green family with a green horse.

[QUOTE=kevinshorses;589563]Look closely at the horse the trainer wants to trade you but it is hard to imagine that it would be any less suited for your family than the horse you have. QUOTE]

DEFINITELY need to check that horse out thoroughly before you trade for it. The fact that he told you it was just the bigger pasture makes me wonder about the trainer. I know that often a horse reaches a point in their training where they decide,"I've done this, and I don't want to do it again" and they rebel a bit, but that sounds like way more than the normal don't wannas. This just occurred to me, do you have white clover in your field? Its not blooming here yet, and I am not sure where you are, but if so it ALWAYS makes them drool. Last year Jack dropped a gallon of spit on my hand when he came in from the field,lol.

Have her teeth been done?

I have a bunch of questions I want to ask you and then I'd like to offer advice if I can...

When you say drooling, is she opening her mouth and dropping a load of water? You said you just opened your pasture, is there a lot of clover in it?

Have you had the vet out since you bought her? I would have her teeth checked, that's first and foremost. Clover will cause a horse to drool.

Sometimes just giving them that fresh green pasture in the spring will cause them to start feeling their oats and they will act out.

What breed is she?

You might want to look at her withers and see if her saddle is rubbing her at all. Some of it could be pain caused by a poorly fit saddle. What type of bit are you using?

At two I would probably say that more than likely it's an age related issue. Can you tell me some more about this trainer? If she almost got you off, let me ask what you did at that point? Did you dismount and put her away, thus ending on a bad note or did you continue to work her until you had a good note to end on? With a baby you could potentially teach her that acting out will gain her a reward if you quit on a bad note.

One other thought, that 12 year old horse may actually be better for you, but I'm curious about this 2 year old, it isn't exactly the best horse for a green family to start with but it might be a nice enough quality that you could put 30-90 days professional training on it, sell it and buy a really nice horse, OR, after 30-90 days training it might be a keeper.

You might want to look into lessons for yourself as well...

I'm curious to see your responses!

Wow! Thanks for all the great insight! She is a paint about 14hh and will be 3 in may. We do have clover not a lot, but I don't know what loco weed is. Her behavior is very different. I was leading her yesterday and she spooked several times. When she bucked with me we were in the roping pen. It happend at the exact same spot as with my kids. There is an open shed on the other side of the fence there, but it is in the pasture where she lives. I did not get off nor did I let my daughter get off. Instead I calmed her down and then had her walk up the opposite side of the pen. Then I dismounted, lead her past that spot. Got back on and walked her past with no real problems (other than a quick step and high head). We have had several storms and I am wondering if she spooked during one of them and is now just very scared.

Our trainer is a guy who is trains horses and I personally know has been on horses his entire life. I also know that he buys and sells horses and when he brought her back to us had good things to say about her. I do think that an older settled horse would have been better for us, but beofre this Luna was doing very well. He did a great job with her in 30 days. Our problem now is that we are very attached to her, but I want to make the best long term decision. I am thinking that an older horse might be better, but I also don't want to trade down. Not sure how to make sure that does not happen. I am going to ask to live with the other horse for a week or so before we make our decision. Maybe you guys can help me!

The weather changes do effect a horses behaviors, sometimes mine are stark raving mad just before a storm.

I think your issues are more then likely a list of things...

She's a baby, babies act out
She's a mare, they get moody
She was just given a ton of pasture
She is very green
You are very green
The weather isn't helping

Try this other horse, but also consider that if you decide to keep the mare you are probably going to need more than just the initial 30 days of training. If you were a seasoned rider I would say "do it yourself!" but you will understandable make a lot of "beginner mistakes" on your own. You'll want to find a local trainer/instructor/experienced person to keep in touch with.

I'm excited for you. I will definitely be following your thread!

Opps I did not answer all your questions. Here is were my lack of knowledge is going to come out. We have not changed anything, but we are using I believe a snaffle on a D ring? Also, just a childs western saddle.

We have not had the vet out, but will do so and as far as the drooling, I don't think it is excessive. I had my daughter watch while I rode yesterday and she said she was drooling, but there was lots of stretching her mouth and sticking out her tounge. Where should the bit fit? Right up against the corners of her mouth, or should it be a little loose? It was a little loose and when this started happenting I tightened it a little, but that did not seem to help or hurt.

Take the trade, take the trade. No matter what may be going on right now and how easy it may be to fix, she's not even three! Like Kevin, I can hardly imagine how a 12-year-old horse would not be an improvement. But take a knowledgeable person with you to look at the gelding. Preferably someone who also knows you and your family and what kind of riding you'll be doing.

This filly has a lot of growing up to do before she can be anywhere near appropriate for an inexperienced rider.

Kevin, the golf club story, did you really?? LOL

Unless you trade for an untrained 2 yo filly it will be hard to trade down. I agree with your trainer that horses that young sometimes stop co-operating and if your not experienced enough to nip it in the bud it can develop into something pretty nasty. Make the trade and get some quality equipment or sell the horse and get out of horses entirely. You can't do horses cheaply. Everything associated with them costs money and some things cost alot of money. I wouldn't worry about getting the Father-in-law a christmas gift either or if you do give him a christmas gift get him a male rabbit and a female rabbit then make sure that you visit often enough that he can't get rid of them.

Thanks to kevin that's a very hilarious thread! Lol!

To the OP, if you trust your trainer going for the older seasoned horse from him is a very good idea. Especially if you want your kid to start riding soon. Youngsters are very handful at times and require lots of knowledge (or at least a very good trainer helping out on regular basis). Also it's not a good idea to do anything hard with such a young one till they are 5-6 years old so you may have to wait if you have a certain discipline in mind.

I agree that she could be a nice little mare. With another 90 days on her and if you and your kids take lessons. That is pricey...so I would suggest that you trade her for something you can ride NOW. If your kids have to wait that long to ride their pony they will get bored and uninterested or even scared of horses. Which I'm assuming you don't want. I would be hesistant to take this gelding though just because he was offered. If he is not 100% what you want then look around. There are a lot of teenagers with well broke, seasoned horses that are looking for a challenge to train or even people that do train/buy/sell that might want a project and are looking to rehome a broke horse. Don't limit yourself to just this gelding, take the time and find THE PERFECT horse for your family. Good luck and keep us posted!