You know the horse market is crazy when

[Pokerface]

First @floppyammy, I feel your username in my soul.

Second, totally right. I have fallen off my young gelding just the once (and since I’ve pretty much been his only rider in life, this was the one and only time he’s thrown anyone), and let me tell you, I can stick a spook pretty well.

I HAD NO CHANCE IN HELL. He decided I needed to go, and there was no 2 ways about it. I almost called it quits earlier this week when I felt that energy start to stir again. Fortunately, this time we were in the indoor (his safe space) and my trainer was there to help set up a better situation for him. We ended up having a decent ride.

That said, my WB mare (shes a chestnut and would likely charge into hell with a smile on her face), and even if she did spook at something, she just doesn’t move THAT way. She is huge and powerful, and I’ve known her to threaten to kill a dog and bite humans who treat her poorly (can’t blame her), but she is solid and just not a horse you fall off of. My 68 year old mother rides her and loves how brave and safe “her” horse is. I also think, being a mare, and one that I have owned for most of her life, she is truly affronted at the idea of “losing” or hurting her rider. She takes you with her when she senses danger. Gotta love a good mare.

[MsJump21]

Oh I definitely agree there are loads of quiet and brave WBs, I was just sharing a theory to an overly broad generalization. My KWPN is very brave and will walk into most situations willingly but he does have a weird fear of fake plants and flowers.

[Peggy]

@RW06

@floppyammy

There is nothing quite like the ominous feeling of a WB that is stuck behind your leg, but also ready to explode.

A uniquely terrible feeling. Gives me the heebie jeebies.

Slug High!

[IndysMom]

An interesting discussion. I’ve only ridden two WBs. One was a very large very talented stallion. You clearly got the message that you were only up there because he let you. However, I never saw him put a foot wrong. The other was an GP schoolmaster. He was amazing and fun. But I have a lot of friends and acquaintances who have WBs and have had a miserable time with them. Most of them have ended up scared.

I have a QH who will never be classified as a unicorn. At 18 he still needs to be lunged before riding in the winter as he will spend the first 10 minutes scooting around like an idiot. However, his idea of a spook is to stop and stare until he’s satisfied it won’t kill him. I’ll take that over my last OTTB who would spin and bolt every.single.time…

[Paint_Party]

@floppyammy

I feel like most WBs are bred to be incredibly athletic and, should they choose to use their powers for evil instead of good, can really unstick a lot of riders

Disclaimer: We had some lovely, kind WBs. But there were also a few who were Evil Doers from the get-go.

Oh, so many memories of being in a hack class on a young WB, with my mom on the sidelines telling me how “wonderful” we looked. Yet there I was in the saddle, trying not to incite an equine riot and mentally hoping that no one on the rail made any sudden movements.

[Tha_Ridge]

@floppyammy

I feel like most WBs are bred to be incredibly athletic and, should they choose to use their powers for evil instead of good, can really unstick a lot of riders, more so than other breeds. IMHO, the naughty version of many breeds don’t quite compare to a naughty WB. Maybe only the TB is up there for naughty agility. There is nothing quite like the ominous feeling of a WB that is stuck behind your leg, but also ready to explode.

You nailed it. Not a fan. I can ride my fresh off-the-track TB on a 15 degree day and still not feel the same uncertainty as I would if I were to ride one of my baby WBs an hour later. Do not like. LOL

[iJump]

I am not even that old but have many old injuries, some horse related and some not.

I have spent years starting young horses, and riding difficult ones… I don’t have to anymore. I can afford a polite horse. I can afford to send the ones that need something I am not willing to offer to a trainer.

That being said, I don’t mind a buck or spook when they are fresh or playing. But no way am I going to try and pilot a stopper around to the other side of every jump.

[middleton.the.grey]

in my experience, I have seen that trainers cannot teach anymore and develop nervous young riders who are pushed too fast and develop confidence issues stemming from lack of ability, then their trainers need a packer/schoolmaster for them because they don’t have the ability to deal with issues under saddle yet are jumping 2’6". Im a casualty of this, in the rebuilding process with a competent trainer.

[TheJenners]

@beowulf

And you find the Irish sport horses are less spooky and more forgiving than their WB counterparts?

I’ll try not to castigate a whole breed (or really, registry) with the same broad brush but I don’t equate the Irish horses with amateur friendly. Even the ISHs, which are now mostly WBxs these days.

Even some of the RIDx’s I’ve ridden have had pretty dirty spooks. I’ve gotten to ride many because they end up being too much for their amateur owners and the trainers that sourced them.

I have two, one with high percentage TB and another who is high percentage QH, the rest Irish and Dutch. The older gelding is very emotional, reactive, and sensitive. The filly with the QH breeding is… definitely not . Most Irish horses are accepting and workmanlike ime. My gelding I think would be better in a program, not owned by a working ammie, and not getting 4 yrs off in the prime of his life. He is gorgeous and correct and you can tell he WANTS to do good, and I think we’re gonna try him on trazadone and see what happens (because as he is, he doesnt go anywhere where he needs to pass a test). Flip side, the filly doesnt care about anything new or different, maybe a snort and that’s it, but could I see her being dirty and snarky in the future? Perhaps.

