![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Horse Update
Looong weekend. I am so sore. I don't think I've ever ridden this many horses consecutively before; I rode 8 this weekend. Oh I've guided up to 5 trail rides in one day before, but that's just walking, no actual real riding involved!
February 2
Caesar
Nice, big bodied horse; some kind of Thoroughbred/Warmblood cross perhaps. What's really weird is he has no top front teeth! She thinks he got them kicked out by another horse when he was young. So he does this really weird tongue flapping thing when you bridle him, but he's completely normal when ridden. He's a little bit lazy, but has nice, rideable gaits. He was also a little grumpy! I don't know if that's because we took him away from breakfast...she said he's never been like that.
Crystal
Nice Appendix QH horse. The girl had bought her for barrel racing, but she turned out to grow too tall and had no interest in it. So she's only had about 4 months of training in English, and it's obvious she needs more; she has to be constantly reminded to keep her nose down and head tucked, but she's nice otherwise. I just don't think I want a horse that still needs so much finishing.
Knight
Really nice dressage horse, nothing like I've ever ridden. Doesn't stop from contact on the bit because the more you pull, the more he just tucks his head in and keeps on going! He's really sensitive and pretty much all seat, and he likes going fast and jumping. He'd certainly be a great horse to teach me dressage! He does have a slight parrot mouth, so he would need special dental care to some extent, and he's a little underweight at the moment.
Chance
10 year old Thoroughbred, used to be a sheriff parade horse! This is the horse I had the most fun with all weekend, and I'm still not entirely sure why. I think perhaps because he wasn't boring to ride? He has an incredibly bouncy trot and definitely not the smoothest canter, but I found him the most fun. He's forward and really tries to please, but I'm told he reacts differently to every rider. Apparently if he doesn't like you he'll just stick his nose in the air and race around and not listen! Some people she tells to simply get off of him because he won't work for them. He was a total doll with me, I really enjoyed him.
February 3
Silvy
"Silver Aces" is a completely sweet, push button Appendix mare; does anything you ask. Easy to cue, easy to ride, smooth, comfy gaits, forward but not fast, pretty much your perfect riding horse. The only tiny negatives with her were that her jumping is pretty rusty and she's 14.
Dan
5 year old, same sort of problem as Crystal - has had very little English training and is need of a lot more. Canter feels pretty fast (although apparently it's not) and he's kind of hard to stop. A bit jittery with new experiences (dogs running up and barking at him), although considering his age he did really, really well. But not the kind of project I'm looking for.
Nugget
This horse was the *perfect* size and shape I'm looking for. He's 3/4 Thoroughbred and 1/4 Belgian, so he's big without being skinny. Also only 8 years old and hasn't been ridden very hard over his life. I really liked him, but the trainer didn't think he'd be so great at what I wanted to do, and the vet said he really couldn't handle jumping with any regularity. Also there were some older ladies there looking at him to be a trail horse, and they decided to put a deposit down on him. So the search goes on.
Matt
This is a 4 year old Appaloosa the trainer with Nugget suggested I take a look at. He's not done growing and isn't very far along in his training, either. Would probably be nice later down the road, but definitely not what I want now.
Cruz
Decent 8 year old Thoroughbred gelding whose owner no longer has time for (as you can see from the condition he's in). He was nice, but has a ewe neck and always keeps his head up, and he's easily distracted by his girlfriend, the owner's mare. Pretty much out of shape and out of practice, so he's in need of quite a bit of tuning up.
At the moments my favorites so far are Chance and Mystery. Good contenders would be Silvy, Grace, and Caesar.
February 2
Caesar
Nice, big bodied horse; some kind of Thoroughbred/Warmblood cross perhaps. What's really weird is he has no top front teeth! She thinks he got them kicked out by another horse when he was young. So he does this really weird tongue flapping thing when you bridle him, but he's completely normal when ridden. He's a little bit lazy, but has nice, rideable gaits. He was also a little grumpy! I don't know if that's because we took him away from breakfast...she said he's never been like that.
Crystal
Nice Appendix QH horse. The girl had bought her for barrel racing, but she turned out to grow too tall and had no interest in it. So she's only had about 4 months of training in English, and it's obvious she needs more; she has to be constantly reminded to keep her nose down and head tucked, but she's nice otherwise. I just don't think I want a horse that still needs so much finishing.
Knight
Really nice dressage horse, nothing like I've ever ridden. Doesn't stop from contact on the bit because the more you pull, the more he just tucks his head in and keeps on going! He's really sensitive and pretty much all seat, and he likes going fast and jumping. He'd certainly be a great horse to teach me dressage! He does have a slight parrot mouth, so he would need special dental care to some extent, and he's a little underweight at the moment.
Chance
10 year old Thoroughbred, used to be a sheriff parade horse! This is the horse I had the most fun with all weekend, and I'm still not entirely sure why. I think perhaps because he wasn't boring to ride? He has an incredibly bouncy trot and definitely not the smoothest canter, but I found him the most fun. He's forward and really tries to please, but I'm told he reacts differently to every rider. Apparently if he doesn't like you he'll just stick his nose in the air and race around and not listen! Some people she tells to simply get off of him because he won't work for them. He was a total doll with me, I really enjoyed him.
February 3
Silvy
"Silver Aces" is a completely sweet, push button Appendix mare; does anything you ask. Easy to cue, easy to ride, smooth, comfy gaits, forward but not fast, pretty much your perfect riding horse. The only tiny negatives with her were that her jumping is pretty rusty and she's 14.
Dan
5 year old, same sort of problem as Crystal - has had very little English training and is need of a lot more. Canter feels pretty fast (although apparently it's not) and he's kind of hard to stop. A bit jittery with new experiences (dogs running up and barking at him), although considering his age he did really, really well. But not the kind of project I'm looking for.
Nugget
This horse was the *perfect* size and shape I'm looking for. He's 3/4 Thoroughbred and 1/4 Belgian, so he's big without being skinny. Also only 8 years old and hasn't been ridden very hard over his life. I really liked him, but the trainer didn't think he'd be so great at what I wanted to do, and the vet said he really couldn't handle jumping with any regularity. Also there were some older ladies there looking at him to be a trail horse, and they decided to put a deposit down on him. So the search goes on.
Matt
This is a 4 year old Appaloosa the trainer with Nugget suggested I take a look at. He's not done growing and isn't very far along in his training, either. Would probably be nice later down the road, but definitely not what I want now.
Cruz
Decent 8 year old Thoroughbred gelding whose owner no longer has time for (as you can see from the condition he's in). He was nice, but has a ewe neck and always keeps his head up, and he's easily distracted by his girlfriend, the owner's mare. Pretty much out of shape and out of practice, so he's in need of quite a bit of tuning up.
At the moments my favorites so far are Chance and Mystery. Good contenders would be Silvy, Grace, and Caesar.