Dollar (formerly Trooper), is a beautiful registered, chestnut Saddle bred, who just turned 4 on May 8th, and has changed owners 4 times. My first encounter with Trooper was several months ago, when his well intentioned owner realized she did not have enough experience for such a young; and she called me for help. We had a couple of sessions and while she was already familiar with clicker training for dogs, she discovered the power of clicker training for horses. Based on this, she took boarded him with a local clicker trainer for a couple of months; and took lessons. However, after two months, his behaviour was still unpredictable, occasionally scary, and potentially dangerous. That is when I received the next call for help. This time his owner asked me to take the horse, train him, and then find him a suitable forever home.
Since this was going to be fresh start for this horse, I decided to rename him and chose the name Dollar, the amount I paid for him.
I gave the owner the following two options to consider:
She brings her horse to me for two months of training at my going rate, continuing to pay vet bills, farrier, and deworming, as necessary. If after two months, she decides she truly isn't the right person for him, I give her 1/2 her money back and continue working with him or re-home to recover my costs.
She sells the horse to me for $1.00 and when I feel he is ready to re-home, she gets first dibs on him for the cost she would have paid me for training. However, if she still doesn't think she is the right person for him, I sell him to recover my time and costs, or keep him (don't tell Gord I said this).
Needless to say, she chose option two but was grateful to have been offered the choice of keeping him.
Gord and I went to pick him up today. That is when I discovered Dollar flies back and rears when he does not want to do something you are asking. It gave me the impression that he has learned to get big and scary so people will leave him alone. I also learned he cannot be tied, and when under saddle, he will simply lay down. Aside from that, I did find him to be curious and friendly; and not particularly reactive.
I spent a good hour doing intensive ground work exercises with Dollar until he relaxed enough for loading but it worked, he walked right in. Knowing that he does not tie well, we used a very strong bungee trailer tie and this proved very effective. It had some give but relieved pressure instantly when he wasn't resisting. He trailered exceptionally well and has settled happily in the paddock next to Magic.
For those of you interested in following Dollar’s progress, I will post his progress as we go.
Tovie & Dollar
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
Home Sweet Home
After our whirl wind trip - 6 countries in 5 weeks - throughout Afrika (their spelling), and visiting with friends in Dubai, there really is nothing quite like being home. Mark and Sherri looked after everything so well, I worried, our critters didn't even miss us, but they were all happy to see us and we readjusted to our routine very quickly. I never quite understood jet lag until experiencing it first hand. I'd say it took a good couple of weeks to get back to our "clock". The spring time change was helpful; instead of waking up at 4:30 am, it started waking up at 5:30 am. It didn't help that I caught a nasty cold soon upon arriving home.
As you know from my previous blog, our first stop was Egypt. From there we headed to the Kilimanjaro airport in Tanzania and spent 6 days on safari. Starting at Lake Manyara, then to the Serengeti for a few days, and finishing off with a visit to the Ngorongoro Crater. We had close encounters with nearly 200 species of birds and animals, thanks to our guide, Kimaro. Our next stop after Tanzania was Rwanda to meet up with our friends Jerry & Oraysha, and visit with the wild gorilla. Unfortunately Rwanda is best known for its horrific genocide less than 20 years ago. The government has done an amazing job of rebuilding and it is an extremely well run, clean, safe country.
Our guide, Francois, led us to Group #9, the Sabyinyo Group. This group of wild gorilla is famous because their leader Guhonda, is the largest and oldest wild silverback in the world. Francois has been guiding folks to this group since 1984. His intimate relationship with the Sabyinyo group is infamous and he really made our visit extra special. His ability to "speak" gorilla came in handy as he beckoned a youngster to come within a few feet of us.
Our next stop was Zambia to visit the spectacular Victoria Falls. We had a couple of down days there and decided to visit an animal refuge that has habituated young elephants, lions and cheetah to humans. After going on an elephant trail ride for an hour, we went for a cuddle and walk with two year old lions and then went to cuddle and walk with 3 young cheetah. To be touching and walking with these magnificent animals was beyond thrilling.
