Lately I find myself pondering this pre-sale video I took of my horse 2 years ago on the day I met her.
I have so much to learn about horses - what would I do today if I saw this? How would I interpret it?
I remember at the time thinking no big deal.
Watch carefully how the rider reacts to the horse's refusal to move. No reaction at all. What did she know that I didn't? What would your first reaction be if you were on this horse who refused to proceed?
I'm not judging them at all - I don't think they handled her wrongly - despite now knowing how they simply wanted to be rid of her, and never once inquiring about her afterwards. I'm simply wondering if I would interpret this differently today.
I remember thinking how spookiness was not going to deter me from a purchase, because I'd never ridden anything that wasn't spooky. Hrm. This is not the same thing at all.
Anyway.....
I recently found some siblings of Mara for sale - all offspring of her Trakehner/Araber Pinto father.
The gelding is particularly interesting to me, because he's also 75% Arabian and has some physical characteristics shared with Mara. Well, the color, giraffe neck, and crazy look in the eye.
My first impression is that his back is shorter, but his hip is also much shorter, which looks weak to me. I was surprised to see the same high/low syndrome on his forehooves, and the white leg being low, the brown being high, just like Mara, but much worse. I keep Mara's feet trimmed so this is not immediately obvious to people who aren't hoof geeks. The gelding's hooves are long, and nothing is hidden.
He certainly has "stallion presence" as his ad states, but his neck also has an ugly "nest" (as Fugly would call it) underneath. He looks like a real adventure to ride: ) He has been ridden, but he's only 5 and still green. They say he should be a jumper like their father, and "an ideal horse for professional endurance riders and drivers." They want almost 4K Euros for him. He has a very fancy Arabian sounding name!
Here he is.
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Then there's the 6 year old mare who sadly inherited their father's spots. She's also advertised as perfect for endurance. She is almost an inch taller than Mara. Here is her ad.
I find it odd that in both ads the horses have their Winter coats. I would definitely only use photos of Summer coats if I wanted to sell a horse. Do they not have any?
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This one is only a granddaughter, but looks so much like my horse I have to include her here.
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14 comments:
I am not sure that I would go with a relative of your current horse given the issues that you have had. I would make my list of 'must haves' in terms of temperament and look at horses that meet those.
I kinda like the look of the "granddaughter" and of course around here, having spots raises the price!
I think that, when shopping for horses, we tend to focus on finding one that DOESN'T DO WHATEVER THE LAST ONE DID that made us crazy. I didn't go looking for an enormous dragon made who bit and kicked and hated other horses. I was just glad she didn't want to spook and dump me all the time like the Toad did....
What I found most telling about Mara's sale, in hindsight, was the fact that her owner was so afraid to ride her. She didn't get on until after you had ridden her, if I remember correctly?
Those relatives of Mara's really do all have her same expression. Is it normal for German horse sale ads to not have at least one picture of the horse under saddle?
Mara sure got the looks after looking at her relatives. Yikes. Mara is beautiful. Maybe the milkman is really her dad. I'm surprised at the high prices there for horses that look like that and are green.
I, too, am curious about Mara's "relatives". It would be interesting to talk, if possible, to their past owners to see what traits they share with Mara. Mara is definitely the best looking of them all though. Was it her upbringing or her breeding that made her like she is today? I wonder what Mugwump would say about her? I think you should go on vacation (I believe you are soon), and Mara & Bellis should go to camp.
The way Mara was looking at the low vertical jump made it seem like she had never seen one before! She acted like it was her first time in that ring and seemed fairly green broke. The fact that the other person had to lead her past the fence showed that the rider had no confidence. I would have thought that the horse might freak out(rear, buck, bolt) if asked more forcefully by the rider to go forward. Would have been a "Hell no!" for me.
