Actually, now that I look at their adoption page, I know Jazz the TB is a laid back horse. 
[QUOTE=cloudy18;8664972]
Check out www.equineadoption.com. They are near Marshfield, WI. I adopted my mare from them, know them well, have camped with them. More horses come in as others get adopted and they have room. Check it out, and if you’re interested it’s absolutely necessary to get an application in and approved. That way if you see something you like you can call on it right away. A lot of people are like you and looking for the boring horse. :)[/QUOTE]
A friend of mine adopted from them and seems very happy with his horses. I’m sort of on the fence about the horse belonging to them for 5 years. At least they’re not too far away, but I have this fear that (particularly with me being open to an older horse) something would happen, I’d think that it would be kindest to euthanize, and that they’d disagree. Perhaps I’m being overly paranoid, and they’re very reasonable about such things, but it makes me nervous. Maybe talking to them about that sort of thing ahead of time would be helpful.
And I love TB’s, but they say that Jazz (like many of them) is more comfortable in shoes or boots, and I’d really like something that could stay barefoot.
[QUOTE=jetsmom;8664713]
Too bad that mule that was posted in a video here last year isn’t for sale still. Most amazing bombproof mule ever.[/QUOTE]
I’d love a mule! Longears goes in the “want” column instead of the “need” column, though. 
The five year thing kind of worried me at first, but it’s really nothing. If you had a major disagreement about euthanizing, the horse could go back to them. But yes, discuss this with them. I’m guessing they could ease your fears.
There should be new horses coming in since they just had a handful of adoptions. But you never know what’s coming in, so you have to keep an eye on the website.
Another discipline to maybe look into is a retired endurance horse. We found a lovely 16 year old Anglo Arab for my trainer’s 12 year old lesson student and he has been wonderful. His previous owner wanted to move up to the longer rides and he just wasn’t quite up to it. He’s a been there seen that kind of guy but is not a dead head. Knows his job but is still a really fun ride. Haven’t seen him get upset about anything and is just an all around good egg.
Good luck in your search!
[QUOTE=cloudy18;8665085]
The five year thing kind of worried me at first, but it’s really nothing. If you had a major disagreement about euthanizing, the horse could go back to them. But yes, discuss this with them. I’m guessing they could ease your fears.
There should be new horses coming in since they just had a handful of adoptions. But you never know what’s coming in, so you have to keep an eye on the website.[/QUOTE]
Yes, I think with any adoption organization I’d have to discuss those sorts of things ahead of time.
I’m a worrier, and I hate putting horses down, but I hate seeing them suffer even more. As long as we’re on the same page about those sorts of things, I think it could work, but I really can’t bear the thought of a horse I care about lingering in pain. Or even non-painful distress. I had a 30-year old Arab mare who had a stroke a few years back, and suddenly couldn’t control parts of her body. She was still upright, very confused, but not really upset, but I knew that if she went down and couldn’t get back up that she’d be extremely distressed, so I had the vet out to euthanize her right away, before she went down.
Honestly, even if there had been an adoption contract, I don’t think I could bear seeing her, or my last mare, suffering, so I probably would have euthanized them even if an adoption agency disagreed. But life would be easier for everyone if there was no conflict surrounding an already sad situation.
[QUOTE=barnchick277;8665098]
Another discipline to maybe look into is a retired endurance horse. We found a lovely 16 year old Anglo Arab for my trainer’s 12 year old lesson student and he has been wonderful. His previous owner wanted to move up to the longer rides and he just wasn’t quite up to it. He’s a been there seen that kind of guy but is not a dead head. Knows his job but is still a really fun ride. Haven’t seen him get upset about anything and is just an all around good egg.
Good luck in your search![/QUOTE]
Thanks! I’m very fond of Arabs, and have owned a few over the years. There are a couple of organizations for endurance and competitive trail in this area, so maybe I should check them out. I could even crew and get to know some of them, which is on my list of things that I’d like to do someday but never seem to find the time for.
Actually distance riding is something that I really wanted to do in the past, but my previous horses were not good candidates. The two that were fittest and had the most trail miles were even unsuitable. One was so herd bound that turning away from the group would make his pulse skyrocket, and another had HYPP, so I felt like the electrolyte situation would be kind of like playing Russian roulette with him. He’d need to replenish lost potassium, but too much and we’d risk an episode. So I never did it. And now I’m fat and out of shape, so I’d have to fix that before even thinking about it.
Oh, and the owner of the horse that I was going to look at called and told me she’s decided that she really likes him and has decided to keep him. Which strangely makes me feel pretty good. For all of us. They’re happy, and I’m over here like “Hooray for me, I called about a good one!” :lol:
[QUOTE=RodeoFTW;8663902]
If that’s what you’re looking for, you should see about getting an ex-Amish horse. They’d be perfect. I don’t know where you live, but there’s a lot of Morgan, STBD, and Saddlebred types at auctions who aren’t “pretty” from hard working years and are at risk for slaughter.
My instructor’s STBD was one of them.[/QUOTE]
Just be careful. Amish horses may be BTDT for Ams, but are often pretty ignorant of anything but road driving. Just like the English, the Ams will put a horse in a sale because it has significant holes, i.e. it’s a balker or will run away with you. IME, the old safe horses get passed on to kids or senior citizens, or just turned out in a field.
You may find a great horse, but be aware that it has very different training than the average non-Amish horse.