From Zambia, we headed to Botswana, the catalyst for going to Afrika in the first place. We were flown to Macatoo camp for a 5 day horseback safari. All I can say is WOW. Most of the horses were thoroughbred or thoroughbred crosses, although there were a few other breeds. These horses were well cared for and other than having very hard mouths, they were very safe as we galloped alongside several giraffe and rode amongst a herd of 32 elephant. Our guides told us that it can take up to 6 months of working with new horses to ensure they are safe around wildlife.
Finally, we finished up with a few days in the fascinating city of Dubai to visit Ron and Carol. They live in a beautiful apartment on one of the man-made palm islands. I was glad to be in their winter because the temperatures were moderate in the low 20C range. I can't imagine the 40C temperatures they get in the summer - no thanks for me.
It was a fantastic trip and I am happy to have been able to experience so much but I have to say, we live in a beautiful part of the world, and I wouldn't trade them for anything.
Karibu from Tovie & Gord
As you know from my previous blog, our first stop was Egypt. From there we headed to the Kilimanjaro airport in Tanzania and spent 6 days on safari. Starting at Lake Manyara, then to the Serengeti for a few days, and finishing off with a visit to the Ngorongoro Crater. We had close encounters with nearly 200 species of birds and animals, thanks to our guide, Kimaro. Our next stop after Tanzania was Rwanda to meet up with our friends Jerry & Oraysha, and visit with the wild gorilla. Unfortunately Rwanda is best known for its horrific genocide less than 20 years ago. The government has done an amazing job of rebuilding and it is an extremely well run, clean, safe country.
Our guide, Francois, led us to Group #9, the Sabyinyo Group. This group of wild gorilla is famous because their leader Guhonda, is the largest and oldest wild silverback in the world. Francois has been guiding folks to this group since 1984. His intimate relationship with the Sabyinyo group is infamous and he really made our visit extra special. His ability to "speak" gorilla came in handy as he beckoned a youngster to come within a few feet of us.
Our next stop was Zambia to visit the spectacular Victoria Falls. We had a couple of down days there and decided to visit an animal refuge that has habituated young elephants, lions and cheetah to humans. After going on an elephant trail ride for an hour, we went for a cuddle and walk with two year old lions and then went to cuddle and walk with 3 young cheetah. To be touching and walking with these magnificent animals was beyond thrilling.
From Zambia, we headed to Botswana, the catalyst for going to Afrika in the first place. We were flown to Macatoo camp for a 5 day horseback safari. All I can say is WOW. Most of the horses were thoroughbred or thoroughbred crosses, although there were a few other breeds. These horses were well cared for and other than having very hard mouths, they were very safe as we galloped alongside several giraffe and rode amongst a herd of 32 elephant. Our guides told us that it can take up to 6 months of working with new horses to ensure they are safe around wildlife.
Finally, we finished up with a few days in the fascinating city of Dubai to visit Ron and Carol. They live in a beautiful apartment on one of the man-made palm islands. I was glad to be in their winter because the temperatures were moderate in the low 20C range. I can't imagine the 40C temperatures they get in the summer - no thanks for me.
It was a fantastic trip and I am happy to have been able to experience so much but I have to say, we live in a beautiful part of the world, and I wouldn't trade them for anything.
Karibu from Tovie & Gord
Sunday, February 3, 2013
On Holidays Part 1
We begin our African adventure. It was a long drawn out affair to get here; 1.5 hour flight to Seattle, 10 hour wait for our departure to Dubai, 14 hour flight from Seattle to Dubai, airport shuttle to hotel in Dubai for a few hours shut eye before hopping on another 3.5 hour flight from Dubai to Cairo. Once we arrived in Cairo, we were greeted by Mamoud who briefed us on our upcoming itinerary and then delivered us to the local regional airport for yet another 1.5 hour flight for our arrival in Luxor.
