Does anyone have experience with ex buggy horses from the Amish? Are they worth it or just look st those off the track?
There are some OTStb organizations, and New Vocations gets in Standardbreds, too.
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I would question why an Amish buggy horse is for sale. A good one: safe, sound, well-trained would likely not be sold out of the community. Too many grandparents and kids are always in need of a good buggy horse.
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Agree unless you know the Seller* or anyone who’s bought from them.
Unless you’re capable of determining suitability with a Test Drive, you could get not only “English” pricing, but one with holes in training.
Which may be as simple as a horse who balks at Stop signs or is too slow for trips to town.
ETA:
Scan ads for horses advertised as TSS - translates to Traffic Safe & Sound.
Avoid anything listed as Boy’s Horse = hotrod
OTOH, Daudy Horse means Granny can drive 
*Driving Club member is a ninny who’s bought multiple horses from an Amishman who sees her coming from a mile away.
Last horse was bought in July, exchanged this month & we’ll see if this one sticks around… 
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I adopted my standardbred from the Amish… sort of.
She wasn’t a buggy horse, though, she was a broodmare. I got her through a major OTSTB rehoming/adoption program (one of the ones mentioned above). She raced 180 times with non-Amish connections, then ended up with an Amish standardbred race breeder for her broodmare career. She was his “favorite” mare so he sent her to be retrained and rehomed when he thought her breeding career was over.
Most Amish horses end up at auction when their useful days are past. My mare’s previous owner had no qualms telling me he sent all his other mares to slaughter when they were no longer productive. While I’ve never adopted a buggy horse, I grew up in Amish country and repeatedly have heard they aren’t used to being “pets” and tend to be reserved and workman-like. I don’t necessarily think that’s a problem. But I’ve never heard anyone say they regret taking an Amish horse on.
Of course, I’m speaking in generalizations. There are exceptions to everything.
I love love love my standardbreds, especially the mare I mentioned above. She is just the coolest. She has given me bleeding ulcers with some health issues, but I wouldn’t hold that against her or her breed. She is just so easy and so safe and so rational.
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Well, one of our former STB racehorses ended up with a kill pen buyer, he was the love of my life, so my daughter and I bought him back. After he went through quarantine, and my daughter made it down to NYS, she started putting TLC into him, had his feet done and fitted with proper sized shoes for his huge feet, she started jogging him to help him put his feed to good use and he bloomed. But he also blew abscesses out of all three feet over the first couple of months (besides the one he’d already blown one out of before she picked him up). He never took a lame step in the next few years, took right back to riding (my daughter had ridden him before we sold him) no problem, showed at a fun show and won all the trot games classes she put him in. Came home and became my trail riding horse.
We have no idea why he ended up in a sale, unless the tight shoes were making him so foot sore that they thought his feet were done. He was the perfect solid citizen. I could jog him when he was racing (I’m not the most confident driver), never spooked under saddle but once, and it was such a minor spook, I just laughed. Other than not being an easy keeper, it didn’t make sense.
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Did he end up there from the track or did he get there the long way (track to Amish household to lower end sales)?
Because the first option can easily have a “lame now” horse (client can’t play the bill, horse is surrendered, trainer doesn’t want to risk throwing good money after bad or simply can’t afford to feed the extra horse on his dime generally lead the list). The latter generally is milking every last dime out of the arrangement, so while buying horses at sales is a buyer beware game, this one is more so than most.
We lost track of him after we sold him, so track to Amish. He ended up with a kill buyer, and we were contacted by one of the rescue groups that he was in PA.
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They go with their heads in the air, are totally upside down, have no clue what bending is or using their body correctly is.
Like others mentioned above I would question why they are selling. A safe and sound STB is not typically sold out of the community if they are still useful.
What do you want to do with the STB? pleasure drive? hack out?
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good jug headed STB. They are great horses. I used to work at White Horse Farms in Pa before they sold everything.
I would just be careful with what you could be getting in terms of soundness.
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They do?
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Thank you @jvanrens for saying this before I did! My 17 year old STB (who had 420 starts by the way) is currently showing 2’6" hunters locally and most ppl don’t know he isn’t a WB or a WB cross. He bends and actually has a very naturally low head carrage.
He never made it to the amish thankfully as I got him directly from his race connections who had had him for 10 years of his race career. From day 1 he did not go around inverted at all. We did have to work on canter quality and holding him together without him being heavy in your hands until he had muscle memory not to lean on you. He is the bestus boy and is really enjoying his second career as my dog/kid’s show horse (which he thinks is great due to all the treats and less work than his previous life even though he loves having a job).
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In my experience, horses that come from the Amish go with their heads above the vertical, can have a difficult time with bending, moving through their backs and using their hind end. Because the Amish do not care how they carry themselves as long as they get to point A and point B.
