This is very good advice. Not sure why people think horses are easy, most need some kind of work, and regular behavioral reminders. They are not bicycles. OP should lease a horse at a barn with a trainer who can handle any issues that come up, or board a horse at a similar place.
Ć°Åøā¢ā Lol i donāt expect any horse to be perfect, why is it because i dont want to deal with a terrified horse that bucks and rears that i cannot get something more suitable?
Ive owned my other horse for 7 years without issue. Boarding isnt an option for me anymore.
Id love to take lessons on a horse i got on with but id have to buy that horse first. There is nowhere near me that offers leasing. Most people here keep horses at home
I suggested leasing or lessons because of your work schedule. You can find that horse. You just have to be way more diligent and look in a different age bracket. I am in your situation with regards to time, however I donāt mind working through it. Itās the horse I have. Part of me wishes I just leased. But at the time, like you there wasnāt much in my area.
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yes but thats not why the other person suggested it.
Keeping my horses at home is way easier for me than boarding anyways since i dont have to travel after work and cheaper especially considering one is retired. have no problem hauling to lessons, just not on this horse. Ive already learned my lesson with this purchase.
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Palm Beach is blunt and tends to have extreme views on horse training. I do agree with everything sheās posted except the part about you causing the issue. Be safe and good luck.
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Sorry if this was already asked: Have you approached her former owners to see if they can help you through the issues and/or take her back? ( I donāt mean for a full refund, as if they were telling the truth about her, then she isnāt the same horse they sold).
It is very unfortunate that the horse isnāt working out for you. I think trail riding is one of the hardest things to shop for.
(and now a story that might not be of any help: A long time ago the lesson barn I rode at changed hands and all their horses were sold. The absolute best lesson horse in the world ended up being sold to another barnā¦where he became an absolute mess of useless anxiety. Fortunately they were kind enough to sell him back to someone at his old barn, where he promptly returned to being his awesome self.)
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Coincidentally, there was just a poster on Dressage Horses for Your Consideration looking for pretty much your horse, OP. Sounded like the guy had a lot of experience, good nerves, but not a lot of cash. Not looking for anything truly dangerous. But some buck, rear, etc was ok.
There is a buyer(s) out there for this horse. Just be patient.
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Back in my teenage years, back when you had to dodge velociraptors on the outside line, this was me. Another studentās horse acted up and tried to kill them in a group lesson? The instructor would say, āhere, Wanderosa, switch horses.ā
I was half crazy to ride some of those horses. But I wish I still had some of that carefree attitude. 
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A parable.
I have 2 barn friends. One is a competent experienced rider. One is a beginner adult re-rider.
Experienced rider took a chance on a well bred horse of her preferred breed, who had flunked out of breed show training because he was considered difficult, ended up in a rural back yard where the new owners wanted to trail ride but were terrified of him.
She got a good deal. She in fact had the skills and sticky seat to work with him, and he is now going just fine. She ran into a breed school judge at an open schooling show who refused to believe the back story because āa horse like that is clearly high dollar and super well trained.ā
My beginner friend bought a seemingly sweet older greenish horse that had never given anyone any trouble. She paid very little. Within 3 or 4 months he was balking and bucking and rearing on the trails. We were able to identify things she was doing that made him unhappy, like grabbing on his face and losing her balance a bit. She also had trouble with him on the ground, though I donāt find him difficult. She perseveres a couple of years later.
Iāve also had the experience of inadvertently causing behavior problems in my horse then solving them.
So just because a horse defeats a particular rider, doesnāt mean there isnāt another rider out there who will do just fine.
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Back in the day, when barns could afford a large school horse string, we learned to ride those horses under instruction. Itās not like we went off half cocked.
This is so true, Scribbler! I am experiencing this right now. Iāve had my horse for 8 years now. The canter has always been slightly problematic for me, probably a result of riding several green horses and one exuberant bucker when I was a tween and teen. I donāt go it alone; my horse has been in training at various times, and I lesson regularly. Last year I wrenched my shoulder when he did a spin and tried to bolt out on the trail, and it bothered me all summer. Iāve become much more cautiousā¦read that tighter and more defensive. This spring, after an icy winter, he has been particularly naughty and reverted to some old bad habits in the canter. And I donāt help. Thus, back in training he went on April 1 because I couldnāt figure it out/fix it on my own.
ETA, OP, I totally understand your desire to have an uncomplicated horse. If I didnāt board with my friend/trainer, I would be in the same boat. I am a school teacher and mom with limited time to devote to riding. Even having access to the training I am frustrated, because to really fix my problem and thus my horseās problem, I need to ride more than I do. Best of luck to you in finding the right placement for your horse.
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Totally agree. But since itās the rider influencing the horse, changing the way the rider interacts with the horse is usually easier than finding a horse that is tolerant of the riders miscues or mistakes. But you only get that type of success when the rider accepts that he or she is ultimately responsible for what is going on with the horse. Some people would rather blame the horse and wash their hands or it.
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Is the other/older horse not suitable for trail riding?
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No, she is not sound.
Howās this:
Grade 10-year-old mare for sale. Extremely quick, beautiful mover, and would make a great barrel racing prospect with her athletic build. She has good ground manners and will lead, tie, trailer, hold feet for the farrier, etc. She is very sweet but I am selling her due to the fact that she is too much horse for me and my work schedule does not allow me the time she needs. Priced to sell at $1,000.
Of course, edit for anything I missed or misread in your posts. When someone calls you interested, then give them more details on what she has been doing under saddle and if they think they can tackle it. Be honest, of course, but you donāt need to spell out every detail in the ad. Save that for when you are talking to them on the phone. Honestly, from what you describe, I think most of her problems simply stem from serious holes in her training and (with time and lots of miles) she would probably be just fine if the right rider comes along.
