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New gaited prospect. Your thoughts?

5K views 60 replies 18 participants last post by  elle1959 
#1 ·
I ended up selling my SSH mare yesterday due to her somewhat spooky nature and my resulting lack of confidence on her. I loved so many things about her-- her gaits, her kind nature, her willingness to please and her smart mind.

I'm considering going to look at this RMH who seems to have a lot of what Diva had, along with the age, sanity, and experience Diva lacked. She is a bit out of my price range but I'm told the seller will negotiate for the right home. What do you all think of her, and of the breed in general?

The Equinery

Shenendowahs Fair Lady, Chocolate Rocky Mountain Horse Mare, Rocky Mountain Mare in California - DreamHorse.com Horse ID: 1996480
 
#10 ·
OK OP I know you have already said that on another thread you have your answer, and it would be great if you could link that thread to here, so if anyone is browsing they can find the whole story.

From my point of view this comment, from the ad, that put up red flags

.She likes to move out and would not be suited for a novice rider but does not have any bad habits. She would intimidate a rider that does not have control.
Sounds like she is great horse when her rider is confident and in charge, but does not do as well if she is asked to look after a rider.
 
#5 ·
Never mind. In another thread, Walkinthewalk drew my attention to some things I had missed about this horse. I see that's probably what you saw, and I agree with both of you that I don't need a forward horse that requires a confident rider. I'm surprised my friend recommended this horse to me. She's off my list. Thanks :)
 
#13 ·
Never mind. In another thread, Walkinthewalk drew my attention to some things I had missed about this horse. I see that's probably what you saw, and I agree with both of you that I don't need a forward horse that requires a confident rider. I'm surprised my friend recommended this horse to me. She's off my list. Thanks :)
Don't know you Elle but know someone that might be like you, my mother. She very much lacks confidence in her riding ability and is one nervous Nelly in the saddle. The problem? She's turned bomb proof horses into bad spookers due to the way she rides. I would highly recommend working on your confidence before buying your next horse (or immediately with your next purchase).
 
#6 ·
She is best suited to an intermediate rider as she has energy that would intimidate a beginner
I'd probably pass, especially at that price. They couldn't really give you any good pictures or even a video of her gait. I don't think she'd be a good confidence building horse :( Too bad you're in Cali! The people I bought my Jax from always have amazinggg horses for sale for around 2500-3500...but thats in VA :(

She also looks like shes standing under herself a lot in most of the pictures? Could mean hoof issue or something else...or nothing!
 
#21 ·
I would be open to a horse from somewhere else, but it would be very expensive to shop and I don't know who I could trust to sell me the right horse, sight unseen. I've ridden so many horses here, some upwards of two hours from here, only to come back disappointed because, for one reason or another, the fit isn't right.
 
#22 ·
I agree a spooky horse needs a confident rider, but people always seem to feel like a horse is the reflection of the rider and I don't always think that's true. Horses have their own personalities too.

In my case, I actually feel more like I am a reflection of my horse. :oops: When I rode a bomb-proof horse, I was confident. Nothing phased me. Now that I'm riding a spooky horse, I'm spooky (because some scary spooks have made me vigilant).

I guess what I'm saying is, there are horses out there that are perfectly capable of being bomb proof and taking care of someone, and a rider with less confidence won't ruin that horse. Maybe those kind of horses are rare, but I've owned a couple over the years. Those kind of horses make the rider shine and give them confidence.

Then you get a spooky horse and everyone sees you as causing the horse to spook? Yeah, my greenie would definitely benefit from a more confident rider, BUT I didn't start out as un-confident. It came from experience and close calls!
 
#26 ·
Carvin's Cove Stables

This is place I bought Jax from, I truly had a great experience with them. I tried him out, and didn't even buy him that day because I still wanted to look at another horse in PA..well I liked the horse in PA more so started to proceed with buying him but he was very obese and through PPE it showed he was in beginning stages of metabolic issues...So I went back to Jax...They were understanding, NOT trying to force him down my throat in any way and didn't try to rush me. I was looking at another horse from them too, Captain, my husband LOVED him but we didn't click as well. He sold the same day to a woman in Cali sight unseen and was going to be shipped the next week. They made her a GREAT long video basically taking her on a trail ride with him. If all else fails within a few hours of you, I really do recommend them!
 
#30 ·
Forward horses often scare timid riders due to their energy but give it a shot, you never know. Keep this in mind with a forward horse, are they listening to you and in control from the minute you walk up to them until you are done riding? If yes then being forward in and of itself isn't a problem it's if you can get used to the feel of that energy/power. If no run, the other direction as fast as possible.
 
#31 ·
I went to see her, and am very glad I did. She was fun, fun, fun to ride. No spook at all. She was responsive but not hard to control. I think the owner was overstating her speed because she had never ridden a gaited horse before purchasing this one. As gaited horse go, I've ridden more forward ones than this one.

The only issue is that she seems to respond primarily to the rein. I did get her to move her front and back quarters off my leg, but pushing her to the rail with my leg was more difficult, as she took that as a signal to gait faster. That's likely rider error, and something I'd have to work with her on.

She's out of shape; hasn't been ridden much by her current owner, and is in with a trainer right now for a tuneup. Her current owner has never lunged her, just tosses a saddle on and takes her on the trail. Supposedly, she will ride out with non-gaited horses and stay at the walk.