We were greeted in Luxor by another friendly representative of Lion Dog Safari named Ahmed, who delivered us to the beautiful Steigenberger Nile Palace Hotel. Here we enjoyed the only authentic Thai cuisine in Luxor; and a peaceful night sleep. The following morning Ahmed introduced us to the guide who would navigate us through the next part of our journey; touring around Luxor and the 5 day river cruise down the Nile.
Ayman is a University educated man with a wife and beautiful baby girl named, Ereni. We have found Ayman to be wonderful company and very passionate about the political situation Egypt is currently facing under the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood. Ayman also proved to be extremely resourceful when Gord’s backpack caved under the weight of all his electronics and broke a strap, and then again, when he was able to get Gord hooked up with Internet while we are in Egypt. While this country seems quite behind in many respects, Gord has ended up with a better internet connection than we have at home – go figure.
Yesterday we spent the morning visiting the tombs at the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, and the temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the status of Colissi of Menmon. Ayman then took us to a factory where we got to watch them hand carve all kinds of authentic artwork on genuine stone. I picked out a lovely Onyx pot for my collection and a hand carved Sand stone tablet with beautiful colours. The weather is quite lovely at around 20C, however Ayman finds it cold, as it is their winter here.
We then boarded our ship, the Crown Jewel, where we enjoyed lunch and relaxed for the remainder of the afternoon. After dinner, there was a cheesy belly dancing show and Ayman confirmed that belly dancing is not considered a respectable profession in Egypt.
After the show, we met up with Ayman and he took us for a walk downtown to Luxor. The weather was pleasant and it is Saturday night, and so there were many people on the street. It is an entirely different world here and it was fascinating to see the local people doing what the local people do. Considering the political challenges Egyptians are facing, they seem to be amazingly happy as we watched them dancing and laughing on the street.
There is no social support for poor people here and it was very hard for me to see a young mother with her infant child, begging in the street - absolutely heartbreaking.
In a society that does not look after their poor people well, animals do not fare well here. It has been so hard to see the horses and donkeys pulling carriages and carts through crazy traffic; that appear starving and are obviously lame. I just want to do TTouch on them and bring them to a sweet grassy field.
Tovie
We were greeted in Luxor by another friendly representative of Lion Dog Safari named Ahmed, who delivered us to the beautiful Steigenberger Nile Palace Hotel. Here we enjoyed the only authentic Thai cuisine in Luxor; and a peaceful night sleep. The following morning Ahmed introduced us to the guide who would navigate us through the next part of our journey; touring around Luxor and the 5 day river cruise down the Nile.
Ayman is a University educated man with a wife and beautiful baby girl named, Ereni. We have found Ayman to be wonderful company and very passionate about the political situation Egypt is currently facing under the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood. Ayman also proved to be extremely resourceful when Gord’s backpack caved under the weight of all his electronics and broke a strap, and then again, when he was able to get Gord hooked up with Internet while we are in Egypt. While this country seems quite behind in many respects, Gord has ended up with a better internet connection than we have at home – go figure.
Yesterday we spent the morning visiting the tombs at the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, and the temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the status of Colissi of Menmon. Ayman then took us to a factory where we got to watch them hand carve all kinds of authentic artwork on genuine stone. I picked out a lovely Onyx pot for my collection and a hand carved Sand stone tablet with beautiful colours. The weather is quite lovely at around 20C, however Ayman finds it cold, as it is their winter here.
We then boarded our ship, the Crown Jewel, where we enjoyed lunch and relaxed for the remainder of the afternoon. After dinner, there was a cheesy belly dancing show and Ayman confirmed that belly dancing is not considered a respectable profession in Egypt.
After the show, we met up with Ayman and he took us for a walk downtown to Luxor. The weather was pleasant and it is Saturday night, and so there were many people on the street. It is an entirely different world here and it was fascinating to see the local people doing what the local people do. Considering the political challenges Egyptians are facing, they seem to be amazingly happy as we watched them dancing and laughing on the street.