[endlessclimb]

Wasn’t there an ISH that Benchmark Sporthorses took on because he was imported then promptly went totally feral? He was bay, and wasn’t much of a looker but seemed to be a good jumper. The name escapes me.

[foursocks]

I came across two ISO ads today that seem divorced from the current reality. One wants a 16hh+ “schoolmaster” for mid-fours, although no age is given and “a little maintenance” is allowable, so at least they have some semi-reasonable parameters.

The other wants 5-7 years old, “sound sound sound,” must pass a thorough PPE, 16.1-17.2hh, more whoa than go, athletic with big movement, green is ok but must be quiet, etc. Willing to travel up to 1.5 hours from home. And, rider is “confirmed through first level,” which I take to mean they are a beginner. This young equine paragon needs to be 3k or less.

I’m not sure what a thorough PPE means to this person, but maybe spend less on the PPE and more on the horse budget? One can very easily send the PPE into the thousands.

[Dr_Doolittle]

Seriously???

The mind boggles…

[Paint_Party]

@foursocks

The other wants 5-7 years old, “sound sound sound,” must pass a thorough PPE, 16.1-17.2hh, more whoa than go, athletic with big movement, green is ok but must be quiet, etc. Willing to travel up to 1.5 hours from home.

How gracious of them to be willing to be so inconvenienced.

Heck, if such a horse like this actually existed for $3,000, I think there’d be plenty of people willing to drive several days, sleeping overnight in their car on the side of the road and eating Slim Jims and warm diet Coke for dinner in order to reach him.

[vxf111]

I saw one (must have been a kid) that could only look in her zip code. Insisted she was a serious buyer with a sufficient budget for a made hunter show horse. Didn’t have car so had to be within biking distance. I got a hearty chuckle from that.

[OfCourseItsAnAlter]

I think most all of those ridiculous ads are from kids, not from serious buyers. Dog knows what kind of ISO ad I might have written during my preteen/early teen years if Facebook had been around back then.

ISO Connemara pony gelding, must be gray. Equitation schoolmaster that also trail rides, can be cantered bridleless and bareback across the open plains, loves attention, no vices, and will love only me and buck my little sister off if she tries to ride him. Priced below $1000.

[foursocks]

I think so, too, although both fo those ads were an older adult, judging from the rest of the ad and the FB pics.

One thing I always find funny is when people ask for all of these things for no money and then add that they will provide a really good home with lots of treats and good vet care and such. I feel like they are hoping someone has the perfect horse and it’s very cheap (for some reason) but worries it won’t be taken care of, so they make sure to include that reassurance. “Oh, I was concerned that selling my amazing 17.2hh, athletic schoolmaster for 4k would have it end up in a bad place, but this person swears they will give it good vet care, so that’s a relief!”

[vxf111]

I always wonder how these folks think they’re going to give a horse the best of veterinary care if they don’t have two pennies to rub together? Vets aren’t free?!

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

I’ve seen the opposite though–lesson horses in their older teens who “prefer to have their own person,” who require a high degree of maintenance, are not a beginner ride, sound only at the walk and trot, but want a new career as someone’s “personal trail horse.” Even though they aren’t coming from a lesson program with trails. It’s like, just retire that horse. Or find someone who will take the horse you know and trust to be a companion horse rather than looking to unload the horse on Facebook. Ditto the difficult teenage horses who can’t jump because of soundness issues being advertised as great lower level dressage prospects (even though they have never been schooled in dressage).

I guess some of the high prices I’ve seen on questionably sound horses are to avoid kill buyers for sure, but still, before an older horse can’t do the job you need the horse to do (or a horse has had years of soundness issues), you should start planning.

[2bayboys]

I wish that rescues had a euthanasia fund. Because let’s face it, a whole lot of horses end up in dire straights because the owners can’t afford to humanely euthanize and then dispose of the ancient lame horse they’ve had in the back yard for ten years. They don’t even have a trailer.

If rescues had a fund to cover the pick-up and euthanasia of these poor souls, then maybe some of them wouldn’t end up on the meat truck. Unfortunately, the rescues I know spend all of their money saving horses and nursing them back to pasture sound health, then struggling to find adopters willing to take on these unrideable oldies.

Unpopular opinion, but there it is.

[Paint_Party]

My trainer’s mom runs a legitimate rescue on the ranch, where there is room for them to live on-site: horses, minis, dinky donkeys, old barren broodmares, etc. When she has room, she picks up a few at the hideous auction and brings them home and has them evaluated by the vet. It’s like a mission of mercy. There have been several that have been made comfortable, fed well and loved on for a few days, and then humanely euthanized. They are indeed poor equine souls that rotten humans were discarding for a few bucks.