"Just a Trail Horse" (Buying help? :( )

[kkmrad94]

I am looking to buy two trail horses, one for my mom and one for myself. I am currently selling my other horse because he was bucking without warning and I am not a good enough rider to correct that

I do want a horse that has a little energy but also has the brains to go with. I live in Michigan I am not sure how to find an english trained trail horse. I’ve looked at Quarter Horses but most of them are trained western and drop their heads low enough to push peanuts. I am not looking to compete in crazy distances or do the Tevis Cup but I would like a horse that I don’t need constant leg pressure with.

Ideally looking for a horse that has mileage and experience that is “husband safe”, then one that can have a little more go but no buck rear bite or kick…

How did everyone find their trail horse? A lot of people think any horse can be a trail horse and that isn’t true in my opinion. I’ve already had bad buying luck with 2/2 horses… any advice that helped you guys in the buying process? Does anyone have horse buying contacts in Michigan for honest sellers?

Thanks for any advice or pointers… my mom and I are feeling kind of jaded with the whole buying process and people who aren’t truthfully selling their horse…

[californianinkansas]

Why was your horse bucking? Bucking is usually (not always) a sign of pain and/or poor saddle fit. Does your saddle fit your horse correctly? Does your horse like his bit?

Has your equine vetrinarian, and your equine dentist, and your farrier each ruled out any physical causes for the bucking episodes? Has your equine vet ruled out ulcers and/or kissing spines?

What are you feeding your horse? Does he have a mineral block?

How much turnout is he getting?

What did your riding instructor or trainer have to say about the cause of the bucking?

Does this horse buck when someone else rides him?

My gelding Will. Let. You. Know. if his saddle or bit does not fit exactly right, and I can’t say that I blame him.

Best of luck to you!
~Amber

[SmartAlex]

Have you considered adopting? If so, and if you are open to an ex-Amish Saddlebred, I can recommend http://www.saddlebredrescue.com/
They fully evaluate all their horses and are 110% honest. Don’t be put off by the fact that they are located in NJ. They may know of one of their existing horses near you that may need a transfer for one reason or another.

[PoohLP]

It is very common for people with jumpers who cannot jump anymore but are sound for other purposes to advertise horses for “Dressage or Trail homes.” Many of these horses are extensively trained and very reasonably priced. I’d look for one of these.

Obviously, if you see a horse advertised like this, you want to know what the problem is and make sure you PPE to ensure the horse will be sound for your purposes. But there are many things that make a horse not suitable for jumping (could be physical, lack of confidence over fences, sloppy jumper, etc.) that leave them perfectly sound for riding that doesn’t involve jumping over big sticks!

Also, you need to know what kind of program the horse is coming from. If you find a horse that is quiet as can be when he is ridden 5 times a week, that same horse might be a monster if only ridden once a week. Other horses are perfectly sane with once or twice a week rides. If you aren’t planning to ride every day, you need to make sure you get the latter.

[Cherry]

I am going to suggest you look at the Standardbred horses at New Vocations! They are a great group to work with and I don’t think they will steer you wrong. They have several horses up for “adoption” in Michigan. If they don’t have one you like their turnover is pretty quick and they have new horses coming in all the time.

Some of these horses will trot only, but most will do some form of pace as a middle gait (instead of the trot, or along with a trot) that is pleasureable and easy to sit.

Just Google: Stamdardbreds in Michigan. When I did that New Vocations popped up immediately.

Best of luck in your horse endeavors. You just have to learn who you can trust-- there are con artists everywhere unfortunately…

[kkmrad94]

[QUOTE=californianinkansas;7668829]
Why was your horse bucking? Bucking is usually (not always) a sign of pain and/or poor saddle fit. Does your saddle fit your horse correctly? Does your horse like his bit?

Has your equine vetrinarian, and your equine dentist, and your farrier each ruled out any physical causes for the bucking episodes? Has your equine vet ruled out ulcers and/or kissing spines?

What are you feeding your horse? Does he have a mineral block?

How much turnout is he getting?

What did your riding instructor or trainer have to say about the cause of the bucking?

Does this horse buck when someone else rides him?

My gelding Will. Let. You. Know. if his saddle or bit does not fit exactly right, and I can’t say that I blame him.

Best of luck to you!
~Amber[/QUOTE]

He has no health issues and only bucked when I was on him (twice). Both instances I was unable to get back on him after. As soon as I was off him he stopped bucking.

He bucks because he doesn’t want to do the work. The only times he bucked with me was when I was asking for the canter on a hot day and he was done working. The lady who is working with me to sell him tried to get him over a tarp and he didn’t try to buck / rear until she started pushing him. Trainer said the bucking was because I was inexperienced and I made him work. So I couldn’t stick on him and correct him. :\

[Marla_100]

I would strongly urge you and your Mom to enlist the help of a qualified trainer to assist in finding you each a horse. It’s very easy to buy a horse but if your inexperience chooses the wrong horse, then it may be hard to sell that horse. Find a good trainer first and tell them what you’re looking for and let them search for those horses that would suit you.

