@walkinthewalk I will keep an eye on that
The barn I am boarding her at is offering me pasture board that is cheaper. It includes grain, run in and hay. Do you think she would be okay or would she need a thicker coat? I have never been at a barn where they did pasture board so I am not really sure how horses do with it
One of my favorite horses was a TWH failed show horse, whom I trail rode all over everywhere. I was a teenager and knew nothing. He was incredibly kind, very fast and tireless in his gait, had a beautiful rocking-chair canter, and took great care of me. I’m excited for you, starting out on what promises to be a great adventure with your new horse.
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If the picture you posted is within the last few weeks, she doesn’t have much of a coat for the Albany, NY area.
Does she have to share the run-in with other horses? If so and she turns out to be low in the pecking order, she may not be able to get into the run-in when she wants to.
I am not one for blanketing but she doesn’t appear to have enough hair for the blustery freezing rain/wind that area can get, especially if she is kept out of the run-in by other horses.
I might invest in a medium weight waterproof turnout (with shoulder pleats) and hopefully the barn owner would be willing to to take it on/off if you can’t get there???out
Even though her coat is shiny, because you folks have been feeding her up:) her mane tells me she probably did live outside 24/7 at the Amish farm. Her mane is horribly bleached, not only from over exposure to the weather but her pasture and roundbale were probably deficient in copper and zinc.
I hope the boarding barn will be as willing to help you as the current place you have her:)
I am not sold on the pasture board yet. Im just weighing the options, Ill do the best for her. The place she is staying at right now says she wont need blanketing but I think in upstate she probably will, it gets windy and cold. In the pasture board option there will be 2-4 other horses with her depending on what she fits in with best. It includes grain, hay and care. This year might be too late for helping her grow her coat out, I have been looking at blankets and will buy one for her once I can measure her.
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Hey guys, we got her home late last night. The ride was exhausting, went down some narrow bumpy roads in mid state new york. We met her at the Delaware Race Track. She seemed to do okay, was nervous with the surroundings but kept calm and collected. Shes a little head shy and shy in general. This morning I was petting her, she was tolerating it but is very cautious. We will have to state with ground work, the lady said that when riding she was only taught how to go fast.
She does have a sore spot by her withers, I was told there was a saddle sore there but theres nothing visible.
I will get pictures later
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She was likely a buggy horse while living with the Amish, which is why she only knows high gear.
While there are some Amish who treat their buggy horses with great respect, Amish in general are not kind to their buggy horses and some abuse them. They treat their work horses like gold, but the buggy horses are “junk” in most cases.
That would be a huge reason for her being shy & head shy, plus she has been moved yet again. At this moment in time, she only understands to put up a shield and prepare for being hurt again.
If she happens to really fight the bit, when you put one in her mouth, check her mouth closely for wounds and check her tongue in the back. A good friend of mine and her husband bought a pair of TWH half brothers. The Seller was a good man but the Amish trainer he sent those horses to, should have been strung up.
One horse came back from the “trainer” blind in one eye and my friend discovered the other horse had nearly had its tongue severed, no doubt with a severe bit no horse should have had in its mouth. “Nearly severed” is not an exaggeration. This horse was not happy bitless. I want to say it was the Myler bit company who graciously helped her find a bit that would work for this horse, but I can’t remember. She has very light hands and the horse has always done well in the bit.
Meaning, as I commented earlier, start at ground zero with her and don’t rush her. Especially since it sounds more and more like she had the misfortune to land with Amish who do not value their buggy horses.
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Shes overall is a good horse, when I have her caught she is gentle and kind. In her stall she does well with standing to let me groom her. When we picked her up the lady’s kid was running around her and there were trains going by in the distance and she handled it really well. Im excited for this little project. She does not understand treats, took her a little while to eat an apple I offered her. I think it will work out well, just going to take some time.
I do understand what you are saying about the buggy horses, Its unfortunate. Around my school in Upstate New york there is an amish population. Those buggy horses are sad looking at times. I dont understand why they wouldnt take better care of their transportation animals, but then again I beat on my daily jeep.
I am going to keep her in her stall until she gets better at letting me catch her. Shes beautiful when shes running… away from me. I was watching her in her paddock she seems to be step pacing and pacing.
She was brought to the Eyler’s auction by a horse dealer, I guess she has been through a couple of different auctions. I was told her mane being shaved like it is is due to her going through New Holland. It is a popular amish and horse slaughter auction.
I have some work to do this winter until I bring her to the boarding barn.
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Mercy, she has been through some bad auction houses and has managed to survive:).
You should keep a journal of your progress:)
You are busy but hopefully a few pictures will be coming soon:)
Congrats on your new horse! It’s interesting figuring out a new horse; mine have always had surprises. 
Do you have any videos of her gaiting?
[IMG2=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“full”,“height”:“283”,“width”:“323”,“src”:“https://scontent-bos3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s600x600/123273832_1635932603273323_6295859770222717520_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&ccb=2&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=35T28dSUqhEAX_TqTLo&_nc_ht=scontent-bos3-1.xx&tp=7&oh=9057f52243bbb04a24c1b7ce26968200&oe=5FC5CEC5”}[/IMG2]smaller than i expected but shes cute sized.
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Oh she is lovely!
Sadie is really pretty!
