This is probably going to come off sounding defensive, and it probably is a little…but that “happy medium” horse (responsive, willing, safe, and able to look out for a rider, both on trail and in the arena) is abundant in the Morgan breed. The individual horse discussed in this thread may not fit that description right now, but I would hate for someone to be turned off to Morgans as a breed and walk away thinking that they aren’t appropriate for riders who want to do a little bit of everything and feel safe doing it.
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Step back and take a break here. Middle age sucks in many ways, physical changes, relationship changes, health, financial challenges. Even worse are unexpected, involuntary lifestyle changes-aging parent expenses, divorce, job loss, house burns down, floods, blows away. Great fun.
Whatever you are going through OP, don’t kick or blame yourself for any of this crap. Sometimes our plate gets too full and we just cannot deal with everything. Back off with yourself and lighten your load.
Far as Lola, maybe you put a bit too much expectation of what she would be like to ride into it? Maybe underestimated the work she would need to get where she needs to be for you? If so I’m guessing most of us have bought horses that needed more work, time, money and maybe skill set, then we could give them. BTDT.
There are several other threads now touching on riders if a certain age buying the type horses they loved at age 16, could work with at age 25 but now not so much. In one of them, I brought up the old saying that “you needed a sensible small car but you bought a Ferrari”. Points out the choice between learning to drive the Ferrari or trade it in on a sensible car.
Maybe thats where OP is…choices need to be made. No idea which is right for her. Do think theres no need to rush and this is a good opportunity to lighten the load a bit, spend a little more time with yourself, less time with Lola and get whatever else is troubling you under control. Stop blaming yourself and move forward.
Gotta tell you, this time of year, seasonal light disorder is a very real thing, gets many people down in the dumps and overwhemed. Look into it.
Also, still think warmer weather is going to at least smooth things over, many don’t do much with their horses. Between the cold, the wind, the mud, the endless dull grey days and lets not forget mares and them starting their cycles? Horse work can be miserable. Thats why Florida was invented.
Hangin there, we are here to support you.
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Oh I agree. Not dissing Morgans at all. I grew up with Morgans and they are wonderful and my favorite breed. I was just thinking it would widen the range of horses quietann could choose from.
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Make sense, and didn’t mean to put words in your mouth! I unfortunately often hear people advising that Morgans are nuts and too hot to go out on trail, etc. I just love the breed and don’t want people to be turned off.
(Sorry for the tangent!)
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My guess with this particular Morgan is that if she gets trail ridden a lot, with someone a bit calmer than myself, maybe she’ll be a great little trail pony in a few years. But that’s not what I want or need. I also think she’d do great as an arena horse, dressage or something else.
I mean, at least I was smart enough to go straight into training with her.
I do like Morgans the best. I’m getting the feeling that I would have to travel out of New England to find what I’m looking for.
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I love Morgans, too, but there seems to be a lot of folks in our neck of the woods that are buying Icelandics right now. I know of a couple of lifelong riders of a certain age who have just bought Icelandics for trail riding. (SFF writer Elizabeth Bear has two.) I confess to knowing little about them, but if casual trail riding is your thing, that might also be something to look into some day.
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I have friends who have Iceys and love them, and have ridden one a couple of times, but they find that they are hard to manage with southern New England heat/humidity and bugs. And like many breeds, they have a more “modern” type that is bred for speed and can be quite hot, temperament wise. But I am not dismissing them.
(There are gaited Morgans, too, but they are pretty rare. The gait gene has been in the breed all along, but with the focus on trotting horses, was considered undesirable. They mostly come from Western lines. I know of one or two for sale that I might try if I was buying, but I’m not, so…)
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well…then that’s your choice. But with the lighter horse comes all the stuff you first must go through to get-there. Maybe they are good with previous person, but you are different, so you need to go through all their hoops with them. Personally, i don’t like a horse that has already been trained. I want my imprint on them from the start. For me, it eliminates all that breaking down the old and introducing the new.
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I had a Paso Fino when I lived in South America, and Mabel Owens, a prominent Morgan person in MA, told me that Paso Finos were related to Morgans. Paso Finos are gaited, and they look very hot, but I think that it is mostly a matter of training. Mine wasn’t, but she may have been non-typical.
That is one thing – I am in no way qualified to work with untrained or young horses. Tried it once, it was not good. Filly in question went back to her breeder and was trained and sold on, and now does Western Dressage.
After this though… I don’t want a Morgan that has been trained by a show barn.
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Even a non-show barn horse that’s not been out on the trail confidently is a gamble. Trail riding is one of the most difficult and nuanced “disciplines” to teach a horse - there’s so much that goes into making a safe trail partner. Some horses are naturals, others will never be comfortable outside of a ring and paddock.
I really hope you get back out there, with Lola or something else. What’s good is it sounds like you and your trainer put some decent miles on Lola before she got hurt - she has gained some skills and maybe been able to decompress from the high pressure show horse life a bit. That’s good for any horse - whether you keep her or not.
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Oh I agree – I would specifically be looking for one with a lot of trail experience. Lola had some but I think it was all group rides. She is a very, very social little thing. After she got hurt, I briefly moved her to a smaller and flatter 24/7 turnout that had no over the fence neighbors and she was miserable and angry. She is back to having neighbors now and I’m hoping that she will still recover well with the less flat and slightly larger area.
Unfortunately, there are zillions of me’s (older riders who mostly do trail riding) looking for that exact Morgan. Many many ads from us needing to sell a Morgan that is hotter and/or less experienced in order to be able to get an experienced one.
For what it’s worth, the biggest FB proponent of Morgans I know, initials DE, the horse he sang the virtues of non stop (Roxy) had a shy so violent and pervasive he rode her with one hand grabbing the breastplate at all times.
The ones he’s got now he admits are pretty hot.
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Snicker. I kind of knew they weren’t that quiet. But his grandkid has been riding Roxy?
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If you find an older show horse, you would probably be fine. They have seen it all.
Honestly you describe a standardbred more than any other breed, if you can’t find a Morgan they might be an alternative.
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She was reasonable in an arena. Out on the trails was where the random shying lived.
Time, lots of miles (aka, wet saddle pads) and a very, very experienced rider to bring her along. Those 3 things sort out a lot of issues.
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No, this horse had had hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of miles on her at this point. Maybe thousands. He admitted her shying on the trail was never going to go away. He just never wanted to brag about that little factoid on facebook.
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Exactly. I am the smurfiest ot smurfs; I happen to be able to stick a spook but I sure do not like doing it! I get too emotional about it.
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Nobody has said this is not the tried and true cure with most horses and many younger riders with lots of time on warm sunny days.
The question here is does an older Adult with other things in their life have the time, money, good enough health, skill set, reflexes patience and nerve to do it when they were looking for something relatively easy. Not to mention miserable weather.
Once we stop bouncing and/or have to miss work if we get hurt? Many of us need a different horse and just no longer enjoy or have the time for long term green projects. We also realize what a money suck it its when its not fun and we are more familiar with fear then back when. Even very experienced riders and Pros run into this. Just can’t do it anymore.
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