Great trail horses are made (trained) not born. And even the best of horses can quickly pick up on a rider’s weaknesses or fears or lack of experience and take advantage of you. The fact that you never really uncovered the real reason your horse was bucking with you tells me you’re not ready to be riding on your own without a trainer and many good lessons. You could go through many horses that eventually start resisting by bucking, rearing or not moving forward if an inexperienced rider is jerking on their mouth, or the saddle doesn’t fit, or the bit hurts their unfloated mouth, or you’re riding too long in the heat on an unfit horse, and on and on.

There is no perfect horse out there, but with skillful training and good care, and a tactful, sensitive rider can perform perfectly for your needs.

Please find that local trainer/instructor to help you and your Mom.

[kkmrad94]

[QUOTE=Marla 100;7669104]
I would strongly urge you and your Mom to enlist the help of a qualified trainer to assist in finding you each a horse. It’s very easy to buy a horse but if your inexperience chooses the wrong horse, then it may be hard to sell that horse. Find a good trainer first and tell them what you’re looking for and let them search for those horses that would suit you.

Great trail horses are made (trained) not born. And even the best of horses can quickly pick up on a rider’s weaknesses or fears or lack of experience and take advantage of you. The fact that you never really uncovered the real reason your horse was bucking with you tells me you’re not ready to be riding on your own without a trainer and many good lessons. You could go through many horses that eventually start resisting by bucking, rearing or not moving forward if an inexperienced rider is jerking on their mouth, or the saddle doesn’t fit, or the bit hurts their unfloated mouth, or you’re riding too long in the heat on an unfit horse, and on and on.

There is no perfect horse out there, but with skillful training and good care, and a tactful, sensitive rider can perform perfectly for your needs.

Please find that local trainer/instructor to help you and your Mom.[/QUOTE]

My previous horse was broke out when he was 10 and he is 11 this year. He has had about 7 months of training on him and I have been working the last three with a trainer. I got bucked off while I was taking a lesson and the trainer said when I asked for the canter he just took a large step forward then kicked me off.

His teeth have been checked. His tack was checked. I ride with a snaffle and I only had light contact with his mouth. He was being ridden by a trainer 5 days a week and was in good shape.

Sadly I am not going to change my mind on him and keep working on him, after a year and a half later I am not a good enough rider to correct his bad behavior.

I have also had a lot of bad trainer luck so I am not too comfortable with any of my previous trainers trying to sell me a horse for various different reasons.

[morgan01]

Don’t know what to tell you because I’ve been in the same boat! “trainers” in my area just SUCK!! So I don’t trust them and they are a waste of money.
I went thru 3 horses that I bought from people who were selling and they lied about them. I test drove them but that doesn’t give you the whole picture. My current horse… I bought from someone I know and I still see her and ride with her on occassion. He has his own issues that were trained into him by her. I have dealt with most of them but he still bucks on random rides. The last time he unloaded me but I know why. He was going into a dip in the trail, he was on his forehand and off balance and boom - he bucked and took me totally off guard and off I went. I’m finding out that he doesn’t use his body the way he should especially going down hills. So, back to walking on hills and getting him to gather himself up. I lost some confidence when he bucked me off!! I broke my helmet and ended up with a huge painful hemotoma bruise on the inside of my arm. I got back on and finished my ride to get back to the trailer but do I trust him now?? NO. I’ll play it ride by ride and see where we are at. He’s no spring chicken - he’s 16 years old.
The best horses I have had were ones that we got as youngsters. Had someone put 60 days or so on them and then wet saddle blankets. I don’t know how to explain it but they didn’t have the baggage that comes with previous owners. Maybe it was because I was much younger back then I don’t know. One died of old age, one died from a heart defect and the other one I WISH I had kept!!! She went to a friend of mine who wanted to breed her and use her as a trail horse (not endurance like I was doing at the time). She still has the horse - she’s about 20 years old now — the horse. I tried to get her back but my friend loves her and won’t let her go.
You might want to check thru endurance.net. There are people who have some really nice horses that just didn’t make it for endurance horses - not competitive enough. Most of them are going to be Arabians tho. Don’t know how you feel about the breed. There are some really nice stable ones and ones that are spooky. My husband’s Arab… she’s about as solid as they come but she CAN SPOOK!!! One reason i won’t ride her. She can do a 180!
But she goes down the trail like a trooper. And never argues about anything.
The Rushcreek Arabians were really nice horses as they were bred for ranch work. The ranch dispersed all their stock and now you can only find them thru private people who may have one.