There is no social support for poor people here and it was very hard for me to see a young mother with her infant child, begging in the street - absolutely heartbreaking.
In a society that does not look after their poor people well, animals do not fare well here. It has been so hard to see the horses and donkeys pulling carriages and carts through crazy traffic; that appear starving and are obviously lame. I just want to do TTouch on them and bring them to a sweet grassy field.
Tovie
Monday, January 7, 2013
Happy 2103!
Contrary to popular superstition, 13 has always felt like a lucky number for me, so I am very excited to be entering 2013.
While 2012 was filled with amazing horse encounters and experiences, it ended with great sadness on New Year's Eve, when my beloved kitty Clover died unexpectedly. Clover's little buddy Goblin is still looking for him and missing their daily wrestling matches. Clover was the best farm kitty and greeted everyone with hugs and purrs. He was always sitting in the driveway when we arrived home, no matter how long we had been away. Perhaps he was guarding the property, or he somehow knew we were coming and was waiting to greet us. If we were outside, Clover was always nearby waiting for any opportunity to be petted or treated. There is a huge hole on the farm without that big beautiful orange tabby cat.
You are greatly missed,
Tovie & Goblin
While 2012 was filled with amazing horse encounters and experiences, it ended with great sadness on New Year's Eve, when my beloved kitty Clover died unexpectedly. Clover's little buddy Goblin is still looking for him and missing their daily wrestling matches. Clover was the best farm kitty and greeted everyone with hugs and purrs. He was always sitting in the driveway when we arrived home, no matter how long we had been away. Perhaps he was guarding the property, or he somehow knew we were coming and was waiting to greet us. If we were outside, Clover was always nearby waiting for any opportunity to be petted or treated. There is a huge hole on the farm without that big beautiful orange tabby cat.
You are greatly missed,
Tovie & Goblin
Friday, December 7, 2012
Finding the Right Horse
Having fun with our horses, versus being frustrated and scared, completely depends on finding the right horse and developing our skills as horse handlers.
While having a horse that is very well trained can definitely help you develop your skills, even the best trained horse can easily digress to the level of an inexperienced handler. My criteria for choosing the right horse, is finding a horse that truly wants to be with you. This connection is difficult to convey to first time horse buyers. In a perfect world, every first time horse buyer would be matched with a horse they connect with; and has received adequate training and a temperament to fill in for any lack of expertise.
It could be said that purchasing a horse is similar to getting married. You will appreciate the one you marry far more if you date a few others first. On the other hand, if you rush into marrying the first person who comes along, you may not appreciate them if they are great, and if they turn out to be not so great - you will spend a lifetime trying to develop and/or improve the relationship.
Shopping for that first horse takes patience. Often the excitment of finally making your dream of horse ownership come true can blind folks to reality. Not much different than rushing into marriage while still infatuated, or because it is easier than letting go. Again, just like marriage, the more difficult the horse, the greater opportunity for learning and growing. The problem with this is that folks getting started with horses later in life are not bouncing as well when they hit the dirt.
When students seek my assistance to purchase their first horse, I encourage them to meet and try out several horses before they ask my opinion. As with everything about horses, this too has become a learning experience for me. More often than not, by the time I meet the horse, the decision has pretty much been made. This means I am really going out to see if there are any obvious concerns about the horse. However, it has become clear that even when everything seems to be going well, a bad match can still happen.
For example, one of my students bought a lovely, quiet mare who didn't show any cause for concern during the 3 visits prior to sealing the deal. However, it turned out this mare had lived most of her life alone, and had therefore not developed adequate social skills when exposed to other horses. While her aggression towards other horses is understandable, this is a problem that poses real danger to anyone riding near her.
