The problem is that my horse hates jumping. That is the problem. At first, I considered it was my riding. I tried giving more release, getting off his back more, different bits, different saddles… But he’s been displaying this same attitude about jumping since before I had him, which is why I asked for advice. A lot of people told me he could be in pain so I’m getting a vet to check him out. I honestly don’t know what my trainer is going to do about my horse not liking jumping haha… she doesn’t force me to jump him.
I just don’t understand why I would lie about this… very confused right now. If you want, his registered name is ______ (renamed to Star), he’s an APHA registered horse, but I don’t think that helps. If you look him up you’ll find his ad… you’re correct that I’m young. This is the first time I’ve asked a question on this forum, I wasn’t sure what was important and what wasn’t. Honestly I was expecting answers like “he doesn’t like jumping, he’s better off in another discipline.” Which is ok. But that’s why I didn’t give as much background as maybe I should have. I’ve tried to answer everyone’s questions as honestly as possible… I hope you know that I took everyone’s advice seriously and I really appreciated all of it.
OP we are suggesting a new trainer because your current one encouraged you to get a horse that is completely unsuitable for your goals. We don’t think your lying, we think you and your trainer are novices at best.
You got the answers you were were expecting and then some. That’s what happens here. Don’t get huffy over it. The worst thing you can do on this forum is be less than honest.
His ad has so many things wrong. Red flags everywhere.
Could you point them out to me please? He’s my first horse and I know I’ve made some mistakes probably. Just wanna make sure I learn what to look out for.
To save people having to find his ad, I think it is this one:
Athletic, Champion, Dressage, Flashy, Jumping, Money Winner, Show Experience, Show Jumping, Show Winner, Showmanship, Trail Riding, Youth
For your consideration is Star. This well built boy is a proven dressage champion. With only four losses ever recorded he has already climbed his way up the ladder of success and is looking for a new partner to continue his career with. Star holds his forever pony card and has been shown in amateur dressage and jumping. This amazingly talented horse is gentle enough to be handled by a child/teenager with horse experience and his size and athleticism make him a perfect forever show partner as his rider grows in size and skill level. This handsome boy is current on teeth, feet and coggins. Please feel free to contact xxx @ (205)xxxx / our email address or xxx @ (850)xxxxx / our email address
It is that one, the ad was made and posted by the owner of the barn he was boarded at, not by the person who owned and rode him. I actually didn’t get to speak to her before I bought him, which I know now was a red flag, but I wasn’t aware that he had another owner until I actually went there. Later on I contacted her and she was very nice about answering my questions.
also I ask that you please edit out the phone number. I did not realize that was on the ad and now I feel bad.
OP, did you have any additional information on this horse besides what is in the sale ad? For example, did you look up his show record? Did the people who sold him to you actually own and show him, or were they just a sale barn?
Some of the language in the ad is, indeed, strange. For example “only four losses ever recorded” is more like horse racing language–not something that would be said about a dressage horse.
What did the owner tell you when you talked to her?
Not to mention that he is listed at 15:1 thus should not have a “forever pony card.” (Maybe not impossible but certainly improbable.)
Well they say nothing specific about show records other than he’s a champion. Losses are not really a thing in Dressage. Placing second or lower isn’t a “loss.” There is no such thing as a forever pony card and 15.1hh horses certainly do not get a pony card since that’s NOT a pony.
He is a cute horse and if you were shopping for a trail horse or low level Dressage horse I would see nothing wrong with him. Purchasing him as a jumper is where I have an issue. The sellers are clearly ignorant and your trainer, no matter how good, did you no favors with this one.
Not really. I looked him up on the APHA site. We were talking with the man who was in charge of selling him about a month before I actually went to visit him because he was a good ten hour drive away and I was out of the country. The people who sold him to me were just a sale barn I believe. They seemed to have little knowledge of dressage or jumping since they were a western barn. He showed me all his papers, registrations, and his show record when I went to try him out. I didn’t like the barn he was at very much, but I’m fairly sure it was just a temporary board.
It was back when he was bolting because I also thought it was weird that a dressage horse would bolt. I was also confused because he has so much trouble picking up his right lead for a first level dressage horse. I asked her if he was naturally a high energy horse and she said riding him every other day, which I do, helped him settle. She also told me she would lunge him if she hadn’t ridden him in a while or if he wasn’t turned out. And she told me she rode him in a flash.
Sweet looking horse, though.
I think that some people on the thread are being quite cynical in their responses to the OP.
[specific name of town edited out, per OP’s request], FL (where the barn was from which the horse was bought) looks to be closer to Louisiana than to the millionaire hotspots that have large dressage communities. It would not surprise me to learn that dressage was not a big sport in that area; in fact, I would assume that Western would be way more popular. (The picture at the bottom of the sales ad page depicts people whom I assume are the barn owners riding in Western tack).
The biggest red flag to me in the ad (aside from the fact that he’s called a pony and yet is 15.1 hands; huh?) is that the ad touts how gentle and easy to handle he is, but in the 1 to 10 rating, he’s rated a 5. In my (limited) experience, a 5 is not the correct rating for an easy to handle, kid-suitable horse. That kind of discrepancy begs some questions.
Here’s my take, for what it’s worth (2 cents or thereabout): this horse was at a sales barn. The previous owner may have tried to sell him herself but had no takers. The sales barn was meant to put some additional skills on the horse and sell him quickly for as much as possible. Dressage skills weren’t selling the horse so he was rushed into jumping.
