[HorsesAreForever]

of you would sell a horse because they didn't like the disipline that you want to go into???

Chance and I have been working together over the last 2 years and I've finally come to terms that no matter how much I try shes never gonna really want to jump. She looks really good over jumps and I was hoping to get her into it but she just doesnt seem to want to do it.

Im torn between just switching to just dressage and drop what I really want to do.. or sell her to a nice home and get a horse that will work with me over fence.

Chance with do it because I ask her to.. but even then theres more stops then going over... even on ground, so yes some of the stops are me but most are just because she doesnt want to jump. I think Chance would LOVE XC cause i've brought her over a low level xc course and she flew over the jumps. But I cant get her out enough to ever be able to show in it. I love chance A LOT but I think this is one reason why we clash so much. We dont have the same interest so to say. But I love her so much and dont want to replace her. UGH! What would you do?

This is the horse I was looking at:
QH mare- great for hunters or low-level eventing-Price lowered, must sell. | Buy this Horse at Equine.com

 

[RiosDad]

I rode a really nice jumper, tall , strong, bold and never refused. In 1989 I got invited to run an endurance race held locally and decided to give it a try. I won best condition that day and promptly sold my jumper since she is not suited to that discipline and have been into arabs ever since.

If you want to jump and your horse is not suited to it then buy something that is. There are lots of good people out there for your horse and you can give another horse a great home.

I had a gorgous tall grey young arab gelding, a nice horse but he lacked the competitive I need/ wanted for endurance so I sold him to pull a carriage for wedding parties.
Loved the horse but he didn't have the heart.

 

[Scoutrider]

I've never sold one because our disciplines clashed, but I'm a really multi-discipline rider, and I tend to smile like an idiot no matter what saddle I'm in or what I'm riding over. The horse's preferences are a factor in the discipline I ride. My discipline is not a factor in the horse I buy, as of this time, but I've never purchased a fully trained horse, only well started, sane horses who are a pretty blank slate as far as discipline specific education. If I had the money or inclination, I wouldn't go out and buy a trained reiner if I wanted to show hunters, or vice versa. I thought about taking Scout through the motions of jumping training, to eventually show hunters, but he isn't wild about even ground poles. He goes over them, but not with a smile on his face, a song in his heart, and a "lets do it again!" attitude, so I'm getting into dressage a little deeper. I just get so darn attached to good horses in so short an amount of time that I'm willing to swap saddles instead of horses! :lol:

The jumping mare looks really good. I LOVE her look as she's over the fence; she looks like she's really enjoying herself, and is eager to get to the next fence. And that face is gorgeous! I'm a sucker for blazes, now, thank you Scout...

As to your specific situation, I can't really advise you one way or another. You know what you want to do, and you know Chance's limitations, needs, and preferences. If you do decide to sell her and try another horse, I'm sure you can find a wonderful home for Chance at a job that she loves.

 

[xxBarry Godden]

Not fit for purpose???
It is a problem. My mare is not really suitable for the purposes for which I bought her. But she is a lovely horse and she has a temperament to die for.
At the time of purchase I thought she was perfect. I was smitten instantly.

She looks at me sometimes and says she is sorry but deep down I know she is going to be skittish all of her life. She can't help it. She is on the ball, sensitive, intelligent and in many ways delightful but she'll never stop being scared of a rustling paper bag or a dustbin out of place. She'll do a little
jump to the right -instantly off all four feet and then she'll carry on as though nothing has happened. I call them "startlets". But I never know when they are coming - so I am always "at the ready". If she does one, then I know another is coming - sometime. It is infuriating.

If you put her at a jump, she will sail over - that big bum of hers contains lots of power. You can ride her at a tractor or a lorry - but don't expect her to stand still by the roadside waiting to cross over - she just might step out in front of a car - regardless of my contact with her.

On the other hand, if you turn your head to the right, she'll go right. If you hesitate just a fraction, she'll stop. If I drop my hip she'll do a tight turn on the hind quarters. She knows what I want before I even think it. If I reach down between her back legs, she'll stand perfectly still whilst I clip up the straps. From time to time she'll even give me a lick.

But dare I take her down into the town? - No - I simply can't trust her to be calm when the moment for her to be perfectly still crops up. And could I leave her tied up? - no never - so no glasses of red wine for me and no crisps for her.

But what to do?? What would she say if she knew I was occasionally thinking about another mare called "Guinness" - a jet black easy going wench with long dark tresses hanging down over her neck and a broad comfortable back to sit on. She too offers the occasional lick especially when there is a bikkie in my pocket.

And if I did swop my Irish Huzzy for that Welsh Mfanwy would I be any better off? No, I doubt it - that's mares for you -fickle. Why did I not stick with geldings like I have always had before. Simple, I suppose, I was bedazzled by a pretty face. I'm stuck with the she-devil I know.