Another example; a student who purchased a lovely morgan cross. This horse seemed to be a perfect fit for a beginner, age, exerpience and temperament. However, after being brought home, this horse started to act out under saddle. When a thorough check of saddle fit and extensive ground work didn't fix the problem, the horse was sent back to the original owner. Upon arrival, the disgruntled seller saddled him up and off he went without a hiccup. Clearly, it wasn't an issue of a dishonest horse dealer. This man had personally trained and ridden this horse for 10 years and had never seen him act up under saddle. Needless to say, he redeemed his reputation when he was able to demonstrate the horse was good - for him.
On the flip side, I do a lot of work at Dare 2 Dream Horse Rescue, teaching beginners who are considering purchasing their first horse. My initial reaction was; beginners should not be starting out with young horses. However, after 2 years of observation, it is remarkable to see that the majority of these partnerships are working out extremely well. Folks volunteer at D2D, grooming and handling the horses, often in a very minimal way. What Brenda and Henry are very good at, is noticing when a strong bond developes between the horse and a volunteer, and then helping them nurture that bond.
I firmly believe the trusting relationship we have with a horse has a huge impact on the success of that partnership; and to me success means safety.
Happy horse shopping (or should I say dating)!
Tovie and the "Boys"
While having a horse that is very well trained can definitely help you develop your skills, even the best trained horse can easily digress to the level of an inexperienced handler. My criteria for choosing the right horse, is finding a horse that truly wants to be with you. This connection is difficult to convey to first time horse buyers. In a perfect world, every first time horse buyer would be matched with a horse they connect with; and has received adequate training and a temperament to fill in for any lack of expertise.
It could be said that purchasing a horse is similar to getting married. You will appreciate the one you marry far more if you date a few others first. On the other hand, if you rush into marrying the first person who comes along, you may not appreciate them if they are great, and if they turn out to be not so great - you will spend a lifetime trying to develop and/or improve the relationship.
Shopping for that first horse takes patience. Often the excitment of finally making your dream of horse ownership come true can blind folks to reality. Not much different than rushing into marriage while still infatuated, or because it is easier than letting go. Again, just like marriage, the more difficult the horse, the greater opportunity for learning and growing. The problem with this is that folks getting started with horses later in life are not bouncing as well when they hit the dirt.
When students seek my assistance to purchase their first horse, I encourage them to meet and try out several horses before they ask my opinion. As with everything about horses, this too has become a learning experience for me. More often than not, by the time I meet the horse, the decision has pretty much been made. This means I am really going out to see if there are any obvious concerns about the horse. However, it has become clear that even when everything seems to be going well, a bad match can still happen.
For example, one of my students bought a lovely, quiet mare who didn't show any cause for concern during the 3 visits prior to sealing the deal. However, it turned out this mare had lived most of her life alone, and had therefore not developed adequate social skills when exposed to other horses. While her aggression towards other horses is understandable, this is a problem that poses real danger to anyone riding near her.
Another example; a student who purchased a lovely morgan cross. This horse seemed to be a perfect fit for a beginner, age, exerpience and temperament. However, after being brought home, this horse started to act out under saddle. When a thorough check of saddle fit and extensive ground work didn't fix the problem, the horse was sent back to the original owner. Upon arrival, the disgruntled seller saddled him up and off he went without a hiccup. Clearly, it wasn't an issue of a dishonest horse dealer. This man had personally trained and ridden this horse for 10 years and had never seen him act up under saddle. Needless to say, he redeemed his reputation when he was able to demonstrate the horse was good - for him.
On the flip side, I do a lot of work at Dare 2 Dream Horse Rescue, teaching beginners who are considering purchasing their first horse. My initial reaction was; beginners should not be starting out with young horses. However, after 2 years of observation, it is remarkable to see that the majority of these partnerships are working out extremely well. Folks volunteer at D2D, grooming and handling the horses, often in a very minimal way. What Brenda and Henry are very good at, is noticing when a strong bond developes between the horse and a volunteer, and then helping them nurture that bond.
I firmly believe the trusting relationship we have with a horse has a huge impact on the success of that partnership; and to me success means safety.
Happy horse shopping (or should I say dating)!
