The Horse Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

What should I do? Sell Gypsy? I need help?

6K views 57 replies 12 participants last post by  boonesar 
#1 ·
Hello,

So ive had Gypsy around 2 1/2 - 3 years. And Ive had the same problem over and over again. Her spooking and blasting off.
She isnt on a hight protien diet, she gets 3 flakes local, 3 flakes orch daily. 1 cup strategy 1 cup alfalfa pellets, 1 scoop beet pulp, each feeding am pm.

So my big problems are I cant ride at night/evening, shes afriad. I cant ride when there arnt any other horses out in the padocks... My BO says shes not a spooky horse so then why have I gone off 5 times because she spooked.

SO today this is what happend. The wind picked up she spooked at a towel, ok I understand that. walk her up to it, she snorted looked at it then we walked off. Do a couple of laps around the arena. The gate from one of the open padocks bairly crashes.

She BOLTS at the canter. "Then im like what the heck is that" a buck "wow a buck" another buck "A BUCK!" the third buck. While all this is going on her head is so far up there I cant do a one rein stop or we would tip over. She finaly drops her head, I cirlce and were half way across the arena!

I can handle a buck I can handle a spook, But not something like that. Bucking, bolting that is NOT normal horse behavior am I right?
Im like crying, I walk her around the arena I dont just get off. Im already thinking TO THE SALE! So then my BO comes I tell her and she askes "when was the last time she was free lunged?" "Well not that long ago" She acted like it was no big deal nothing to get worked up about. "shes not a spooky horse" Is what I always get!
IF SHES NOT SPOOKY WHY DOES SHE ALWAYS SPOOK AND I GET THROWN OFF"

Mind you ive gotten so good at it I havent fallen off! But she spooks like that more times then the barn pansy Gus! I hate is cause I dont know when it will happen. Ive been working her its not like I just dont ride for a week get on and say GO. Im sick of it cause then im afraid to canter and stuff like that!

What should I do, I really need help. I dont want to get hurt. But my BO thinks this is normal (hello my horse is the only one in the barn acting like this) Oh, if it help she is an apendix quarter horse, or TB cross. Please any advice :(
 
See less See more
#2 ·
travlingypsy said:
Hello,

So Ive had Gypsy around 2 1/2 - 3 years. And Ive had the same problem over and over again. Her spooking and blasting off.
She isnt on a hight protien diet, she gets 3 flakes local, 3 flakes orch daily. 1 cup strategy 1 cup alfalfa pellets, 1 scoop beet pulp, each feeding am pm.

(
Please keep in mind that I don't know your horse in terms of size, breed, or how easy a keeper she is or even if she is turned out or stalled.

With that in mind, I can tell you that my QH gelding is worked ~5 days per week and is turned out 24/7. He is 14.3h - 15h, weights about 1050lb and is well muscled. I never uses scoops and have always weighed my horse's feed (since weight is more accurate then volume). He gets 1 1/4 lb of a sweet feed mix twice per day. When I was giving them hay, it was 2 flakes of Timothy with each feeding. My horses were never - ever thin.

That being said, I think you are over feeding her - especially with Alfalfa. Unless your horse has special needs or is in very high performance activities, it is totally unnecessary. IMHO.

I believe that too many owners go to the two extremes in feeding or lack of. I am very critical at watching my horse's intake vs their activity.
 
#3 ·
No im not over feeding, she is a hard keeper and even now with all that I am feeding her muscle tone still isnt that great. I started all the high grains and beetpulp to try and get her better. I work her almost every day. She only gets two hours on grass...and turn out is limited because the BO steals all the padocks or I would love for her to get more turnout.
She is 15 hands, she weighs about 1,010, 14 years old, either apendix qh or TB type...
She is my first horse and I look to the BO for help and im just trying the best I can.
 
#6 ·
Are you expecting her to spook? Are you nervous?
Horses have survived because they can tune in to surrounding emotions...if you are the slightest bit nervous or scared, she may be going into panic mode.
If she's a sensitive horse she'll definately pick up the tiniest bit of emotion.

My horse is super sensitive, but not a "OMG she's afraid I'm going to be eaten!!!!" way, he can sense my emotions...if I'm upset he knows it and does nothing to upset me further.
You might just have a sensitive horse.


If your BO says she's not spooky, but she spooks when YOU ride her, I'm thinking it has something to do with you.
Do some groundwork...does she spook then? Have the BO ride her...does she spook?
 
#7 ·
I really wasnt expecting her to spook, I was really quite, happy and just lala lets walk around the arena..Then bam!
I have done a lot of ground work and she will spook then, she will also do it on the lunge line. I dont think she spooks with the BO but then she dosent really ride her much just when she has a big attitude problem. I try and put her spooking on the back burner in my mind so im not thinking about it. And I try and be as confidant as I can. But what els can I do? I have no idea, because no one els at the barn even has this problem.
 
