Sheik Mandu is a 16.1 HH dressage horse. The sale gelding is in my price range, is the perfect age, 8, is 15.2HH, and dark bay with black feet.(Pictures of the gelding are at the bottom of this post.)
So this is what an Arabian looks like that has been approved by a warmblood society.
The sale horse is not typy, but looks broad and strong. You all know by now that I prefer the not-so-delicate ones: ) He’s also not too far from me – Duesseldorf! I love the idea of having an Arabian sporthorse, and if his legs and feet are good in real life, and he’s not a complete psycho….hm….
I’m calling about him tonight.
***
Update: After dreaming about this horse the last couple days I finally got ahold of his owner and she told me about him. OK now I know why he's so cheap. He's not actually ridable - as in, he put her in the hospital and she hasn't ridden since. He's OK to lead around but once the saddle goes on, he bucks and throws a fit. Just putting your weight in the stirrup, he flips out. I wonder what the heck happened to him, and so does the owner.
So his ad was not very honest when it says, "Goes alone into the woods." OK if you lead him I suppose he does! That line always gets my attention because I want to just get on and ride out into the woods.
*sigh* A neighbor stopped by today and said I really need to open my mind and look at horses that are not Arabians. But it's just like when I was 17 and I was finally getting a horse of my own - I knew if it wasn't an Arabian I'd be jealous of all the Arabians I came across.
I've put up these pretty photos of him so you can see why I got my hopes dashed again. He's only 3500Euros. But retraining is way worse than breaking in, and I don't even have a roundpen to work on issues. I'll have to pass.
16 comments:
He sounded so perfect- his sire is GORGEOUS !!!
I too wonder what happened to him to cause him to react to a rider like that. =(
What a shame. How sad to get your hopes up and then have them dashed so rudely! He is a looker, though - I can see why you were smitten with him!
Oh Man, both his sire and him are quite gorgeous!!! I can see why you would have wanted him.
Tara
wowee, Sheik Mandu is haaaaaandsome. i'm always a sucker for a black horse.
too bad about the gelding, but, you are so right, retraining can be so much harder than breaking, because you just don't know what happened to the horse to make him that way.
I hope you find a good one and a safe one!
- The Equestrian Vagabond
He's a beautiful horse, but you made the right decision. In the wrong hands, he could kill someone.
Dan
Just a thought, but could you send him to someone else for retraining? He sure is a pretty boy and since his price is low, might be worth the extra investment to make him rideable.
Dang!
His sire is gorgeous!
And they are huge! for Arabs!!
Nice size to ride though!
He is gorgeous too, I hope someone finds him that want to put the time on him.
I know how you feel, I wouldnt want to buy someone elses problem either.
At our age its time to enjoy them, not break them out!!!
Why are the crazy ones always so pretty? Or maybe 'why are the pretty ones always so crazy?'
The stallion is just absurdly gorgeous, and I'm not an arab person at all.
But of course you are right to pass on the bay. There is no cheap way to fix a horse like that. As I read, my mind went straight to "what if it's a physical problem?" i.e, requires chiro or corrective shoeing or a saddle that doesn't gouge...? But whether it is something like that or just a truly nasty/devious streak, the fact is you'd be pouring money into a solution without knowing the end result.
Have no regrets--you made the right choice!
I know you love Arabs, but wouldn`t it be better to have an unregistered Arab or Arab cross, or even something non Arab, than no horse to ride at all?
My dream horse was always a well bred QH, and I started with a OTTB, then a grade paint and so on...
BRB drooling over the sire.
Yeah, you don't need that particular set of problems. He shore is purdy, though. Dang.
Seen anything likely from Team Sensible lately?
Daddy is absolutely gorgeous!!
Hmmm, that's way too bad about him not being rideable. You certainly don't want that. Makes me shiver just thinking about it because I'm getting ready to start riding Yalla. I wonder what went wrong? Is the owner a good rider?
Wow what a stunning stallion!! And so sorry that the gelding turned out to have some serious issues!! That is just crazy. Way too much work with that one!! But he is beautiful as well!!
Ms Martyr, The price is at the top of my range, that means I don't have anything extra for training. If I did, I'd certainly buy a youngster from Gut Alemich!
Ruth, I didn't know you read my blog. Welcome! I agree that it could have been a nightmare or at least a giant headache to have that horse. I think Linda Tellington Jones has a book out on why the pretty ones are crazy - at least, she describes the facial features and how they relate to temperament. I think it's possible that she's on to something. Or maybe it's like those phrenologists in the old days, studying head shape in people to measure intelligence/character.
CDN, Oh, I've been looking at partbreds too!! There just aren't very many of them. I also am looking at Standardbreds "for my man" but lately he's been telling me to just look at what *I* want.
Aarene, for my man, I did inquire about a Traber recently but no response. It irritates me that people put their horses on websites and then do not answer the contact emails. I also contacted the owner of Ibn and Star Island this week to let him know I'm looking.
Paint Girl, if I had your roundpen and arena, I'd be able to expand my options! You are so lucky to have them.
Hi Lytha, he is a nice looking horse. I'm not sure about the pretty ones being crazy. Mainly I'm used to the plain and visually unimpressive ones being safe and sensible.
I have a rather crazy plan that might see me in Koln around 1-2 June. Will you be around? I'll tell you more if you can email me.
Wow they are both GORGEOUS!! His sire is my favorite horse coat color (black) and he's a very beautiful shade of bay. :) It's too bad he's so messed up, but at least she was honest with you before you drove all the way out to see him. I agree I wouldn't buy a horse that had put his owner in the hospital, but maybe mention to her that usually a horse reacting like that is from pain (if she's had him a long time and knows it's not a fear response from abuse). He needs to be looked at to find out what the problem is. A horse that used to ride doesn't just start freaking out about a saddle for no reason and if he's acting that way as soon as a foot goes in the stirrup my first thought is back pain!!! It's not fair to sell that poor horse and not try to find out what's wrong. Anyway sorry for the rant. I hate that you got your hopes up. Keep your chin up, you'll find the perfect horse (and know immediately it's the right one). :D
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