So, I decided to have her trailered to my barn next week to test her out on the trails around there. There are lots of things for her to spook at at this barn and I can get a good idea about how she is there.

I figure I can get some of my barn buddies to go out with us, and afterward they can help me decide if she's worth it. She sure was fun to ride. Glad I didn't write her off.
 
#34 ·
I went to see her, and am very glad I did. She was fun, fun, fun to ride. No spook at all. She was responsive but not hard to control. I think the owner was overstating her speed because she had never ridden a gaited horse before purchasing this one. As gaited horse go, I've ridden more forward ones than this one.

The only issue is that she seems to respond primarily to the rein. I did get her to move her front and back quarters off my leg, but pushing her to the rail with my leg was more difficult, as she took that as a signal to gait faster. That's likely rider error, and something I'd have to work with her on.

She's out of shape; hasn't been ridden much by her current owner, and is in with a trainer right now for a tuneup. Her current owner has never lunged her, just tosses a saddle on and takes her on the trail. Supposedly, she will ride out with non-gaited horses and stay at the walk.

So, I decided to have her trailered to my barn next week to test her out on the trails around there. There are lots of things for her to spook at at this barn and I can get a good idea about how she is there.

I figure I can get some of my barn buddies to go out with us, and afterward they can help me decide if she's worth it. She sure was fun to ride. Glad I didn't write her off.
Glad you had fun!

None of the people I trail ride lunge their horses before riding. We all toss the saddle on and head out but then we trailer to trails a lot and there often isn't a decent place to lunge a horse. So the horse has to be behaved from the get go and you take it easy for the first 10-15 minutes to allow them a warm up.
 
#36 ·
The seller is going to trailer her down so that we can expose her to the arena and trails at the barn where I board and see how she does. Just for a few hours on Monday. I agree, it's a nice way to test the waters and I already have one of the most experienced riders in the barn agreeing to go out with us.
 
#37 ·
IF you decide to buy this chocolate Rocky, along with a standard PPE, make the purchase contingent on a test for ASD.

title.

I mentioned this before and I'm mentioning it again. You do not want to deal with this disease.
 
#45 ·
IF you decide to buy this chocolate Rocky, along with a standard PPE, make the purchase contingent on a test for ASD.

title.

I mentioned this before and I'm mentioning it again. You do not want to deal with this disease.
I have no experience with Rockies or ASD so I clicked on the link you provided.

Unless I am mistaken, they act like it is something a horse either has or it doesn't. It's not progressive. And horse's sight is almost always functional even if the horse does show defects in the eye.

So while I agree we should try not to breed defective horses, if possible, this doesn't sound like as big a deal as a lot of other genetic diseases, like HERDA, HYPP or moon blindness in Appaloosas. This sounds more like lethal white in frame horses......the horse either has a bad problem or it's completely fine??? And the defect is linked to the color, so a chocolate Rocky will always have it....and some other colors like chestnut where the gene can be hard to see phenotypically. I guess I'm just confused on the danger if the horse is fine at the time of purchase and you are not breeding?
 
#38 ·
Elle, I've been following your journey although I haven't been on much or posting when I am as I've been so busy with my work (I have my own business).

I'm so sorry you had to sell your mare but it sounds like it was the right thing to do. One thing I know about horses, especially at this age is that if we're going to put the time and money into them, we may as well have one that is easy and fun to be with.

I hope this new mare works out for you. You must be excited about trying her at your place.

Good luck!
 
#42 ·
Elle, I am afraid you need to work on getting all of that "stuff" out of your head.....ride the horse you are on. As she gets into shape, so will you. Remember that horses pick up EVERY sense from us, especially mares. They are programmed to watch out not only for themselves, but their "children", just as women are.

Best wishes on the trial!!
 
#43 ·
You're a musician. Instead of worrying about how you played the beginning of the song (say on a piano) focus on playing the rest of the song to the best of your ability.

^ My metaphor for you on riding a horse.

Just ride the horse, no matter what they throw at you, to the best of your ability. The minute you start thinking about things other than FORWARD, YIELD TO MY LEG, LEG ON, etc is when they will pick something to test you on. Like spooking.

I'm excited to see how Monday goes :)
 
#47 ·
I hope the horse works out for you
I personally prefer horses that are forward going with energy, as long as they aren't the sort that are pulling your arms out and you don't want anything 'jiggy' with your health issues but on the whole they're far more focused and willing to go where you point them so actually less inclined to be spooky
The spookiest horses I've ridden have been the ones that felt as if you had to push them all the time and a lot of the spooking was about avoiding work and looking for an excuse to turn back and go home
 
#48 ·
Yes, I like a horse to move. I don't enjoy riding horses that I have to constantly remind to go.

This horse didn't seem jiggy at all; she went where I pointed her and responded well to my eyes/seat when I circled her. I am feeling hopeful, but we'll see how she does on the trail. Trail is supposedly her strong point and arena less so, but she did well in the arena for me.
 
#50 ·
Some horses are just naturally slow, spooky or not. But I have noticed that when they are thinking about spooking they tend to travel slower than they normally do. Actually that's what I use as an aid for myself, horse slows and starts looking around/staring down a spot? I ask them to do something for me before they get to the spooking stage. If you let it go to long they get fixated and that's when it gets hard to distract them.
 
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