I noticed when I enlarged the foto that, for all of the abuse and H she has been thru, she still has a kind eye and face full of hope.
She looks to be about 14.3H? My heart TWH was 14.3H and the perfect size for trail riding - easy to get on and off, and I didn’t get smacked with tree branches near as often as on my taller horses:)
Somehow she has landed with you for a reason - I hope she can be your forever companion:)
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Please don’t tar an entire community with the same brush.
Amish are like English - some treat their transportation with care, some (guilty :o) not so much.
I am frequently in the nearby Shipshewana/Napanee area & find all sorts.
A friend & I joke we need our Overcheck Shears as we drive by some buggies.
While I understand this is a sort of “Emergency Brake” it doesn’t help the horse trotting 20mi RT to town & back.
But we also see a lot of horses standing tied blanketed in chilly weather or with rainsheets if it’s raining (lightly).
OTOH:
We once passed a very smart-looking team of what appeared to be Morgans - unusual in itself, both for the breed & seeing a pair to a buggy - trotting along smartly…
Then saw the husband running alongside the team while Mrs tried to slow them :eek:
Overcheck needed there for sure!
@GaitedSadie I have owned 3 TWH & found them all to be very personable People-Loving horses.
And SMART!
Give your pretty girl some time to settle & I bet she will come around to be a real Good Girl. 
#1 was DH’s - registered Racking as he could not be blood-typed back 4 generations - turned out to be a brave Eventer.
My 2nd TWH - Stage Left in my avatar - was registered TWHBEA stallion (recently gelded when I got him) had 6 owners before me & was just 10yo!
He turned out to be my Trail SteadyEddie & we played with Gaited Dressage as well. He was hardwired to gait, never trotted, even in pasture.
#3 is with me now - used for 6yrs only for trails/horsecamping, now trotting (won our Training Dressage test 2yrs ago) & working on canter.
I have seen both good and bad - unfortunately more bad than good.
I was raised in close proximity to them, so I am quite familiar with how some of them operate. Like the sect who had a large outbreak of strangles less than 25 miles from where I boarded my horse and refused to call any vets. Just let the horses die and buried them to hide them.
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I would proactively treat her for ulcers. It’s part of my new horse protocol, that and a good deworming and teeth.
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Typical of amish horses that go through the kill-buyer auctions – they don’t understand treats since the amish apparently don’t believe in giving treats. Also, it’s not unusual for those horses to be head-shy as well. 
But I’m sure you can help her learn what treats are pretty quickly! :yes:
Liz Graves does wonderful seminars, and I agree the Lee Zeigler book Easy Gaited Horses is excellent.
She doesnt seem to have any scars, shes at a decent weight. Wouldnt mind a few more pounds on her but overall healthy. Respectful of the halter and easy to lead. I might give her amish owners a little more credit because she does seem to have basic manners and handled okay. Does well with others. But really all we can do is speculate. Would be a fun childrens chapter books.
And good bonding things I can do with her. Ive been spending time hand walking her and grooming her and sitting outside her stall talking to her. Anything else?
Our farrier will be over soon, to my untrained eye her hooves look good. I picked them up today and was examining them.
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It sounds as if she landed at one of the more fair Amish residences:)
I talk to my horses all the time:). Spending time like you are will help Sadie know you are her human.
I can’t ride anymore, so I do some liberty things with mine. Not like jaw dropping fun stuff you see the Arabians do but things that are useful. The ornerier one is surprisingly much better at “whoa” when I am behind him, than the big baby who always waits for me to point which direction I want him to leave his stall in the morning:)
Whatever I do with them, I try to set them up for success each time and reward each phase of the learning process.
All of my horses throughout my life have understood, “whoa, I’m comin’ to ya”. That phrase has come in handy in a crisis, more than once, to calm a horse and let them know I’m on my way to help them out of whatever tangle they got themselves into.
I also use that phrase every day, when I walk with one of my horses to the paddock gate. If he is ahead of me and stopped, I get to the side of him so he can see me and say “comin’ to ya”, so he knows it’s not the boogie man teleporting itself from up on the high ridge, 1,200 feet away, lollol
I will be anxious to hear what the farrier says. It could be the camera angle but her fronts look pretty high. If her heels are high, stress to the farrier not to take too much off in one strike as that could strain or damage the tendons. I had that happen when my horse foundered and the lameness vet was livid with the AFA farrier he gave trimming instructions to.
Frequent trims would be better- 4-5 week intervals, depending how fast she grows hoof. One of my TWH’s has always grown enough hoof in five weeks to loan to the other one who could go 6 weeks before a trim and he still wouldn’t have a lot to take the nippers to.
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That would be cool to teach her. Ill try it.
Youre right they do look high, I can see if I can get a better picture of them tomorrow.
This is a pretty good veterinarian’s website as far as explaining that in layman’s terms.
https://www.r-vets.org/Foot-Basics.html
Cursor down to where the hoof diagrams are. The explanations of what a healthy hoof should look like are there. Note that it says the tip of the frog should extend 2/3rds the length of the hoof toward the toe. If it extends further, the toes are stretched and will need brought back over time, not all at once or the horse will end up horribly lame for quite awhile.
There is a lot of helpful hoof information in that section. Hopefully you have time to read or scan over it before the farrier visit tomorrow:)
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