I did not say they can’t unlearn how to go and improve, every horse can. But the OP asked what she was getting if she purchased an Amish horse. Which is why I asked what OP planned on doing with said horse.
If OP just wants to putz around, trail ride, have some fun in a carriage, then by all means get an Amish horse and have fun.
BUT if OP wants to do low level dressage, may be some AA shows, OP will have to put some elbow grease into getting the horse round.
And I stand by my statement that most Amish used horses are heavy on the fore.
We don’t know much about the horse in question. I shared my experience with working with former Amish horses having spent many Monday mornings at New Holland and my years in the driving community.
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But you didn’t clarify that you meant an Amish trained horse (presumably stbd or otherwise), you just said “STBD” so to my mind that needed clarification. One is a statement about breed type, the other is a statement about training/purpose/use (and the challenges in retraining, which can even be an issue for a well trained horse moving to a new discipline).
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Thanks DMK, you are right, sorry for the broad bush statement I should have been better at communicating. I will do better next time.
Sorry OP for not being clear earlier.
And for the record, I love STBs. They are a very kind and forgiving breed.
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This horse was an Amish horse for about 5 years. He’d been ridden by my daughter for a few months the year before and had maybe one ride before this picture was taken. We weren’t asking him to do a whole lot of using himself right at this point, just enjoying having him back. I was planning on showing him, but unfortunately I lost him before I could do a lot with him. He was a bit stiff, but no more than you’d expect from a teen that had never been trained to carry himself well or bend.
20200705_091436
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That is an outlier in my experience and probably due to a good foundation or possibly similar continued good training in his Amish career, but again that’s an outlier as well.
I am not interested in a back and forth. I am happy that you had a good experience with your STB and it sounds like you loved him very much.
The OP asked what to expect from an STB the Amish had as a buggy horse. I expressed my experience. Just like you are sharing yours… (but for some reason directing it at me.)
Honestly, we do not know enough about said STB Amish buggy horse from the OP post. I personally would not hesitate on an STB. (but I would think twice about purchasing from an Amishmen, again… my personal experience) I would go through New Vocations, or find an OTT STB where someone had a solid relationship with a trainer.
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OP of course it depends on the individual horse and your plans for him. This post is in the driving forum - so I’m wondering if you are planning to do pleasure driving. If do, the right Standardbred could be ideal.
For riding, suitability would of course depend on soundness. Fitness and training can be addressed over time of course. Yes Standardbreds are known as very willing, versatile and kind! They tend to bond with their people. Some appear standoffish at first bit most will come out of their “shell”, once they realize they will be treated kindly.
I will add - I have an ex Amish Standardbred mare, we do light riding (due to my own physical limitations). She has been sound (knock on wood) - which may be bcs she was used as a broodmare and did limited work for the Amish. She was green under saddle when I got her, I had a trainer work with her for a short time (again due to my physical limitations). Trainer was impressed how she is a Very very quick learner under saddle!
If anyone is interested, you can check out this page about the National Standardbred Horse Show - showcasing versatility of the breed:
https://www.sphonj.org/national-standardbred-horse-show
Op good luck in whatever you choose to do!
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I don’t have a standardbred, but I do have an Amish pony. She is special. I got “Grandma’s Pony” who literally carted around the 70+ crowd, so very safe. She’s safe, but not easy to drive. Many Amish horses have a lousy transmission - there aren’t many gears between stop & fast. She gets heavy in the bridle - quick. But she doesn’t spook at anything; she’s literally bomb proof.
Amish horses are just as quirky as any other horses. If a horse is traffic safe, they will put up with a lot. One guy had to go grocery store with his wife and sit in the buggy while she shopped. The mare didn’t play well with others.
If you are going to get an Amish horse, go to an Amish sale, not New Holland or whatever crap auction. The really nice thing about Amish sales is you can try before you buy; most sales have a time set aside for test drives. They are also pretty up front in sale catalogs e.g. “Looks at ditches” or “Not for kids.” However, if you go this route, be prepared to part with a significant amount of money. Buggy horses are not cheap. Also many do retire their horses to pasture.
The younger Amish guys are much better horsemen than many of the older guys. They do care how their horses look. Caveat is, they aren’t into sport horse or dressage type stuff, they want high headed saddleseat type horses. Bending is not a priority for a horse between shafts.
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This horse is coming from The Standardbred Retirement Foundation in New Jersey. He has been there a few months and has been very willing to learn each ride. The training is not been consistent but in a few rides he has learned a lot. I posted here to see how well driving horses transition to riding horses. Maybe my mistake. I will start from the beginning just like I did with my OTTB. ground drive and long lining. I am not looking to show necessarily but I would like to w/t/c and really trail ride the rest would be gravy… Thanks for all your insight
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