#8 ·
Do you have a good bond with your horse? My horse can be pretty spooky/flighty when she doesn't have a confident rider. Now that I've been riding her for almost two years, we have developed a bond. Since she began to trust me, she hasn't spooked as much and when she does they're tiny spooks. Since a horse is prey, they need to feel that their rider is someone they can trust, someone that won't let that loud noise or vicious trash bag eat them.
 
#9 ·
travlingypsy i have the same problem with my ex racer whos 5yo. its hard not knowing how your horse is going to react and iv had people say just relax and be confident but its hard to relax when you know your horse is spooky.

horses do pick up on your emotions but it sounds like you have the same problem as me, the horse herself isnt confident and you need to work on HER confidence before shes going to be a big toughie & not jump at a leaf falling :)

do you know exactly what shes spooking at? cuz i know if im with other riders and horses then my boy is confident, but as soon as we get out on our own, the slightest wind noise through a branch will scare him.

maybe work on desensitizing her to things, im pretty sure i saw a thread on here about that.
 
#10 ·
I try and have a good bond with her but she is so marish, and she has had a lot of bad people so she keeps everyone in this box. And its really hard to get that guard down. But she loves on me and what not. She loves the BO which is just like sheesh why cant you follow me around like that! But she still gives mean faces at me or will turn her head away with a mean face when I say hello, it just depends on her mood. So I dont know if its a great bond I love her but hate her attitude!
 
#11 ·
Thanks, Jessica... I know she has been worked with desensitizing she dosent spook at the flag or a tarp I can basicly smack her up side the head with it and shes fine she will even walk on it. There isnt much I can do with her about training. Just like with the free lunging. Everyone is always in the arena when im done cleaning stalls so I can barely let her loose.

I can do ground work also, and lunge. I also feel like im limited to what I can do, its not really a make your self at home type of barn its more like what the heck are you doing and why?...This one time I was doing ground work trying to brake her brace in the shoulders and a girl was glaring at me and watching me, I felt really acward. Like any thing I do with my horse im going to be watched and judged. But we only have jumps,cones,barrels available to us to use...I dont know how those can help with desensitizing.

And see I had thought we got past this. We were doing really well and not spooking. But then this with all three bucks just turned me inside out.

And you know this also makes me really mad! Here I was an advance begginer, only having one horse that I only got to ride once. The BO sells me gypsy tells me she no buck,kick,rear, not spooky, 15.2 does well on trails bla bla. WELL Ive been bucked plenty of times. One time the BO set me up for a buck. Gypsy was being really bad in a group lesson. I knew it was coming. The BO told me to canter BOOM shes bucking. And the BO says" yep I knew that was going to happen." YAH WELL SO DID I. But I trusted her... I sticked her the other day shes 15 hands not 15.2! She dosent doo well one trails.... I wonder what els isnt true, oh yah and every time I groom its a biting kicking frenzy, all she does is threaten... Hmmm
 
#12 ·
maybe move him to a different stable? doesnt sound like your being taken seriously there or being given the help and support and most of all safety that you need. if theyre not gonna help a bucking horse then their is definitely a safety issue there

a lot of people in the horse world are quite competitive, i know thats true in australia, not sure where your from but its prob the same there
 
#13 ·
I really wish there was another barn near here but theres not... It really sucks. My mom and I really want to buy this place it has three acres, at least if we get it we can bring her home. But even then im still stuck with my problem.
 
#15 ·
If it were me, and after nearly 3 years she was still a problem to me, I would sell her. It's no fun wondering what is going to happen each time you get in the saddle and it's especially no fun getting hurt.

It is things like that which turn a rider off to horses. There are too many good geldings out there to have to worry about being hurt or the frustrations of a horse you no longer enjoy. Horses need to be enjoyable not a chore.

I think you gave it a good long time but if it isn't working, IMO it's time to move on.
 
#16 ·
Thats ok kickshaw!

Iridehorses, I know if I tell the BO im selling its going to be my fault I have to sell...Because its all ready my fault for her spooking like this, you know? I just wont tell her till someone comes and looks or she finds her on the web...lol

Am I taking the easy way out? Cause I feel half good about it and half bad. But if ive been dealing with it for so long and the problem cant be solved by me, maybe someone els can fix it.

Can you guys help me with selling? I dont know how much I should ask for, what I should say... I cant say no buck, no spook? Or can I sum that up in one word, HOT? I dont want to lie like I was lied to.
 
#17 ·
travlingypsy said:
Thats ok kickshaw!

