An honest jumper

[CVPeg]

Wide open question. Where do you begin to look for a very honest individual?

Probably not eventually keeping my green OTTB. Think my best match for riding now would be joining a hunt, and don’t think that’s the best direction for him.

Was reminiscing about my old Adult Eq/Amateur Hunter OTTB from “back in the day”. Started him green as well, but he had some work done on him between the track and buying him. Had the most comfortable canter in the world, and never, ever stopped at anything. Oh! To turn back the clock…:sigh:

Can work with a green horse still, and one who’s “not yet quiet”. My old guy was slow at a 2nd rate track. His dam/damsire earned only a minute fraction of what my current gelding has. Not the best confirmation - sloping hindquarters, but never lame a day in his life. Went on to do Medal/Maclay.

Current barn would be a good base, great care, and trainers who are real problem solvers, but mostly working with competitors. Near a hunt club where friends are members.

Am almost thinking an OTTB who wasn’t really interested in racing, of course vet them out. What advice to rule in/rule out ability/willingness over fences? Have a long time to look. Not rushing into anything.

Thanks!

[Beverley]

Hmmm. Hard to answer concisely. And you really don’t know for sure til you start on the journey with the horse. I suppose I size up ‘any’ horse, whether for jumping or anything else, just by its eyes/ears/body language. Horses communicate very well if you just sit and watch them and pay attention.

For hunting, and actually for many other pursuits, a ‘middle of the pecking order’ or even ‘bottom of the pecking order’ horse is generally more tractable than an alpha horse. Quiet or not has not in my experience played into their honesty. Quiet or not ‘can’ be a factor in their ability to focus on the job at hand- but I had one OTTB who just jigged and did his Secretariat thing all over the place when nothing was happening out hunting- but by golly, when hounds were hunting, he was 110% focused on the job at hand.

I suppose the quirky quarter horse I hunted for 20 years was as honest as they come in terms of being a ‘point and shoot’ at the fences horse, and also 110% trustworthy to bushwack off trail in dense underbrush or iffy footing. If he said no, we can’t go there, he was always right. In fact, the one time in 20 years he quit at a fence, he was also right. There just wasn’t a viable landing zone. He happily joined me in plan B, go up the fence line to where there was suitable landing and just jump the wire.

Let me just add that I ‘do’ value a horse that will refuse to jump under certain circumstances. The honest horse that knows there will be trouble if he makes a jumping effort because the outcome won’t be good is, well, priceless. And for sure cheaper than the hospital bills. Of course I’m not talking about the ‘nasty’ quits. I’m talking about, for example, the aforementioned quarter horse, for whom nothing was more disgusting than having a horse quit in front of him and thus widen the margin between him and his hounds. He darn near jumped stalled-out horse AND fence more than once, with smoke coming out of his ears.

Sorry, a bit of a ramble, hope at least some of it makes sense.

[jawa]

I am one step ahead of you on this journey and I’ll tell you how its gone so far for me.

I started looking at what was available and prices 1 year before I was “ready” to buy. I have always ridden lots of different horses, but in that year I was really paying close attention to what I like in a horse.

I wanted a NON-GREY!!

gelding

Around 16H

Something with more TB than not

4-7 years old

I wanted it to have some experience hacking out alone and in groups.

Just a short introduction to jumping was fine.

That was my list. This is what I bought in May.
5 year old, plain bay, OTTB that had retired sound, gelding, that had been trail ridden for a year alone and done hunt trail rides and hunter paced. He was jumping courses at 2’6".

He didn’t have great ground manners, but that was easily solved with consistent handling over about a month. We trail rode along for 4 weeks learning each other. I then added riding with my lab. He didn’t appreciate her running to and fro, but learned very quickly to just deal. I took him out 6 times in July and August for hound exercise (never drugging him). He was very nervous the first 2 times, but was on his a game every time after that (other than a couple of overly dramatic responses to the grasshoppers that were landing on his legs and belly in the fields). I had a chance to take him out with a farmers pack for hound exercise and he was directly behind the pack and the only non-whips horse out there. He was a little nervous, but never put a foot wrong.

I’m hoping to get him out actually hunting this month, but they go out at 6:30am and with my husband’s work travel schedule that would leave nobody at home to make sure the 12 year old didn’t sleep through his alarm, AGAIN! ahh to sleep SOOOO soundly.

Good luck on your journey. I hope you find a horse with potential without having to kiss too many frogs.

[gypsymare]

Has your green horse hunted? Many become reliable jumpers after a season or two after they realize the alternative is being left alone while the field gallops off. Saddle fit can make a big difference, too. Check with resellers who have already determined the horses aptitude for jumping and current hunting horses for sale. Personally, I buy straight from the track. It’s a gamble but I enjoy the schooling process. OTTB Connect is a popular group on Facebook with nice horses popping up on a regular basis. Many with hunting or eventing experience.

[tucktaway]

Try http://akindalehorserescue.org/horses-for-adoption/.
These are well evaluated and honestly represented. Heather has also hunted a ton of green horses and would have a good sense of suitablity.
Good luck with your search!

[CVPeg]

Guess I’m a bit concerned about getting attached, and then the horse not being right. My guy may/may not be, but it’s taken a lonnng time to get to the bottom of his behavior/issues. Which weren’t really that bad, but as I said above, the trainer has made all the difference in the world. He is just now learning to carry himself in a balanced fashion.

He retired in good shape - last race in a starter allowance for $50k claimers, where he finished 4th in a mass finish less than a length from the leader at Belmont. Final earnings over $150k. He still wanted to run, but was starting to get a bit worn, and the trainer didn’t want him to be pushed into the lower claimers. He had been tried a time or two over fences in VA in the winters between racing seasons, but was a handful, and they weren’t interested in him, so I’d think they had reasons he might not be suitable as well, or may have shown interest in him as a hunter prospect. I just grabbed him up to keep him from going ‘who knows where’, then a friend offered to take him on. Too much of a handful, or thought to be too injured, at his first home post track - bucking, head strong, etc. Many “trainers” threw up their arms, or pooh-poohed him when I asked for help as I continued to ride conservatively. Tried him last fall in an eventing clinic, before he really knew how to carry himself, and he was a little taken aback at small fences. Would trot them, but not canter them. Trainer now and I are working on his balance/collection and he’s come a long, long way.

He does have kissing spine, is fine/rideable with a well fitted saddle. I’ve had feet issues with him in my mix of farriers - not an issue now with a superb one. Has slight arthritis in one ankle, and even if I looked into KS surgery further, do it on a horse not really started over fences? He is lovely though, and a great horse to be around. But am afraid he’s a bit of a hot house flower. Also, as a turf sprinter, I think if he got loose in the field, we’d be off - maybe a short distance! But think he’d wanna be first… :o I just don’t know if I can swing another year or two of testing. He is 10 now, 16.3, nice girth, but fine boned. So I’ve told them to put him up for sale. Will give me a breather if he does sell as a dressage prospect, and then maybe I can find a good hunt prospect down the road.

This was a case of doing what I could for a horse I cared for. And I wasn’t up on the changes in showing/horse owning over the years. But if I’m going to stay with the horses, think hunting the way to go.

Thanks for the ideas and your experiences. Keep them coming!

[GreyDes]

Have you reached out to the hunt club yet? They may know what’s potentially for sale/lease that’s already hunted. Or, who gets prospects and works them before putting them on the market.