Tovie and the "Boys"
Thursday, September 27, 2012
A Little Irish Dust (aka Navar)
Have you ever got up in the morning with your day all planned out and have it completely change in the blink of an eye? Well that happened to me last Tuesday morning. My morning routine is pretty normal (boring), and always includes a quick check on Kijiji Livestock to see what's new in horse, and related product sales. This morning however, there was an ad that caught my attention - you guessed it - A Little Irish Dust (formerly Louie). He is a yearling gelding and my all time favourite colour, a beautiful grullo.
Buying another horse was defintely not on my list of things to do that day but after calling the number, the ball started rolling. As it turned out, I had met the breeder previously and truly admired her facility and philosophy. In fact one of my former students has boarded her fabulous horse Deuce Bigalow there for a couple of years, and takes riding lessons with Muffy Knox. After talking to the owner, Heather Tanner, about this yearling and learning more about his temperament, I simply had to go meet him. For sure I didn't need another horse because Dexter definitely has my heart and full attention these days, so I took Gord to be my voice of reason. We decided not to make it easy and decided to leave the horse trailer at home.
As you probably guessed, this youngster had me at hello. Heather has done an amazing job with his handling and even Gord couldn't find anything thing to fault, except his young age. My thinking is that young horses are started too early, before their joints are fully developed, and in many cases this causes their early demise, as happened to my beautiful Nugget. Gord's voice of reason was that I will be caring for this youngster for a couple of years before he'll ever be ridden. My response was - ya so what's wrong with that? We grow our own hay, trim our own feet, do our own de-worming - not much cost to own one more and the extra feet to trim are OK by me. In hindsight, we should have taken the horse trailer to save a second trip.
When we picked him up, he jumped right onto the trailer without hesitation. I am so used to fixing problems, that I was surprised he went without issue. Heather's comment was, "he's always been handled by competent handlers and so he has never learned differently". Heather was absolutely right. He loads, picks up his feet and leads like all our other well trained "boys".
Unfortunately, most folks just starting out with horses are going to make mistakes. Our horses will give us honest feedback how we're doing. When we handle them well, they respond well. When our horses aren't doing what we think they should, it is an opportunity to reflect on how we could do things better.
Needless to say, the name Louie didn't work for me so I changed his barn name to Navar. Captain Navarre was the hero of my all time favourite movie - Ladyhawk, also starring Michelle Pfieffer and Matthew Broderick. I've shortened it for simplicity but it still makes me smile every time I say it.
I've promised Gord that, barring anything horrible happening to any of our boys, I will never ask for another horse. I'm not sure he believes me.
Tovie, baby Navar, and the big "boys".
Buying another horse was defintely not on my list of things to do that day but after calling the number, the ball started rolling. As it turned out, I had met the breeder previously and truly admired her facility and philosophy. In fact one of my former students has boarded her fabulous horse Deuce Bigalow there for a couple of years, and takes riding lessons with Muffy Knox. After talking to the owner, Heather Tanner, about this yearling and learning more about his temperament, I simply had to go meet him. For sure I didn't need another horse because Dexter definitely has my heart and full attention these days, so I took Gord to be my voice of reason. We decided not to make it easy and decided to leave the horse trailer at home.
As you probably guessed, this youngster had me at hello. Heather has done an amazing job with his handling and even Gord couldn't find anything thing to fault, except his young age. My thinking is that young horses are started too early, before their joints are fully developed, and in many cases this causes their early demise, as happened to my beautiful Nugget. Gord's voice of reason was that I will be caring for this youngster for a couple of years before he'll ever be ridden. My response was - ya so what's wrong with that? We grow our own hay, trim our own feet, do our own de-worming - not much cost to own one more and the extra feet to trim are OK by me. In hindsight, we should have taken the horse trailer to save a second trip.
When we picked him up, he jumped right onto the trailer without hesitation. I am so used to fixing problems, that I was surprised he went without issue. Heather's comment was, "he's always been handled by competent handlers and so he has never learned differently". Heather was absolutely right. He loads, picks up his feet and leads like all our other well trained "boys".