Iridehorses, I know if I tell the BO im selling its going to be my fault I have to sell...Because its all ready my fault for her spooking like this, you know? I just wont tell her till someone comes and looks or she finds her on the web...lol

Am I taking the easy way out? Cause I feel half good about it and half bad. But if ive been dealing with it for so long and the problem cant be solved by me, maybe someone els can fix it.

Can you guys help me with selling? I dont know how much I should ask for, what I should say... I cant say no buck, no spook? Or can I sum that up in one word, HOT? I dont want to lie like I was lied to.
To begin with, if you feel the BO lied to you (and it sure seems she did) I would not worry what she had to say. It isn't her place to criticize your decision. Since you got her from the BO and the BO thinks your horse is fine, ask her to buy her back.

You've had the horse for a not so pleasant 2 1/2 years - selling her is not taking the easy way out. It may be the right way for you. You need to enjoy your horse. There is a lot of time, energy, and love - not to mention money - that goes into a horse ... you need the one you can trust.

I own several horses but in this past year I bought and sold 5 great horses until I found the right one. I had no qualms about selling a horse after a short period of time because it wasn't the right horse - I knew what I wanted and wasn't willing to settle.

You've been trying for nearly 3 years with your horse and you two just don't seem to be meshing, That doesn't mean you are giving up, just being practical. Truthfully, it doesn't matter if everyone in the world can ride him without a spook, he is your horse and he doesn't work for you.
 
#18 ·
That makes me feel better. That someone is on my side about it! I gave her a bath yesterday and its a nice day today so i'll be getting pics... There is no way the BO will buy her back she is already going through so much crap, a girl already surrenderd a horse she bought, only had it for 1 month.

I paid 1600 for gypsy, she was for sale at 2800. And I put a lot of work, trails,rides, miles into her I would like to sell her at 2000 but I dont think I'll get it. This is what she knows and her info.

Appendix quarter horse
14 years
15 hh
Dark Bay, with star.

English/ western
solid training level dressage
Pony club prospect, can jump...
Can go out alone on trails, or in group. Does better if shes in the front of group.

.... This is what her old sale page said it has pics to.
http://www.mistyvalleystables.net/Gypsy.htm
 
#20 ·
I don't know what your horse market is like, but I think you could get at least $2,000 for her. She sounds exactly like my mare, training wise, but she's taller and younger. I bought my mare for $2,000, but she was worth at least $5,000 in our market. I bought her from my BO, too, so I got a discount. ;)

I would be honest in her ad about the spooking and bucking. You don't need to detail it too much, but people should to know if the horse is spooky and what the horse does when spooked. That way you can be sure that no one with a small child or little experiance will buy her and endanger themselves. I agree with you, you shouldn't follow what your BO did by lying.
 
#22 ·
Sounds like the makings of a good ad. Instead of listing her temperament as HOT, I would say she is a 5 in temperament (typical scale is 1 to 10 with 1 being calm and 10 being hot).

It doesn't matter how much a horse is "selling for" it's what they sold for that counts. The market is really down but for a rider, this is a good time of year.

Good luck and keep us informed!
 
#23 ·
Gingerrrrr said:
her old ad said suitable for advanced beginners???
Yah, and she told me when I bought her i would be fine, I first said no to buying her. I should have stuck with my gut. But I really wanted a horse and didnt exactly know what I was getting into. I had lessons when I was seven so I know how to ride and im a good rider, but I didnt have much horse experiance, well I got lots now!

I will only sell her to someone who has enough experiance.

Thanks guys! I think I will list her for 2000 obo... And I will be 100% honest. Its sad when you hear stories of people buying horses that they think is their dream horse then its a complete nightmare...
 
#24 ·
I agree with the others. I would definately sell her. Just because you two didnt mesh doesn't mean she's a bad horse, or that you are a bad owner. Sometimes it just doesn't work out. As for the BO, IMO it's none of her business if you want to sell her or not. I would probably give her first chance to buy back (at the price YOU set) but other than that, she has nothing to say. It sounds to me like she is just trying to convince you that she sold you a good horse.
 
#25 ·
OK! So I took pics yesterday the sun was not on our side, I had to use my iphone to take pics cause I dont have anything better.
I did go on horsetopia,dreamhorse and look for horses that are like gypsy I didnt find anything. Then I looked for horses that I would want to buy and still nothing. So I hope thats a good thing that theres nothing top buy but GYPSY!

I think the first one is the best one. her expresions arnt that great. And my mom is the worst photagrapher in the world every time I had her square she would miss the shot...













 
#26 ·
I would find a trainer to work with, one that understands and sees what is going on between you and your horse, someone else other than your current trainer who doesn't seem to be care much.

If selling is what you are set on, I would get an older horse. A horse that has done it all and doesn't get raddled by much. It sounds like your mare is quite intelligent and knows you get frightened and she knows how to get you there and she abuses that.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top