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Another potential dressage horse

6K views 48 replies 15 participants last post by  DuffyDuck 
#1 ·
The search for a new partner continues, I have one who I may be trialling, BUT, I was emailed about this girl, and I am very tempted by her, what do you think of her as a dressage horse? She was bought as a jumper but doesn't like to jump..





 
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#2 ·
I don't know much about a proper "Dressage conformation", but she look like a winner to me! She's gorgeous, reminds me of my trainer's dressage schoolmaster. I'd say try her out, if you like her and she likes it, then no reason why not. I'm a sucker for the nice gray dressage horses.
 
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#6 ·
With those ears, if you could get a dead-on side shot with them forward she could pass for a unicorn...:wink:

You don't ride the ears, though - nice mare...
 
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#7 ·
I like her, but I'm just a huge sucker for pretty gray mares and I know nothing about conformation. Haha!

Also, you might find that she's actually not hard to clean. Lacey loves to really grind in the dirt, but that dirt comes right out when I brush her. During the summer I bathe her once a week (she actually seems to get dirtier during the summer) and she pretty much stays super white. So it might not be that bad! :)
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#8 ·
I like her big ears and her total package. I don't know why breeders bred the Roman nose out of many older European breeds,either, but if you compare old magazine ads you see them--now you don't. Plus, a lot of lovely Arabians have nice, big ears. I just had to rebut the last post. =b
 
#9 ·
I'm not a dressage person, so can't critique as to that but overall I really like her. I'd be curious to see how she looks conditioned and that belly tucked up a bit. I'm a sucker for greys, mine is a total mudball right now but does clean up fairly easily. The only tough part is the tail but oxy clean does wonders ;)
 
#11 ·
If it can't jump... there is probably a reason. Anything athletic, sound and sane enough to do Dressage should also be able to jump with ease. She looks like she has a weak hind quarter with a long back and long loin - not ideal conformation for a horse we want to be able to sit and collect.
Either she will have blah, weak movement behind and that will be what restricts her from doing well at even second level or she will compensate for her bad loins with exaggerated stifle and hock movement and end up with joint problems and that is what will keep her from doing upper levels.

Either way if you do keep looking at the mare I would get a thorough vet check and figure out why she won't jump...
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#12 ·
If it can't jump... there is probably a reason. Anything athletic, sound and sane enough to do Dressage should also be able to jump with ease. She looks like she has a weak hind quarter with a long back and long loin - not ideal conformation for a horse we want to be able to sit and collect.
Either she will have blah, weak movement behind and that will be what restricts her from doing well at even second level or she will compensate for her bad loins with exaggerated stifle and hock movement and end up with joint problems and that is what will keep her from doing upper levels.

Either way if you do keep looking at the mare I would get a thorough vet check and figure out why she won't jump...
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the OP says the horse doesnt like to jump.. didnt say she wont jump.. but agree with Anebel, always want to get a PPE
 
#15 ·
She is a 1999 WB mare, 16. 3 hh, and as you can see BUILT :lol:

The seller states:

She has shown hunter to 2' as a 4yr old but then started to stop at the jumps so she was being rode by a dressage rider from Germany and she was doing 1 level movement and a few 2nd. Has shown at w/t, training and first level. Packed tons of riders around to there first shows.


So she was retired from jumping in 2003, if she was 4 and quit on it, so she has had 7 or 8 years of being a flat horse, does that make a difference?

Obviously PPE, but once again a horse that is not currently under saddle, for a very good reason, but would have to buy this one on her reputation as a good horse. I'm waiting on videos at the moment, she is kind of second in line just now, want to look at the other grey, (why are the all turning out to be greys at the moment :evil:) first to either include him in or out of the equation
 
#16 ·
I like the 'dressage rider from Germany' bit. That means burger all to be fair, most 'dressage riders' I've met out here don't even break their own horses. So I'd question her training. It depends what you want to do at the end, if you're happy doing something here and there, great. If you're wanting to go to high level dressage, you need something better- but that costs money.


HOWEVER she obviously has the been there done that tshirt, and you have to ask yourself, as anebel pointed out, why is there a reason she doesn't enjoy jumping- is it pain related?- and only done w/t tests. What are YOU looking to do, she's 12, which isn't old, but if you're looking for something to do w/t/c tests I'd look for something at that age that had done it, or at least has the potential to do it.