Unfortunately, most folks just starting out with horses are going to make mistakes. Our horses will give us honest feedback how we're doing. When we handle them well, they respond well. When our horses aren't doing what we think they should, it is an opportunity to reflect on how we could do things better.
Needless to say, the name Louie didn't work for me so I changed his barn name to Navar. Captain Navarre was the hero of my all time favourite movie - Ladyhawk, also starring Michelle Pfieffer and Matthew Broderick. I've shortened it for simplicity but it still makes me smile every time I say it.
I've promised Gord that, barring anything horrible happening to any of our boys, I will never ask for another horse. I'm not sure he believes me.
Tovie, baby Navar, and the big "boys".
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Another Sad Horse Day
Nadine is a new student of mine who recently bought her first horse. Her father has had experience with horse buying and selling in the past and so he was her advisor. Since Nadine had only taken a couple of lessons with me, I agreed to board Bentley for the short term to allow Nadine to continue her lessons, using Bentley.
When Gord and I went to pick Bently up, we were a little surprised at her father's recommended horse. Firstly he was huge and Nadine is an itty bitty little thing. Secondly, he hadn't been handled much so was not terribly confident or trained. Thirdly, he had a terrible crack in one of his front feet that was filled with epoxy. Needless to say, he was not a horse I would have recommended as a first horse. Anyway, the deal was done and so we loaded Bently up and got him home.
As with any horse we bring to our property, they are intially kept in a wooden paddock to be introduced to our "Boys" over the fence. Bentley didn't cause as much of a ripple in the herd as our other young visitor Honey, a 2 year old filly.
Amongst horse people, there is a little joke often said a few days after buying a new horse, that goes something like this. "Whew, the drugs have worn off, so I guess I didn't get hoodwinked into a buying a crippled, green, or worse, psychotic, horse." Unfortunately, that was not the case with Bentley. He started showing signs of being sore within a couple of days of his arrival. Eventually, his lameness couldn't be explained away and so Nadine brought in a vet to x-ray his "epoxy" foot. The x-rays revealed the huge crack was caused by the fact that half Bentley's coffin bone was actually missing - something the vet had never seen. He guessed that poor Bentley had received a traumatic injury to that foot many years ago (perhaps a nail penetration), and the ensuing infection had eventually eroded half of his coffin bone completely away. He went on to explain that perhaps with the right shoeing, Bently could maybe be made comfortable, but would not likely ever be sound enough for riding. Nadine made the brave and necessary decision to put Bentley down that day - only two weeks after purchasing him.
Most of the students who come to me have never owned a horse previously so this sad turn of events provoked some thoughts that I would like to share with anyone looking to buy a horse.
Most folks buying their first horse are not discriminating enough to be able to weed out inappropriate horses. Unless they have a very specific competitive purpose for that horse, most folks absolutely fall in love with every horse they meet. I encourage my students to go meet several potential horses prior to making that crucial commitment. Sometimes, that first horse may work out, but not as often as we'd like to think.
Clearly Bentley had been drugged so he appeared sound at the time of the sale. In fact, Nadine mentioned that the bill of sale had clearly stated, "guaranteed sound at time of delivery". This statement alone should have been a huge red flag.
I also encourage folks to go meet the horse more than once. A warm, summer afternoon may make even the greenest horse behave like a calm, reliable trail horse.
The truth is, that buying a horse is similar to buying a used car - buyer beware. As we recently learned with Nugget, it costs approximately $450.00 to have a horse euthanized and disposed of. It is much more cost effective to give a horse bute for a few days prior to selling them so an unsuspecting buyer gets stuck with the vet costs, or worse, as was the case of Bentley. In fact, we gave Nugget bute for a couple of days prior to our appointment to have him put down, to make the trailer ride more comfortable. When we arrived at the vet the day were having him put down, Nugget didn't show any signs of lameness at all. He was so good in fact, that I even joked with the vet that I should quickly sell him before the drugs wore off.
