Today, I came to the barn and got him from the field. He was very easy to catch. He was a bit "barn sour." I had trouble getting and holding his attention on me. He was instead focusing on the other horse that was left in the pasture. He I was grooming him and he was being very naughty. He lost his balance while picking up his feet. His balance was lost because he was resisting it. AFter this I put him in the round pen and lounged him to the left. He was very sore, so I stopped.
We then proceeded to work on him picking up his feet. He was very good this time. He had little to no distractions and was focusing his attention on me.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Purchasing my prospect
I have been looking for a prospect horse that I could re sell. It has taken me some time and many visits but I found the one yesterday. I traveled from Virginia to New York to find the pony of my dreams. He is a 14.0 hand Welsh Cross gelding. He is currently 2 1/2 years old. He is not registered, but can be. (Maranatha Tapestry x Bewitched).
When I was inquiring about the pony, I made sure to ask:
How old is he?
How long have you owned him?
Why are you selling him?
Is he registered?
Does he have a USEF number?
If you had to pick something that you could improve about this horse, what would it be?
When he protests, how does he act? (For example, does he rear, buck, bite, back up, etc?)
Has he had a history of rearing?
Is he UTD on all vaccinations, wormings, dentist, coggins, etc?
How is he around kids?
What kind of training does he currently have?
How often does he receive handeling, and what does his daily handeling include?
How is he with the vet/farrier?
How is he with the trailer?
Has he been off the ground before?
How did he handle it?
Needless to say, I had many questions for the seller. After recieving answers that were pleasing, I requested more pictures as well as a video. He looked great in both.
We had arranged an appointment to lounge him before the farrier arrived. This allowed me to see him move without being tender, as well as see how he acts with the farrier. Both went great! I also had arranged for a local vet (who was not the farms vet) to do a pre-purchase evaulation. He passed and everything went great!
I learned from past experience that you can not always trust a seller when you ask them if the horse is okay with the vet/farrier/trailer. It is important to find this information out for youself.
After the vet came it was then time to begin getting him ready for the trailer.
I brought along:
-fly sheet (asked what size he was currently wearing)
-fly masks
-fly spray
-bell boots
-no bow bandages (4)
-standing wraps
-leather halter
-padding for head stall, noseband, and cheek pieces
-extra halter
-multiple lead ropes
-loung line and whip
-containers for water
-hay/hay net
-I did not bring a tail wrap, but many people always trailer with the horses tail wrapped. Be careful the wrap is not too tight (may cause horse to loose circultion and hair to fall out of the tail).
It is important when buying a horse to bring containers of water along to offer water to your horse along the trip to prevent dehydration. Often times, horses will not drink different tasting water (well vs city). It is a good idea to bring the empty containers and fill them with the water from the farm you are buying the horse from.
We made many stops along the way, every time making sure the horse was not too hot, and also offering water.
After arriving home I made sure he had fresh, clean water and hay in his stall. I came out to check on him again in about two hours. He had settled fine. We normally keep the horses out at night, so I brought in another horse to keep him company.
We have another trip out to college on Thursday. He will be accompained by my TB mare. Hope all goes well!
When I was inquiring about the pony, I made sure to ask:
How old is he?
How long have you owned him?
Why are you selling him?
Is he registered?
Does he have a USEF number?
If you had to pick something that you could improve about this horse, what would it be?
When he protests, how does he act? (For example, does he rear, buck, bite, back up, etc?)
Has he had a history of rearing?
Is he UTD on all vaccinations, wormings, dentist, coggins, etc?
How is he around kids?
What kind of training does he currently have?
How often does he receive handeling, and what does his daily handeling include?
How is he with the vet/farrier?
How is he with the trailer?
Has he been off the ground before?
How did he handle it?
Needless to say, I had many questions for the seller. After recieving answers that were pleasing, I requested more pictures as well as a video. He looked great in both.
We had arranged an appointment to lounge him before the farrier arrived. This allowed me to see him move without being tender, as well as see how he acts with the farrier. Both went great! I also had arranged for a local vet (who was not the farms vet) to do a pre-purchase evaulation. He passed and everything went great!
I learned from past experience that you can not always trust a seller when you ask them if the horse is okay with the vet/farrier/trailer. It is important to find this information out for youself.
After the vet came it was then time to begin getting him ready for the trailer.
I brought along:
-fly sheet (asked what size he was currently wearing)
-fly masks
-fly spray
-bell boots
-no bow bandages (4)
-standing wraps
-leather halter
-padding for head stall, noseband, and cheek pieces
-extra halter
-multiple lead ropes
-loung line and whip
-containers for water
-hay/hay net
-I did not bring a tail wrap, but many people always trailer with the horses tail wrapped. Be careful the wrap is not too tight (may cause horse to loose circultion and hair to fall out of the tail).
It is important when buying a horse to bring containers of water along to offer water to your horse along the trip to prevent dehydration. Often times, horses will not drink different tasting water (well vs city). It is a good idea to bring the empty containers and fill them with the water from the farm you are buying the horse from.
We made many stops along the way, every time making sure the horse was not too hot, and also offering water.
After arriving home I made sure he had fresh, clean water and hay in his stall. I came out to check on him again in about two hours. He had settled fine. We normally keep the horses out at night, so I brought in another horse to keep him company.
We have another trip out to college on Thursday. He will be accompained by my TB mare. Hope all goes well!
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