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One last look
On Saturday I did one final round of horse shopping. Now I have a tough decision to make because there are FOUR really, really good contenders.
Bo
Cute but quite head shy 6 year old 16hh TB, doesn't have a very good English frame. His "trainer" is your typical rough and tumble cowboy wannabe, which is a shame because he'd probably be a really nice horse in someone else's hands.
Chancelor
Some kind of 15.3hh mustang cross thing? They're not sure. He was "rescued" as a youngster from a family who didn't know how to handle horses, so now he's overly friendly and still in the process of learning to respect personal space. Super sweet and eager, but kind of lazy when ridden. He thinks about everything he's asked and tries different things, so you have to be very clear about "this is what I want you to do" and "yes, you really do have to do it this way." But he's only 4 and still learning. Real sweetheart and fun to ride otherwise.
Magic
5 year old OTTB the people with Chancelor wanted to show to me, but he's still at the very start of his training and I didn't ride him. I'm sure he'll be great in the future, but not what I want now.
Fred
6 year old 16.1hh OTTB, but much further along in his training and a dream to ride and jump. Such a great guy! Super easy to ride and forward, jumps over whatever you point him at like it's nothing, and plenty of good years ahead of him. The only question mark here is his weight - he's quite underweight and undermuscled right now, and I don't know if that's just a result of being out to pasture all winter or something else that would make him hard to keep weight on down the line.
Willow
Holy cow! This horse is amazing! An 16hh 11 year old TB cross so well trained and sensitive that you almost just have to think what you want and he does it. Already does great lateral work, is really forward but has power brakes, enjoys jumping, calm personality. What I hesitate about with him is that he's probably TOO well trained for where I'm at; since he's so sensitive, he's not very forgiving when I make mistakes, and I don't think he really enjoyed me riding him all that much. I also don't know about how he does on trails.
Chance (duh)
I'm going to ride him again on Saturday and refresh my memory of him and see how he compares to the others I'm now considering. I'm running out of time to make a decision, because the owners are going to take him off the market if he doesn't sell within the next few weeks. Bonus points: As I recall, I just had the most fun riding him, and he's a total sweetheart.
Jackson
I went to ride him again last night for a jumping lesson and he was fantastic. The only thing we'd need to work through is his head tossing, but the barn owner and the instructor and his regular rider/trainer are all convinced he'll get over that soon. They all love him and wish they had someone there to take him and ride him there! Major bonus points: 17hh and feet that never need to be shod (he's likely some sort of warmblood mix, they're not sure).
Fred
A great ride with not too much excitement here, and the big benefit with him is his age: at only 6, I could get many good years out of him yet.
Willow
Amazing horse I could probably go really far with, but again, I just didn't get the feeling he liked me all that much. The horse needs to like me! Big bonus: the price tag - a horse this nice is only $3500, and she's willing to go lower because she needs to find him a suitable home (obviously a beginner can't ride him).
I've listed them pretty much how I've ranked them in my mind. In all likelihood it's a choice between Chance and Jackson. Wish I could just take them both!
Bo
Cute but quite head shy 6 year old 16hh TB, doesn't have a very good English frame. His "trainer" is your typical rough and tumble cowboy wannabe, which is a shame because he'd probably be a really nice horse in someone else's hands.
Chancelor
Some kind of 15.3hh mustang cross thing? They're not sure. He was "rescued" as a youngster from a family who didn't know how to handle horses, so now he's overly friendly and still in the process of learning to respect personal space. Super sweet and eager, but kind of lazy when ridden. He thinks about everything he's asked and tries different things, so you have to be very clear about "this is what I want you to do" and "yes, you really do have to do it this way." But he's only 4 and still learning. Real sweetheart and fun to ride otherwise.
Magic
5 year old OTTB the people with Chancelor wanted to show to me, but he's still at the very start of his training and I didn't ride him. I'm sure he'll be great in the future, but not what I want now.
Fred
6 year old 16.1hh OTTB, but much further along in his training and a dream to ride and jump. Such a great guy! Super easy to ride and forward, jumps over whatever you point him at like it's nothing, and plenty of good years ahead of him. The only question mark here is his weight - he's quite underweight and undermuscled right now, and I don't know if that's just a result of being out to pasture all winter or something else that would make him hard to keep weight on down the line.
Willow
Holy cow! This horse is amazing! An 16hh 11 year old TB cross so well trained and sensitive that you almost just have to think what you want and he does it. Already does great lateral work, is really forward but has power brakes, enjoys jumping, calm personality. What I hesitate about with him is that he's probably TOO well trained for where I'm at; since he's so sensitive, he's not very forgiving when I make mistakes, and I don't think he really enjoyed me riding him all that much. I also don't know about how he does on trails.
Chance (duh)
I'm going to ride him again on Saturday and refresh my memory of him and see how he compares to the others I'm now considering. I'm running out of time to make a decision, because the owners are going to take him off the market if he doesn't sell within the next few weeks. Bonus points: As I recall, I just had the most fun riding him, and he's a total sweetheart.
Jackson
I went to ride him again last night for a jumping lesson and he was fantastic. The only thing we'd need to work through is his head tossing, but the barn owner and the instructor and his regular rider/trainer are all convinced he'll get over that soon. They all love him and wish they had someone there to take him and ride him there! Major bonus points: 17hh and feet that never need to be shod (he's likely some sort of warmblood mix, they're not sure).
Fred
A great ride with not too much excitement here, and the big benefit with him is his age: at only 6, I could get many good years out of him yet.
Willow
Amazing horse I could probably go really far with, but again, I just didn't get the feeling he liked me all that much. The horse needs to like me! Big bonus: the price tag - a horse this nice is only $3500, and she's willing to go lower because she needs to find him a suitable home (obviously a beginner can't ride him).
I've listed them pretty much how I've ranked them in my mind. In all likelihood it's a choice between Chance and Jackson. Wish I could just take them both!
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Chance and Fred are nice looking boys as well (I have a soft spot for the name Fred)
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Chance!!!! :)
Fred looks a bit skinny and his neck has NO muscle definition at all. Weight probably falls off of him during the winter which= double feed which = bad.
Where are you going to board? Garrods? Stall or Pasture?
Re: Chance!!!! :)
I'll board at Garrods over at Paladin to begin with, then hopefully move over to the main stable sometime when I can get in. But who knows, maybe I'll like it over a Paladin and just stay there. But it costs more than most of the other barns. =/
Re: Chance!!!! :)
but as staff at least we get priority choice!! Just make sure you put your name on all the lists!!
Haha. you should get both, get one for Josh.
Re: Chance!!!! :)
Re: Chance!!!! :)
lol
well good luck with everything and let me know how it turns out!!!!!
<3 sara
Re: Chance!!!! :)
Re: Chance!!!! :)
ahhh BUT im leaving on Saturday morning to come back to the bay..... what time are you coming down?
Re: Chance!!!! :)
Aw I won't be getting down there until prob 12:30ish, and I'll be coming back that same day. Will be working Sunday morning til noon if you want to come say hello. =)
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Horses come with power brakes? Do you have a model with premium audio and cruise control?