Good luck.
 
#18 ·
I know what you mean, but I find people that write less spiel, and get to the point are the ones I'm more drawn too.

I couldn't give two hoots about who has ridden this horse and wher they've come from, or packed tons of riders to shows.

I want to know that she's been out of work, has jumped, didn't enjoy it and safe to take to shows has competed or placed at w/t.

People that write loads generally have something to hide behind, thats what I've learnt finding me and others horses over the past couple of years. In all honesty, you have shown us a few horses in every different range from unbroken to projects to expensive lookers... my friend was the same and I told her to go away, figure out what she wanted from age, potential, experience, discipline and height range, write it down and do not stray from it. There are plnety of horses that will fit in to those cats, you just have to find it and have the patience to do so.

All you can do is try though, sometimes it doesn't matter if they don't reach the top, Duffy probably won't and as soon as I got on her we clicked, I can't explain it, but she was the 8th horse I'd tried, and she was the right one.
 
#19 ·
Really? Stopping at a 2' fence?! I agree with duffy after reading that ad the mare is probably lame. First level also has no lateral work.... and guessing by the sellers description she's probably also had her head cranked in really far and they called it a shoulder in and the horse is magically schooling second level...

What exactly are you looking for?
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#20 ·
I'm a terrible pedant and am always put off my sellers or potential buyers (if I am the seller) who can't spell, or in this case, confuse "there" and "their." Get someone to proofread your ad, man. That's just me, though.

In any case, why is she out of work just now? If I were buying a "made" horse, I wouldn't be overly thrilled by the prospect of bringing a twelve-year old into work after a long lay-off.

What are your dressage goals? Should we be evaluating horses you post here as potential First Level horses or potential FEI horses or somewhere in-between?

I've just wasted a bit of time looking at Canadian horse classified websites -- maybe not the best ones, as I just Googled it -- and I can't say I found *anything* I liked that wasn't a silly amount of money. I was surprised, because if I wanted to buy a new horse for myself tomorrow, a search of UK horse classified yields quite a few reasonable-looking dressage prospects that were not unaffordable.
 
#24 ·
I'm a terrible pedant and am always put off my sellers or potential buyers (if I am the seller) who can't spell, or in this case, confuse "there" and "their." Get someone to proofread your ad, man. That's just me, though.
Trouble is out here if you discounted all the ads with basic errors in spelling, then the already small pool of available horses would shrink even further. Just this evening I have cringed at an ad for a 'Philly' *shuddders* and thinks for some reason I could do with a sandwich


In any case, why is she out of work just now? If I were buying a "made" horse, I wouldn't be overly thrilled by the prospect of bringing a twelve-year old into work after a long lay-off.
Because her owner had to move to find work, where the work is the cost of living and boarding is crazy, and so she sits, like so many horses on the prairies here. An awful lot sit for 6 months over the winter, and summers seem to rush past and you can easily end up with your horse sitting for a year.

What are your dressage goals? Should we be evaluating horses you post here as potential First Level horses or potential FEI horses or somewhere in-between?
Somewhere in between, first possibly second level

I've just wasted a bit of time looking at Canadian horse classified websites -- maybe not the best ones, as I just Googled it -- and I can't say I found *anything* I liked that wasn't a silly amount of money. I was surprised, because if I wanted to buy a new horse for myself tomorrow, a search of UK horse classified yields quite a few reasonable-looking dressage prospects that were not unaffordable.
And there is the heart of the issue, shopping on a limited budget up here makes the possibilities few and far between, and BTW the distances to go and see and try horses crippling
 
#21 ·
:???: now you are going to have to color me confused all over again..

Anebel you say "First level also has no lateral work"

But this is my understanding of what I described as basic lateral work

The leg yield is a lateral movement introduced in First Level
Is that not correct??

How can you tell by the sellers description that
her head was cranked in really far
Again, to be fair this mare is not advertised, what I gave you was the info given to me by email, so it's not a sales ad.

I still have a struggle believing that the mare has been carrying lameness for the 8 years that she has been schooling, showing and being used for lessons on the flat without showing signs, seeing as they quit jumping her that long ago, understand yet again, neither am I saying that she is sound, because I don't know, I'm just wondering on this point.