B G

 

[nrhareiner]

If you can only have one horse and it dose not fit what you want to do then sell the horse to a person who wants to do the same thing that your horse wants to do and get one that fits what you want. In the end everyone wins.

 

[Speed Racer]

Horses, I switched disciplines for my horse, rather than selling him on.

Whether you decide to sell and get a horse for the discipline you want, or keep the horse you have and switch disciplines, neither one is a wrong decision.

However, if you can have only ONE horse and you have your mind and heart set on a discipline your current horse will never have a talent for, then selling her on would be your best bet. It would be better for her too, since making her do something she doesn't enjoy will eventually make her rank. Ask me how I know that.....

I loved my boy enough to switch disciplines for him but not everyone wants to do that, and that's OKAY.

Don't let anyone tell you it's wrong to sell a horse that doesn't meet the criteria you need and want.

 

[kevinshorses]

There are two ways to be rich. You can earn more or desire less. If I really liked the horse and I could afford to I might change my plans and do what the horse was better at. If I was unwilling or unable to change disciplines then I would change horses. I have horses for my pleasure not just to give the horses a home. Currently I don't have to worry about the horse fitting because I don't compete and I can get just about any horse to work for what I do.

 

[Alwaysbehind]

Nothing wrong with selling a good horse that does not do what you want to do. You should have no problem finding a good home that will want to do what the horse wants to do and then you can find a horse that does what you want to do.

 

[HorsesAreForever]

Thanks everyone

Its hard because chances personality in general is to DIE for. And everything she does make you smile and laugh.

She has the talent for just about everything, but the heart?? Not always.

Its makes it even harder that I rescued her and now shes attached to me like glue half the time. People always tell me that she would die with out me [long story]. So I worry about how she would deal with a new home.

I dont want a trained horse, because I've gotten addicted to training horses LOL! Even since I started Chance and brought her from her first sane ride to getting her over her first jump and going to the beach for the first time. I love those moments! But I do want a horse thats gonna look for that next jump with a happy face. Not waiting for me to ask her to stop LOL!

 

[EveningShadows]

I think you have to deside whether the horse is more important that what you want to do. Personally, I wouldn't sell my horse if it didn't like my discipline...but I'm a horselover, not a discipline lover. I do a little bit of everything, not especially GOOD at anything.

Example - I originally bought my filly with dreams of jumping...but she's turned out a bit more drafty than I thought she would and her movement SCREAMS dressage. I'm not going to sell her simply because she won't excel in jumping - I'm going to change our goals together and see how we do.

The only problem with being addicted to training, is you don't know what the horse will enjoy and how much they'll give to each discipline. You take a chance (no pun intended) with each youngster you start training and if Chance isn't turning out to be the horse you want, then I suggest finding the one that is. If her heart is in trail riding or dressage, she's never going to be a superb jumper and you're somewhat holding her back from her full potential by keeping her in jumping. HOWEVER, if you're willing to switch what YOU want in riding, then by all means carry on with her and be a team.

 

[HorsesAreForever]

I always said no matter what if she didnt like a disipline I would switch. Which im trying but I see a jump and just want to go over it a few times lol!

Im trying to see if I can get a trial with that mare in teh ad and see if I can live with selling Chance for this horse. I have a feeling I know the answer but we'll see.

 

[eventerdrew]

Haven't read the entire thread. but I have sold a horse because he wasn't able to do the discipline that I wanted him to. He was much happier doing western than jumping.

Put A LOT of thought into it. It's a big decision...

 

[mom2pride]

I wound up selling my Appy this fall for a couple of different reasons; 1) he had no desire to do dressage, or pleasure. He was trained as a gaming horse, and even with a lot of work put into him to get him to calm down, as soon as you put an inclination to work on canter work, he would get fired up. He was also difficult to handle for inexperienced riders, and I like to share my horses with others, and with him, I couldn't use him in that capacity. 2) he had a really nasty streak...again, I could handle him without any issues, but even after all the time I put into him, he would still get aggressive and pushy for people who didn't know how to handle a horse. I work and live at a boarding school, so having a horse like that around was not going to be ideal at all, so i made the decision to find a new home for him.

 

[kmdstar]

I think it's only fair to the horse that you either sell it or change disciplines, it's not fair to them to force them to do what they clearly don't like and it's nice to see that some people are willing to put aside their feelings or hopes and do what's best for the horse even if it's hard for you.

I hope that didn't come off as rude in any way, I didn't mean it to. Sorry! LOL

 

[kiwigirl]

It also comes down to how competitive you are as a person and what your own dreams and aspirations are. While it is noble to say, well, I will change what I am doing to suit the horse, if you have dreams of becoming an Olympic level jumping competitor then that is not fair on you. If you have great goals for yourself in jumping then you do need to work to attain them. Which means you will have to get a different horse regardless.