And by rushed I mean basically pushed around a ring full of jumps several times a week with little or no actual training of the horse taking place. At that point they felt they could represent the horse as having some jumper training. (Although the ad’s title that specifies dressage clearly shows that even they were not highlighting his jumping skills.)
At any event, OP, you need to have a long talk with your trainer. I think you need to really plan what you’re going to do with this horse. I suspect that he has far less training than has been represented, even in dressage. He probably needs to go back several stages in his general training before you even take him into the same ring with jumps again.
It would also be worthwhile to have him checked out again by your vet. Be honest and tell the complete story to the vet about how the horse acts under saddle, and really be clear that you want the vet to investigate any possible physical causes. Don’t let the vet blow off your concerns. (Your youth may count against you here, and if you can enlist an older adult to help you, either your trainer or a parent, you might get better results).
Good luck!
Fun story - you can actually dig past the sales ad to find these public posts about “Pistol” on Facebook. I have to say, I don’t know if I’m more shocked that someone sold a horse who was apparently so broken to a novice after only a few months of “rehab” or that the OP is jumping this horse and thinks it’s okay. Were the issues I easily found on Facebook not communicated? Is there a really bad, or non-existent trainer in this picture? Why does a 15.1hh horse have a permanent pony card? #mysteriesoftheuniverse
OP - if all of the things below are actually true (they line up with the registered name and photos of the horse, so I have no reason to believe they’re not), then you really shouldn’t even be riding this horse - let alone jumping it. Rehab is a long process and a horse has to learn they won’t hurt if it’s been chronic pain. There’s no way this stuff could be 100% fixed and the horse ready to be jumping between the first post in Mid-May and now in early October.
May 17, 2019
Today is Pistol’s riding test. Because his demeanor and overall physical stress has improved significantly with all of the posture modification that has been completed we feel he is ready to show us the full scope of his physical and emotional improvement. And we have test road ground worked and stress tested him throughout each process and his confidence has steadily improved. Since he has been through significant alterations and work this week he will get the full weekend off out in his private paddock to enjoy Sunshine & clover while we let his brain rest and reset. During his test we expect him to be comfortable enough now to stand calmly and safely through saddling and mounting. Then take him out and him offer us all three gates. Keep in mind it has taken us six days to get on his back because he was so fearful of the expected pain associated with his posture balance. We demand trust our horses but can they trust us? Because of the amount of back pain he was feeling pistol had lost all trust and confidence. Our hope is that with his confidence returning his trust will also be restored.
Next WK we will dig into Pistols past riding career and assess his future career.
May 16, 2019
In the following video you will see the last of the work we have to do on Pistol. The TMJ and the Atlas bother him greatly. Our remaining work will be doing his dental and resetting the Atlas. Watch him visibly calm after a short TMJ massage.
May 15, 2019
In Pistol’s case, his right shoulder was very low and flat and his general movement would veer to the right. It took two orthotic pads to level his shoulders. The shoe used was a lighter aluminum shoe than the steel hind shoes, encouraging him to lift the front end and put more weight on his hind end and cause his stride to lengthen under his body. After completing the shoeing, his eyes softened and his demeanor changed so dramatically that we were overjoyed for his relief. Stay tuned for more on Pistol.
May 13, 2019
Day one of Pistol makeover is our evaluation of his top line. As you can see from the first picture; the right hip is very high. Pic two shows the rib change out to the right quite dramatically. In pic three, the right shoulder is low and flat.
Evaluation: this low shoulder makes proper saddle fitting difficult and uncomfortable to the horse plus the eight major muscle groups are trapped between the scapula and the rib cage. And when we see a rib cage this off center we know that the inner organs are hanging off center and pressing against the left rib cage. This alone will cause inflammation and aggravation. Looking at the displacement the sacrum (hip); this displacement can create the same as sciatica in humans. Anyone who has felt this knows how painful it can be. Keep in mind these are some of the problems that can create “right handed” or “left handed” horses. In other words, horses that are unable to do things evenly to the left and right. This concludes the evaluation but tomorrow we’ll discuss how to shoe a horse like this and get him back to centered. Only then can we begin to work through the emotional toll these untreated physical issues they have created.
And their first post of him May 12, 2019
Meet Pistol a dressage horse registered in the paint horse world. This visibly uncomfortable boy is 9 years old and has developed multiple problems. He has come to us for a complete makeover during which we are going to share the things we do to return him back to his championship level self. Follow us over the next few days to see his shoeing, realignment and reintroduction to riding
Oh for the sake of many fruit bats…
Someone has been duped, and the poor pony, in my world horse, is paying for it. Given @Arell’s added info…STOP, just stop, This horse needs not to be jumping, needs an experienced and compassionate handler, who does not need to come onto a forum to ask this question.
Op, I feel sorry for you, but this will be a valuable learning experience for you.
I’ve scanned through this thread and my only suggestion at this point is to get his back xray’d to rule out Kissing Spines.
This horse is in pain.
Holy smokes!! :eek::eek::eek: As KBC said… you have been duped. Badly.
I feel concerned about the thin palomino on that facebook page. I wish they would put some weight on it before riding it. I wonder if it is quite young. The horse’s appearance is at odds with the impression that I get from that site, that the people are very kind. It seems like they would have noticed this.
I don’t even know how I completely missed that. They didn’t tell me anything about this when I went to try him out. I’m shocked and at a loss for words. You guys saved my horse, thank you so much.
