addendum to bunny hopping horse

[eightpondfarm]

Many of you were kind enough to respond to my panic over my new dressage coach’s review of my new mustang who is one of my dressage prospect candidates. Thank you so much for your attention and for your opinions! This morning i watched the vids of the other horses i’ve recently adopted/purchased online from the BLM and discovered something quite remarkable. Am cut’n’pasting my message to my dressage coach:

"Hi ____,

Your comments on that little bay mare i adopted from the BLM sent me into a tailspin. I was primarily worried that she had some degenerative sacroiliac joint disease. Secondly i was shocked that i made such a huge mistake in analysis. I’ve watched her video about a hundred times since then, sent it off to some other folks, Mustang people, two vets and the hivemind at COTH, to help me evaluate…and i actually doubted myself (abnormal for me!). But, just this morning, just for fun, i looked over all the other mustangs i’ve won in the online auctions, and was Happily Surprised that every single one of them does this exact same push-off ‘canter’! Not one of them had ever tripped a red flag to me, so i didn’t remember. But they all do it!! It’s not actually a canter, it’s a ‘get-away’ gait. One of the horses did not have a video, and one of them never erupts into a get-away gait. But…the other four…all of which mostly trot, do it when overly-stim’d (by the gate handlers and flaggers), all of them have this very same three-point ‘canter’. In actuality, all of them never do settle into a canter at any point. All of them are in something else, (not a canter) which i’m gonna say is a precursor to …RUNNNNN!!!

It’s cultural. I think the wild ones do this to get away fast. i doubt there is anything to worry about, and i now, officially, have stopped being concerned.

Of course i won’t know until i have them, but, i am back to my original thoughts on that little bay mare…that she has extraordinary coordination and athleticism.

FYI, I’m getting Pandora ready. Since she is not my intended, i’ll not be buying a dressage saddle for her. I’ll only have an english saddle to work her in. Will wait for that expenditure until i know which horse will be my main gal/guy.

If you have time, please check out the videos for these four new mustangs of mine:

https://wildhorsesonline.blm.gov/animals/16627404
https://wildhorsesonline.blm.gov/animals/07025081
https://wildhorsesonline.blm.gov/animals/17629633
https://wildhorsesonline.blm.gov/animals/12188034

[CanteringCarrot]

I don’t know that I’d get that into it. Just wait until the mare arrives and see what you have.

[WildLittleWren]

OP I truly do hope you have the time to bring along four mustangs and make them into solid citizens. I only have one, and she takes hours upon hours of slow, methodical work. Do you have anyone else that is going to help bring these horses along with you? This is going to be a full time job.

Honestly, I think it’s way too soon to even think about evaluating which one will be best for dressage. Until they are gentle, and hooves are trimmed, and training has begun, it’s hard to know exactly which one (if any) will move once they are balanced and developed correctly. Ideally, you would have contacted your trainer BEFORE and DURING the bidding process, not after. Especially being newer to dressage. But, you’re bringing these four home. Give them the time to acclimate, and put in the training and long hours. THEN choose which one you would like to dabble in dressage with.

This is going to be a long road. Good luck in your endeavors. I truly hope you are prepared for the huge amount of work you have ahead of you.

[joiedevie99]

@CanteringCarrot

I don’t know that I’d get that into it. Just wait until the mare arrives and see what you have.

Agreed. This could rub some the wrong way. No reason to gloat that you were right and trainer was wrong at this point. It’s just too early to know.

[Scribbler]

If the horses are all from the same band or area they are likely genetically related and will look and move in similar fashion because they have similar confirmation.

[eightpondfarm]

uh oh…Guess maybe it did sound like i was gloating. (*but i am pretty excited to discover that all four of the mustangs who ‘cantered’ in their videos did this exact same bunny hop thing… all of them did it! And that was a very good surprise to discover this morning) This coach knows i’m on-the-spectrum, don’t know if she knows though just how much little things like this can stick(?) lol…i kinda feel sorry for her having me. It may or may not last. I found her by using three different friends and farrier for recommendations, and they know me. I’ll finally get to meet her once things open-up again.

I don’t know what horse will be my training horse. I’m totally open to that. While bidding online for the mustangs, i looked for good underneath the body sort of strength/inclination specifically FOR dressage. That appaloosa gelding and the little bay mare bespoke the right kind of athleticism to me. Others …well, other things came to mind when i saw them. One looks like maybe he’d work in our equine SAR group as mount for a friend, I have a lot of horses…and over time will haul them down to coach and let her help me decide. I know my horses and how to talk to them, but i do not know who would have the best type of mind and athleticism for this. I’ll leave that ‘kinda’ up to her. Some horses i have more sympatico with than others, but i’m guessing that investing the energy into a new kind of direction would probably work to bond us …if it’s not one of my favorites. i’ll be using my leggy, verrry touchy arab mare as a guinea pig so i can learn.

i’m pretty sure i’ve got the time. and i’m pretty sure i have the …sensitivity to take on a range of mustang personalities. And if i don’t, well, i know a couple of people who are chomping at the bit to step in. I’ll start out on my own first. The feral dogs, the feral horses i already have are such a luxury to deal with, as they’re all-me. No one else has messed with their psyches.

[SuzieQNutter]

You can do dressage training with any horse and any English saddle.

Start now with the horses you are already riding. Horses learn a lot faster than the rider so don’t worry about them not catching you up.

How they move is not number one with an unknown feral, the first thing is trainability. So you choose the one with the best brain not the best body.

[Cat_Tap]

@SuzieQNutter

You can do dressage training with any horse and any English saddle.

Start now with the horses you are already riding. Horses learn a lot faster than the rider so don’t worry about them not catching you up.

How they move is not number one with an unknown feral, the first thing is trainability. So you choose the one with the best brain not the best body.

OP it seems you know how to ride and obviously know how to cue your horses when you go to check your fence lines etc, dressage is really just the french word for “training”. It is a structured progressive training model intended to supple and strengthen the horse. The rider just needs to be balanced and co-ordinated to be able to provide the correct cues (aids) for each movement.

Most of us amateurs don’t achieve the upper levels. It takes a very talented horse and rider combination and many years to reach “the fancy stuff”.