I really wish you were closer to me. I have a mare that is decidedly not boring, or ugly, but she is looking to step down to a flat only career doing lower level dressage and trail riding. She’s a been there done that type, but she is also sensitive and forward, so not for a beginner. I’ve done everything with her from chasing cows, galloping on the beach, cross country schooling, hunter shows, judged trail rides, kids pony rides etc. She’s awesome, and I was hoping to pursue my bronze medal in dressage with her, but I recently found out that she has arthritis in her hocks and she can’t do the collected work.
[QUOTE=red mares;8665215]
Just be careful. Amish horses may be BTDT for Ams, but are often pretty ignorant of anything but road driving. Just like the English, the Ams will put a horse in a sale because it has significant holes, i.e. it’s a balker or will run away with you. IME, the old safe horses get passed on to kids or senior citizens, or just turned out in a field.
You may find a great horse, but be aware that it has very different training than the average non-Amish horse.[/QUOTE]
This isn’t the case with what I’ve seen. STBD in particular don’t seem to get very upset or even concerned about stuff in their environment.
Plenty of Amish horses get dumped for the simple fact that they are old.
Just wanted to ditto the previous comments about ranch & endurance horses! I’ve spent time with both & they were both wonderfully solid, seen-everything-done-everything-would-do-it-again types.
(Also, I’d give you an internet high five for the EDS, but both of our arms might fall off, so… nevermind.)
BTW, Foxton Farm is doing a herd dispersal. Look on their facebook. They seem to have some pretty decent TB/draft cross types, some have been hunted etc. You might find something there but I don’t know how much they are hoping to get. It’s a pretty good drive but for the right bargain…
Those horses don’t even look boring, but there are several solid, very fun looking ones! several aren’t super fancy but look dependable. I have never even been there and don’t know the people so I am neither advertising nor can I speak as to the horses really, just saw it online.
I know you didn’t mention fox hunting at all, but there are a ton of foxhunter pages on Facebook and they have primarily safe, big horses that are meant for foxhunting/ broke to ride in a group, alone while whipping, having cars go by, or things jump out at them… You might get lucky and find one that needs to step down from that kind of life.
If that doesn’t work, and you want to limit the saga of shopping by looking at a bunch of horses in one place, I would check out Virginia Sport Horses. She (Liz) are not the “free to a good home” type of place, but she markets an easy going, all round kind of horse that most people find really enjoyable to work with. Feel free to send me a message if you want any information about my personal experiences with her. We have gotten almost 10 horses from her and have been very happy with them. She also has a regularly updated FB page you can peruse.
[QUOTE=Wayside;8664855]
Some of the most reliable horses I’ve owned and worked with were the ones that I got as youngsters, so I can totally see how that would work. I think I’ll pass on that, though, since I really don’t want to be starting horses here by myself. I like having someone else around just in case things go south.
And while I could board again (which is what I’ve done in the past when I was starting horses) for a while, or hire a trainer, I think what I really want is to be able to wander out my back door, hop up bareback, and go for a little walk. Not that I don’t want to tack up and go a farther and a little faster sometimes, too, but that I could have that option if I were so inclined.[/QUOTE]
I don’t blame you, and if I was looking again, I wouldn’t buy a yearling, no matter how cute he was! My barn is generally pretty empty (BM/BO doesn’t live on site), and it terrifies me sometimes that nobody is there if I fall. My boy’s pretty level headed, but it’s still not the same as when I ride my older guy.
I think I’ll be looking in the future, when I have my own place, for the exact same thing you’re looking for. I’ll probably look for a Morgan-x though, because I have a huge soft spot for them, and that’s what my old guy is (who’s the coolest horse I’ve ever owned!).
In thinking back on the shopping process involved in finding my “boring” “husband horse” mare, one thing that really helped me was to actually dramatically undersell my husband’s riding ability/comfort level when making phone calls or other inquiries about horses for sale. He’s really a pretty secure and confident rider for his level of experience, but I found that if I described him at all that way that people would point us in the direction of horses that were WAY too much for him (and in a few cases, horses I wouldn’t even want to get on myself even though I generally enjoy hot horses and have started a few young ones for myself).
So don’t be afraid to oversell the importance of the horse being quiet and sensible. I think people initially assumed we maybe were wanting something more athletic and such based on my initial conversations but once I started opening with “quiet is #1 the most important quality I am looking for/would you put your beginner child/friend/grandmother on this animal?” we had a lot more success!
In my experience, word of mouth is the best way to find a well-suited horse. I got my current horse that way before he was advertised and he is perfect for me! Let all your horsey contacts know what you are looking for, and somebody might know of one that would be a good fit within your budget.
Another happy Standie owner chiming in! Mine’s a retired pacer, and pretty close to bomb-proof on the trail. It’s a myth that they’re all jugheads, my girl is so gorgeous that people often come up and ask me about her. They’re handled so much, and have such great temperaments that they’re really trustworthy. She’s not boring though – if I feel like a good gallop and a few jumps in the field, she’s totally up for it.
colour by Leadfoot Lesley, on Flickr
I found an absolutely wonderful horse from word of mouth - for $500. He has served me well for years - I can jump on him any time - he doesn’t care if he lives alone or with other horses, he is great with children and dogs. The original owners had lost their job and needed to find him a great home - he was only seven at the time. Try putting the word out.
Beautiful mare, LesleyW!