[GotMyPony]

Since you don’t trust the trainers in your area, you might ask your farrier and vet (assuming you trust them) if they know of any horses that meet your parameters. They might know of people who are aging out of horses completely, wanting to move up to a more advanced horse, kids going off to college w/o horse, or just have life situations that are moving them out of horses. If they don’t know of any right now, ask them to keep an eye out for you. They could then be helping both you and the person selling.
Personally I wouldn’t worry about English trained vs. Western trained - in my experience a good horse can handle a change of tack - assuming everything fits well - as long as the rider is gentle and has the patience to teach the different cues.

[RHdobes563]

Here are some “trail safe” horses on craigslist in Michigan. If I were in the market, I would be checking out the Mo-Ab (Morab) and the Morgan mares.

I also got my Morgan gelding through craigslist. He had been a “camp horse”, he had been given to some people, and he was just a little too much for the little girl. He is extremely gentle, I threw an English saddle on him (he had never been trained to neck-rein), and voila! Trail horse!

http://muskegon.craigslist.org/grd/4564365954.html

http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/grd/4566972558.html

http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/grd/4566911256.html

[kkmrad94]

I have heard that Morabs can be really high strung? I just wonder what kind of rider they require and if they would do well not being rode every single day? I do like how responsive arabs are. But I’ve found out that I do not care for the way that Friesians act. I know every horse is different but there are some breeds that are more prone to certain characteristics.

Thanks for posting the ads though. They are really pretty horses, just wondering if some of them might be too much horse for me!

[BeckyS]

Do you mind narrowing down a bit where in Michigan you may be?

I’m on the west coast and I search through horse sale classifieds all the time. (Naturally, I can’t afford another horse, I just like to shop!) I’d be happy to send some your way if I find any.

What budget are you looking for? Do you have a friend who is a bit more experienced of a rider that would be willing to go with you to look at and test ride horses?

[betsyk]

Do you have riding friends? can you do some networking among the people you know, in case someone’s husband horse becomes available, daughter goes off to college, someone gets pregnant, etc. Someone else’s life event may turn out to be your ticket to a horse that knows his job and comes with references! I usually tell families that it takes 6 months-a year to find a good kids’ horse, and at least that long to pass one along after he’s been outgrown. It’s July, so the market will pick up in the fall when people realize they haven’t ridden much this summer and winter is coming, and/or the kids decide they are ready to move up to a new horse next year and need to sell the horse they have.

[kkmrad94]

I am in Midland MI and sadly I don’t have the money to ship a horse cross country. Budget is 2k and under, looking for a horse for sale in michigan. (Can’t have blue eyes though…)

I don’t have any riding friends to look for a horse for me. I am okay riding horses that are for sale and take my aunt and mom with me.

[kathy_s]

If you’re on facebook, there is a good page that offers Arabians and Half Arabians for sale under $500 or free. There are some nice horses that are well broke, the owners just can’t keep them or have outgrown the horse.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/354873762065/

[kkmrad94]

Thanks for the link! I’ll look through the page, hoping to find a horse within the state I live in.

[morgan01]

[QUOTE=kkmrad94;7670858]
I have heard that Morabs can be really high strung? I just wonder what kind of rider they require and if they would do well not being rode every single day? I do like how responsive arabs are. But I’ve found out that I do not care for the way that Friesians act. I know every horse is different but there are some breeds that are more prone to certain characteristics.

Thanks for posting the ads though. They are really pretty horses, just wondering if some of them might be too much horse for me![/QUOTE]

I have some friends who have morabs. And yeah, it depends on the horse. One of them is nice and quiet and the other one… he’s always crow hopping and needs an experienced rider. Has dumped his rider several times. Depends on the breeding. Do you have any friends (on line even) that can help you with pedigrees. I always say, “ahh. I don’t care about papers.” But… they can help so you sort of know what is in there and what tendencies they could have. Do keep in mind tho, if you’re getting an older horse, ALOT is taught by the human.If they have a really nice pedigree with sane horses in there, and they’ve had some good handling in their life, you are headed in a good direction. Good pedigree and bad handling - don’t even bother. Pedigree with alot of hotness, don’t bother. So, A lot of homework to do. I have a foundation Morgan with a nice pedigree and I can see it in his attitude and how pleasant he is to be around. He had a not so experienced handler so he came to me with baggage. But he’s learning fast that things can go better for him and that makes him a better horse to ride. If he had had a really good handler/rider his whole life - OMG… he’d be the most awesome horse ever!!

[morgan01]

And don’t settle. I’ve done that over the years and just experienced heartache, headaches and a bruised up body. It’s nice to get a horse near you because maybe you can ride him/her several times before buying. IF a person is truthful in their selling, they will allow that. IF they want a good forever home. If they say, “you can ride him once but you have to make up your mind after that.” RUN AWAY.

[Simbalism]

No help with where to go to buy horses, but just some advice for checking out horses. Ride them a couple of different times. I always ask to see the horse ridden first before I get on it. Ask the owner/rider to do some different things, like walking over poles, thru tight areas, over ditches, maybe along the road to see how the horse reacts to vehicles. Always ask to see the horse in different gaits and different directions.