I would also include her height in the ad, but I did not see that you said how tall she was? When Iām horse shopping, I like to know how tall they are.
Yes, you could also take her to an auction but be prepared to get slaughter prices for her.
I once re-sold a 3-year-old filly I bought at auction. The owners lied at auction. They said she had not yet been started under saddle (which is what I wanted) but turns out she had repeatedly bucked the trainer off and trainer was scared to ride her (got her previous owners to admit through email). She had the sweetest disposition on the ground and suburb ground manners, but quite literally panicked when I got in the saddle. She reared and flipped over on me (by some luck, I was not hurt), ran into the panels of the round pen, you name it. The poor thing was just terrified. I donāt know what that ātrainerā did to her. I tried for a couple months to get her figured out, but after getting bucked off repeatedly (and if I say so myself, Iām a pretty decent rider) and hurt a couple times, I said enough is enough. Fortunately I got her cheap, so I was able to sell her for the same amount, but FULL DISCLOSURE. We kept in contact for a little while and last I heard the galās son had her riding in the round pen without bucking so I do truly hope they got her figured out. Indeed, buyer beware whenever buying a horse!
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Me Too !!
Several years ago I bought a beautiful, underweight, seemingly quiet horse. He was sold as having no vices or bad habits. I did ride him before buying and he was quiet and calm. As he put on weight and condition I started having trouble with him. He was a bully on the ground and would literally run over me given half a chance. This is not a problem I had ever had before, as I have been around horses my whole life and generally know how to handle them without drama.
Then, one day while walking on a trail with another horse, my horse blew up. He exploded upward, all four feet way off the ground. An enormous buck and followed with a couple more for good measure. I stayed on, collected myself, and he walked off like nothing had happened. The only warning was one weird step before the blow up. Literally one odd feeling step. Scared the crap out of me, to tell the truth. I was able to figure out who his previous owner was (the one who sold him to my seller) and called to find out if they knew anything. Oh boy. Turns out the horse was a confirmed bucker, known to explode randomly, and that is why they sold him on. Probably why he was so skinny, too, as he didnāt have much energy to misbehave when I bought him. I learned lots of hard lessons here.
Anyway, I was 56 at the time. At that age I was totally uninterested in figuring out his issues. I wanted a horse I could trust and relax and enjoy. I called several local trainers and offered the horse for $1.00 with full disclosure of his issues. I found a taker and moved him on. Shortly after, I found my current gelding, who is beyond amazing and is everything I want in a horse. So, you may want to try to basically give him away to someone who will put more training on him and then re-sell him. I, of course, took a loss but I was more worried about my safety and enjoyment than the money loss. Just an idea for you.
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@Corgiequestrian would you be willing to post your sales add (even just the text) for critique?
I agree that youāre going to need time to find the right person. In the meantime Iād be doing groundwork with her every day so that she at least had super ground manners.
Silly question because I donāt ride western. When you say trail horse, what kind of trails are you all doing? Walking? Or more strenuous stuff? In my social group, a trail ride is a leisurely walk with maybe a canter up a hill. Hacks are similarly paced because itās essentially a rest day for the horses in heavy training. And someone is inevitably riding a pyscho young horse that needs a calm touch.
One of my stepsons enjoyed riding when he was a young teen. Took a few lessons, did a couple sessions of day camp every summer, but mostly just enjoyed being out on a horse on a beautiful day. Because he was only with us part of the time, we realistically got out 1x-2x every 2 weeks. We very rarely went faster than a walk. So, the horse search was limited to prospects that could hang in the pasture and still be constant and quiet the next ride - i.e. Mostly older horses. Maintenance expected and cheerfully offered. A trail outfit on the Potomac was selling an older QH for $500. The picture showed the horse plodding across Chain Bridge Road in McLean with a tourist in the saddle. This was literally the perfect horse for what we needed. Someone else got there faster or I wouldāve been there with trailer and cash in hand. Could you get away with something like that? Or just a lot less horse than the 2yo and this mare?
i generally like to trail ride walk/trot/canter and the type of trail and length of ride varies. Id like to haul to an arena here and there as well and gymkhanas. But i work shift work so i work 4-5 days in a riw then have 3-4 days off. I try to ride every day that i have off from spring to early winter.
I dont have a 2 year old anymore. bought the 2 year old as a fun project and rode him as a 3 year old but he was bored of doing stuff in the arena and i didnt have access to trails where he was boarded and neither of us were enjoying it. I also hate that boarding facility the pens were tiny and they pumped my horses full of grain so after a while they went a little loony. got frustrated so i sold him to a lady that mainly did trails. He was the most chill guy ever he loved trail riding and she ended up flipping him for more than twice what i sold him to her for. i honestly wish i didnt sell him. He liked people more than horses and had zero herd bound issues and was unflappable. Born broke type. I really miss him.
I dont exactly think the ad is the issue as ive had a ton of interest in but as soon as they hear about her issues they arent interested. I did list her good qualities and mention that shes been out of consistent work needs a job and needs a confident, experianced rider to get her going properly and to message me for more further details.
I had 3 people offer full price for her but one was a no show, one ive been chatting with for a few weeks about her but they havent made solid plans to come see her yet, and the last had trailer issues and wanted me to haul to them but it was too far for me to go on my own. (Still pretty new to hauling.) i did drop the price as well recently as well. I just dont know how to get her ad out to the right people. Anyone else ive talked to looking for a project says she is too much horse for them.