On the other hand if you enjoy popping over jumps just because they are there well you probably don't need to sell Chance. My horse is 3/4 draft breed, she is pretty but hefty, she moves well but not with exceptional agility, she holds herself well but still looks like a brick. I am looking forward to teaching her to jump, she will never be a great jumper but there is no reason we can't pop over a few jumps of an afternoon for something different. I will also dabble in some dressage and western pleasure, anything that catches my attention really. My point is I am a non competitive person so my horse will be made to dabble in lots of things but not rigourously enough to become stressful for her. If you are or plan to become a competitive rider it is probably in both yours and the horses best interest to part ways.

 

[MacabreMikolaj]

I've been in that predicament and I kept her. However, let it also be noted, Zierra could go lame in three legs tomorrow and I would still keep her. It's not a big deal for me because I've always been multi-disciplined. Zierra was a little different - Zierra hates "control". She can't tolerate schooling in a ring for hours - she's a trail horse by nature and it's what she excells at. She's good at jumping, but due to her size, wouldn't make a good show horse around here (biased against Arabs to boot) so I wanted to try Dressage - she HATED it. Completely shut down on me. I realized that turning her into a show horse would mean breaking the spirit I love in her so much, so I have up any aspirations of showing with her. She'd rather be a trail/endurance/gaming pony and so that's what she'll be.

I love doing everything, and I'm letting Jynx follow the same path - I'll let her tell me what she's happiest doing. I have no aspirations to be a show rider, if it happens, great, it would definately be fun, but my world will not end because I never make it there.

It's all about who you are, what you want and the weight that goes between them.

 

[maura]

I had a wonderful horse that I absolutely adored; he was simply the best horse on a cross country course ever and a brilliant jumper. But as a typical OTTB, dressage was never his strong suit. He would do it, with sort of that martyred air TBs in the dressage ring can have, but he never, ever, truly, relaxed his back and was 'thorough.' One event he gave what I truly thought was the best test he was capable of, obedient, all the movements happening at the letters, square halts. If not exactly happy, at least willing. Scores were mostly 5s and an occassional 6, 7 in the collective marks for me, and the comment "mincing" next to the trot work. The test score left us third from the bottom of the division, in that unpleasant postion of waiting for someone to mess up in xc and stadium so we could move up. Hard in the eventing world, when you're buds with most of the people you compete against, to hope someone screws up so you can place.

I had to ask myself why I was doing this, why I was torturing myself and this completely lovely horse that I adored. Fortunately, the previous year, a local trainer and friend started a series of schooling jumper shows. He became a jumper and a much happier horse, and I found a little green horse (avatar horse) to event. Don't know what I would have done with him if the jumper thing hadn't worked out.

 

[ScharmLily]

Well, for me I know that I just don't have the funds to be competitive, so I just look for a good personality in my horses and I do what they want to do. Maybe this will change as I get older, but for now it works out. If I buy a horse chances are that it will stay with me for life because I'm more in it for the bond than the competition.

So now I'm going to totally throw you off and tell you that I am an extremely competitive person I still have my aspirations of becoming a great rider, so I work like crazy so that I can take lessons on horses that will do what discipline I want to do. In the end though, when it pertains to my animals I am just too attached to them to ever give them up.

I think it really comes down to what you're in it for. Do you need to be competitive on your horse? Is there any way that you can pursue your dreams in another way (through lessons, etc.)? How deep is your connection to that horse and could you deal with the day that someone comes to pick up that horse and bring her away forever?

 

[SavvyHearts]

Not meaning to be the one to say this but I have alwaysfelt that you. Have chance never got along and probably never will. She is a left brain introvert...by the sounds of it you are definitely not. I feel that it is better to sell her to someone that will understand her and know how to work with her horsenality.

 

[Spirithorse]

Heart is created in the horse in a lot of cases. The horse having heart is earned. Sure, some horses aren't the competative type, but that doesn't mean they can't do a certain thing. It's up to us to make things...anything...fun for the horse. I'm a big big big believer in cross-training. With my warmblood, I want to work him on cows someday (gotta find some cows first! lol) but my goals with him are jumping and dressage. All in all, he finds the principle of dressage boring...it's full of repitition, a lot of times including circles, and for his horsenality he finds that VERY boring. Does that mean he can't do dressage? Nope, it just means it's up to me to help him realize how good dressage can feel (he in turn puts more effort into doing what I ask) and it's up to me to play in a way that incorporates dressage but does not bore him. By looking at him you'd never know he thought dressage was boring at one time! lol. But that's because I've developed try and heart in him and he WANTS to do what I ask of him...because I've done the right things for his horsenality.

I can't tell you what to do. If it was me, I'd develop Chance more in the foundation areas (developing try, heart, desire, ambition, etc) and go from there. At the extreme, I'd switch what I wanted to do to make my horse happy. Any horse can jump, but of course some just aren't cut out to be big time jumpers.