Most often, it is a simple matter of compatability between horse and human. My experience with Dexter taught me that in spades. The best advice I could give someone shopping for a horse, is to go meet at least 10 horses that meet your basic requirements (i.e. training level, size, gender, health, and temperament), and then buy the one that chooses you. You will notice that breeding and colour are not among the list of requirements, there is no wrong breed or colour, of the right horse for you.
Tovie and my "Boys" (a hodge podge of colours and breeds)
When Gord and I went to pick Bently up, we were a little surprised at her father's recommended horse. Firstly he was huge and Nadine is an itty bitty little thing. Secondly, he hadn't been handled much so was not terribly confident or trained. Thirdly, he had a terrible crack in one of his front feet that was filled with epoxy. Needless to say, he was not a horse I would have recommended as a first horse. Anyway, the deal was done and so we loaded Bently up and got him home.
As with any horse we bring to our property, they are intially kept in a wooden paddock to be introduced to our "Boys" over the fence. Bentley didn't cause as much of a ripple in the herd as our other young visitor Honey, a 2 year old filly.
Amongst horse people, there is a little joke often said a few days after buying a new horse, that goes something like this. "Whew, the drugs have worn off, so I guess I didn't get hoodwinked into a buying a crippled, green, or worse, psychotic, horse." Unfortunately, that was not the case with Bentley. He started showing signs of being sore within a couple of days of his arrival. Eventually, his lameness couldn't be explained away and so Nadine brought in a vet to x-ray his "epoxy" foot. The x-rays revealed the huge crack was caused by the fact that half Bentley's coffin bone was actually missing - something the vet had never seen. He guessed that poor Bentley had received a traumatic injury to that foot many years ago (perhaps a nail penetration), and the ensuing infection had eventually eroded half of his coffin bone completely away. He went on to explain that perhaps with the right shoeing, Bently could maybe be made comfortable, but would not likely ever be sound enough for riding. Nadine made the brave and necessary decision to put Bentley down that day - only two weeks after purchasing him.
Most of the students who come to me have never owned a horse previously so this sad turn of events provoked some thoughts that I would like to share with anyone looking to buy a horse.
Most folks buying their first horse are not discriminating enough to be able to weed out inappropriate horses. Unless they have a very specific competitive purpose for that horse, most folks absolutely fall in love with every horse they meet. I encourage my students to go meet several potential horses prior to making that crucial commitment. Sometimes, that first horse may work out, but not as often as we'd like to think.
Clearly Bentley had been drugged so he appeared sound at the time of the sale. In fact, Nadine mentioned that the bill of sale had clearly stated, "guaranteed sound at time of delivery". This statement alone should have been a huge red flag.
I also encourage folks to go meet the horse more than once. A warm, summer afternoon may make even the greenest horse behave like a calm, reliable trail horse.
The truth is, that buying a horse is similar to buying a used car - buyer beware. As we recently learned with Nugget, it costs approximately $450.00 to have a horse euthanized and disposed of. It is much more cost effective to give a horse bute for a few days prior to selling them so an unsuspecting buyer gets stuck with the vet costs, or worse, as was the case of Bentley. In fact, we gave Nugget bute for a couple of days prior to our appointment to have him put down, to make the trailer ride more comfortable. When we arrived at the vet the day were having him put down, Nugget didn't show any signs of lameness at all. He was so good in fact, that I even joked with the vet that I should quickly sell him before the drugs wore off.
Most often, it is a simple matter of compatability between horse and human. My experience with Dexter taught me that in spades. The best advice I could give someone shopping for a horse, is to go meet at least 10 horses that meet your basic requirements (i.e. training level, size, gender, health, and temperament), and then buy the one that chooses you. You will notice that breeding and colour are not among the list of requirements, there is no wrong breed or colour, of the right horse for you.
Tovie and my "Boys" (a hodge podge of colours and breeds)
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