OK, new question, given that she passed a PPE what would you pay for her?? Oh and remember that on the prairies here the market is stronger than for you guys down south:wink:

And what do I want, actually the head says really something like this girl (if sound) From her description she is sane, rideable, uncomplicated, rides at the right level for me now, and I could have safe fun on her for a few years, which given my age makes a boat load of sense.

Heart says the Andalusian, being as I can work a cracking deal on him, involving an exchange, and he is a big pussy cat, and IF he vetted clean I could have a ball on him starting him from scratch again. He is SUPPOSED to be a calm and sane boy, he has had 60 days training on him, and has been ridden outside of that, and is reported to be comfortable and with great gaits, of course I can't confirm that.

THEN head says, get the Andi, bring him on right, you have an appreciating asset over the next few years, buy the mare and soon she will be at an age where her worth will start going down.

AGHHH
 
#22 ·
I'd really have to see a video of the mare to have any feelings about her one way or the other.

As far as the Andalusian-X goes, I really didn't like his trot. And that's at liberty, so you can't even blame it on someone's shoddy riding. That's the gait you have to work with, and as a few folk on your other thread said, it's not a lot. Even for First Level, I'd want something with a little bit more suspension and engagement and its hind end more naturally underneath it. It makes the self-carriage thing much easier.
 
#23 ·
Leg yield is not a lateral movement. Lateral movements require bend, leg yield is performed with the body straight from ears to tail.
The statement about the bad shoulder in and calling it "schooling second level" is based in experience. If the horse hasn't shown and done respectively in second level, its not a second level horse.

People ride and show lame horses in the lower levels all the time and either are too inexperienced or the lameness is too subtle or in enough legs it balances out that it never gets taken seriously, diagnosed or treated.

A 12 year old horse with questionable conformation and in-notable breeding that does training level Dressage, in any economy is worth as much as they weigh.

You seem to be looking at horses all over the map. Do you want a young prospect or an older packer? What level do you want to do?
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#26 ·
The second photo is cleverly posed; it emphasizes all the parts of her confo that make her suited for dressage - uphill build, big laid back should, and a head and neck that ties into the shoulder high., long forearm to cannon, clean, flat knees.

However, neither photo lets you see her back or hind end. She looks a trifle long backed to me, and perhaps short/weak in the quarter.

I would first ask for better photo or video, then go see her. She has a lot to recommend her, but you need to evaluate the total package.

Oh, the first photo where she's clearly behind the bit at the halt and bent at the third vertebra gives me some concern about what her previous dressage training was like.
 
#31 ·
I'm not wild about quarter horses myself (no offense to people who really like them) but the appendix paintedpastures posted looks really nice!

That said, a few years ago I was horse-hunting for a youngster to break and turn around. I looked at two five-year old QHs bred by a local QH stud and they were NICE. Too nice for what I wanted to do and cost a bit more than I wanted to spend (and they had already been started by their breeder). If I was looking for a horse to keep, rather than one to sell once I'd trained it, I would have snatched one of these up. Lovely horses. I would have forgotten that I prefer bigger, draftier horses if I'd been looking for more of a "long-term" horse. :) Point is, don't write it off because *generally* that breed doesn't suit you.
 
#32 ·
With a limited budget, you should be considering a QH... there are lots of Dressage trained, bombproof QHs that can do the second level stuff for sale for the same amount as a well conformed, unflashy unbroken 4 year old wb....
You also cant "cruise" or fake it on a QH you really have to learn how to ride correctly to get the best out of them for Dressage.

I know so many people who have just bought a "warmblood" because of the breed and not looked at conformation or done a really thorough PPE and now, sometimes less than a year of consistent work, they have an unsuitable, sore, pasture pet.
Just because the ad says Warmblood does not mean its above any other breed, especially in a limited price range... for 50,000 yes breeding is a concern but under 10 you just want something sane, sound with decent conformation and broke...
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#33 ·
I know so many people who have just bought a "warmblood" because of the breed and not looked at conformation or done a really thorough PPE and now, sometimes less than a year of consistent work, they have an unsuitable, sore, pasture pet.
Just because the ad says Warmblood does not mean its above any other breed, especially in a limited price range... for 50,000 yes breeding is a concern but under 10 you just want something sane, sound with decent conformation and broke...
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Exactly.................

And to further this you don't need a huge horse but one that fits your profile, be you short, tall or any other consideration.

Getting on comfortably is also major purchase factor especially as you get older.
 
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