-in-law gets on him. He needed a trail horse: kick to go, kick again to go faster, pull back on reins to stop.
Fortunately for now he's hired a gal to work with the horse(apparently to "tune him up"
), so he's getting consistent exercise. He isn't lacking for food, shelter and care. My sister is trying to let him do his thing, but is stepping in if he's doing something obviously wrong (feeding the horse 15lbs of sweet feed with dinner!).
The advice I've given my sister is to give her husband 2-3 months to see if his interest wanes. Let the gal keep keep riding him so her husband doesn't completely mess up his head. If he still is interested and hasn't realized the horse is too much (you don't buy a porsche to drive to the mailbox), then have someone "retrain" him to western.
I was thinking that changing the equipment (western saddle with fenders and maybe a simple snaffle) would be a good start because it might change the horse's expectations. Start working on removing bit contact, teach him neck reining, etc. Is this even possible? Or are they always going to try to interpret and respond to leg cues, even if unintentional? I guess a lot depends on the horse, but is it worth trying to retrain him? I think this horse will always be too hot for him.
Why are men such idiots?
So anyway, her husband (actually ex-husband, but I don't have time to explain THAT! :
is all gung ho about horses now, and went last weekend and bought a 9 year old gelding - 3/4 TB, 1/4 QH (Appendix?). This horse was initially trained by an Olympic 3-day eventer. He apparently didn't have enough fire in the belly for that, so was sold to a woman who has done endurance racing with him for the last 3 years.His "test drive" was apparently pretty ridiculous - the horse was bolting, crow-hopping, etc. because he was crossing all of the horse's wires, poor boy. (They later realized his gait of preference is a fast pace, so hard to ride if you don't know what he - or you! - are doing.) Unfortunately the woman who sold him is going though a divorce and needed the money, so didn't stop the sale, much to my sister's dismay.
This horse is WAY over-trained for his purposes. Well trained does not mean suitable temperment! He walks, trots, canters, stops with voice commands while lunging, side passes, half passes, flying lead changes, etc. Obviously he gets very confused when my brother-in-law gets on him. He needed a trail horse: kick to go, kick again to go faster, pull back on reins to stop.
Fortunately for now he's hired a gal to work with the horse(apparently to "tune him up"
), so he's getting consistent exercise. He isn't lacking for food, shelter and care. My sister is trying to let him do his thing, but is stepping in if he's doing something obviously wrong (feeding the horse 15lbs of sweet feed with dinner!).The advice I've given my sister is to give her husband 2-3 months to see if his interest wanes. Let the gal keep keep riding him so her husband doesn't completely mess up his head. If he still is interested and hasn't realized the horse is too much (you don't buy a porsche to drive to the mailbox), then have someone "retrain" him to western.
I was thinking that changing the equipment (western saddle with fenders and maybe a simple snaffle) would be a good start because it might change the horse's expectations. Start working on removing bit contact, teach him neck reining, etc. Is this even possible? Or are they always going to try to interpret and respond to leg cues, even if unintentional? I guess a lot depends on the horse, but is it worth trying to retrain him? I think this horse will always be too hot for him.
Why are men such idiots?
