I am creating this journal to log the journey I am about to undertake, whilst gaining insight from the knowledgeable people of Horse Forum. I should note here that I am open to all advice and feedback, but please avoid criticism and remember that I am entitled to do my own thing.
Today, the 27th of November 2016, I took a huge step.
I bought my first horse since the epic failure that was Baby back in 2011.
Some of you would know that I have been free leasing two horses for the last couple of years, one of which is an arthritic Quarter Horse that I ride (Dozer) and the other a frisky Standardbred that my mother rides(MJ). I've tried a few horses over the last couple of years, none of which were ever right. Last week, as Dozer began to fall lame after even the shortest rides, I realised I needed to up the ante from 'casually window shopping' to 'actively browsing the market'.
Well, it seems like Poe just fell into my lap.
A mere day after I mentioned a name to my mother, the name advertised a horse. A beautiful horse, if I do say so myself. He wasn't quite what we were looking for, but I was tempted. I convinced mum to come along to look at him.
And that is how I came to own my first Standardbred.
Poets Voice, aka Poe, is a 6 year old bay Standardbred gelding who finished racing on the 25th of November. On the 26th of November, his trainer hopped on him for what was, as far as we are aware, the first time he has ever been ridden and rode him, bareback, on a main road to the river for a swim. He hardly even flinched. I should note here that he has now been ridden twice by the owner, and had my sister who is light as a feather sit on his back, and that's the grand total of his ridden experience.
My mother was extremely hesitant, and she had good reason to be. He's young, he's fresh off the track, and he's not the seasoned trail horse we were looking for. He's definitely not the answer to my problem of not currently having a horse to ride. But it felt right, and by the end of our meeting we were both in agreement.
He was dropped off two hours later, and I handed over the cash. Introductions went quite well, though there was a little harmless kicking, striking and squealing. After much running around like a maniac, Poe settled down to graze. Suprisingly, he was fairly easy to catch afterward, and when I visited again later in the day he even came when called :O
I guess I should show him off now, shouldn't I?
As can be seen in the video, he's quite the handsome devil. He did give me a bit of a scare on two occasions (I'm sure you can pick them), but no harm done.
The plan for Poe is for me to do much of the groundwork before sending him off for official saddle training. Manners is high on the to-do list; he's such a fidget and has little respect for personal space. This will be my first time training an 'untrained' horse, so I'm scouring the internet like a fiend. Please feel free to share links to articles and videos that you feel may help!
I've got a tentative plan in my head for the next week or so. Amid much fussing, brushing and bonding, I want to get his ground manners in check; in my mind, that is of the utmost importance. He's not overly pushy, but he's a little too comfortable getting in my space.
I'm also booking my massage therapist in for this week to give him a look and feel over. The dentist is on the list, too - the trainer was unable to tell me when they were last done as they'd only had him for around 3 months. He played with the bit a lot when the trainer rode him for me, and my horses are due soon anyway.
I'm also looking for a farrier to pull his shoes sometime this week; my barefoot trimmer will be out in about 2 weeks to get me on the right track with him. In the meantime I'm contemplating putting him on magnesium, simply because it works wonders with the feet of my other horses.
Other than that, it's rest and recuperation. The poor boy has a lot of scars and scrapes, especially from the hobbles around the top of his legs. He's got a rather nasty mark on his neck from rein burrs. He's got sores just above his coronet on his front legs where it looks like he's been hitting himself. Most of the injuries appear very old, but I'm smothering them in white ointment just in case. Oh, and he's already sustained his first 'injury' - unsure if it happened in the float or at some point in the paddock in the first hour of having him, but he's got a small cut across his nose where the noseband of the halter sits. I think he's going to be a bubblewrap horse...
Sorry for the long speel, I'll try and keep the updates shorter and more readable.
Today, the 27th of November 2016, I took a huge step.
I bought my first horse since the epic failure that was Baby back in 2011.
Some of you would know that I have been free leasing two horses for the last couple of years, one of which is an arthritic Quarter Horse that I ride (Dozer) and the other a frisky Standardbred that my mother rides(MJ). I've tried a few horses over the last couple of years, none of which were ever right. Last week, as Dozer began to fall lame after even the shortest rides, I realised I needed to up the ante from 'casually window shopping' to 'actively browsing the market'.
Well, it seems like Poe just fell into my lap.
A mere day after I mentioned a name to my mother, the name advertised a horse. A beautiful horse, if I do say so myself. He wasn't quite what we were looking for, but I was tempted. I convinced mum to come along to look at him.
And that is how I came to own my first Standardbred.
Poets Voice, aka Poe, is a 6 year old bay Standardbred gelding who finished racing on the 25th of November. On the 26th of November, his trainer hopped on him for what was, as far as we are aware, the first time he has ever been ridden and rode him, bareback, on a main road to the river for a swim. He hardly even flinched. I should note here that he has now been ridden twice by the owner, and had my sister who is light as a feather sit on his back, and that's the grand total of his ridden experience.
My mother was extremely hesitant, and she had good reason to be. He's young, he's fresh off the track, and he's not the seasoned trail horse we were looking for. He's definitely not the answer to my problem of not currently having a horse to ride. But it felt right, and by the end of our meeting we were both in agreement.
He was dropped off two hours later, and I handed over the cash. Introductions went quite well, though there was a little harmless kicking, striking and squealing. After much running around like a maniac, Poe settled down to graze. Suprisingly, he was fairly easy to catch afterward, and when I visited again later in the day he even came when called :O
I guess I should show him off now, shouldn't I?
As can be seen in the video, he's quite the handsome devil. He did give me a bit of a scare on two occasions (I'm sure you can pick them), but no harm done.
The plan for Poe is for me to do much of the groundwork before sending him off for official saddle training. Manners is high on the to-do list; he's such a fidget and has little respect for personal space. This will be my first time training an 'untrained' horse, so I'm scouring the internet like a fiend. Please feel free to share links to articles and videos that you feel may help!
I've got a tentative plan in my head for the next week or so. Amid much fussing, brushing and bonding, I want to get his ground manners in check; in my mind, that is of the utmost importance. He's not overly pushy, but he's a little too comfortable getting in my space.
I'm also booking my massage therapist in for this week to give him a look and feel over. The dentist is on the list, too - the trainer was unable to tell me when they were last done as they'd only had him for around 3 months. He played with the bit a lot when the trainer rode him for me, and my horses are due soon anyway.
I'm also looking for a farrier to pull his shoes sometime this week; my barefoot trimmer will be out in about 2 weeks to get me on the right track with him. In the meantime I'm contemplating putting him on magnesium, simply because it works wonders with the feet of my other horses.
Other than that, it's rest and recuperation. The poor boy has a lot of scars and scrapes, especially from the hobbles around the top of his legs. He's got a rather nasty mark on his neck from rein burrs. He's got sores just above his coronet on his front legs where it looks like he's been hitting himself. Most of the injuries appear very old, but I'm smothering them in white ointment just in case. Oh, and he's already sustained his first 'injury' - unsure if it happened in the float or at some point in the paddock in the first hour of having him, but he's got a small cut across his nose where the noseband of the halter sits. I think he's going to be a bubblewrap horse...
Sorry for the long speel, I'll try and keep the updates shorter and more readable.