I feel bad writing that, because you're second guessing yourself about a past decision that you can't change. It's easy for us to see it now, since we know the story of the past few years, so it's hard to give an objective answer. I'm just glad Mara isn't mean spirited and doesn't try to dump you & run to safety! I hope you don't beat yourself up about this too much, you can still change your future. :)
Teresa, I wouldn't wish a relative of my horse on ....one of those nasty ladies across the street! I'm just curious how many of my horse's siblings are for sale and why. (If only the "why" was an honest answer...)
Aarene, funny you liked that one too. Pintabians are the cool thing in Germany. You're right - I was very focused on getting a horse that isn't herd bound. Well I got it, *lol*
Saiph, well the owner and her daughter both got on and rode before I did, and the owner said she'd never ridden her before.
I find it odd that they didn't bother to take pics of the two who are broke under saddle. Normally you'd do this in an ad. But the pics look like they were not planned at all - and from Winter! The Pinto's ad says she's for sale due to herd reduction. Maybe because they're both so young, they've only been ridden a couple of times so no pics?
Tina, they really need to learn to take pics of horses! Yes, those are high prices for mixed breed, green broke (and not broke) horses, IMO.
Kbryan, I don't think mugwump would bother trying to make my horse into a trail horse - she'd find her a job she liked in the arena. Or perhaps mugwump has a been there done that horse who could go out with my horse until she enjoyed herself. Yes, I'm going to London Monday!
2Punk, I have to admit something else about that video. That little jump she was afraid of - it's directly outside her paddock. So she lived all Winter right next to that area. I know, anything can look strange to any horse given the right circumstances, but...
You're interpreting the video exactly as I am - the rider knew something. She knew escalating would cause an eruption, so she did nothing. Which isn't bad, and saved their sale. Take a look at her expression. She has the same look on her face that I do when I'm unable to get my horse to move. Except I'm not patting her on the neck the whole time!
Oh, I forgot to mention....if I had a nickel for how many Germans have told me "Trakhener? Run away!" Or "Trakhener/Araber!? Dear Lord, that's the worst combination you can make!" People seem to agree that Trakherners have a screw loose. Have you heard this in America or is it a German thing?
Some people in America think Trakheners have a screw loose, probably due to an infusion of Arabian. They are considered more hot blood among the warm blood riders. Yet I've known people who bred them whose horses had good solid minds. But that was probably due to correct breeding. But yes, there are those who don't like "crazy" Trakhs.
Have fun in London!
Hindsight is always 20/20 :-)
Interesting to see the sale horses there! You did get the best of the lot!
Look who's back! I'm quite glad that you are, because I must admit your posts about your endurance past in the US really got me to reflect my riding habits. Amongst my horsey friends I wouldn't be considered timid in respect to footing, but looking at your pictures and reading your stories... maybe we tend to blubble-wrap out horses too much when out on trails. I a horse (bred and trained for the purpose) can run for miles on such surfaced, maybe mine can survive a short canter? I guess that's what you get when you ride too much on nearly perfect surfaces.
I'm sorry you and Mara still struggle as bad as a while back. But certainly, bloodlines can be influential. There are some warmblood lines that are considered strictly "professional only" here and I've heard the same about Trakehners: don't let any amateur even near or it's going to be a massacre. ;-)
The ads are a bit peculiar, to be sure. Apart from crappy picture quality/lack of ridden horses being shown under saddle, the coloured one was especially strange. Pictured dated five years ago? Seriously?
I totally agree that it is strange that the pics of the horses in the sales ads are all in their winter coats. Very bizarre.
Regarding Trakehners, I honestly don't know enough about them. When I lived in South FL anyone who wanted to do dressage wanted a Trak, but then everyone in South FL was crazy, so maybe that makes sense. ;)
Interestingly when I did the genetic testing on Lily, I thought she was going to come up Anglo-Arab. Or at least 3/4 TB with 1/4 Arab. Or Andalusian, like I'd originally been told, sinc she had this people-loving streak in her. Nope. She came up mostly TB with some Trakehner. When you get her past her nerves/worry, she is a very, very sweet horse, one of the sweetest mares I've ever worked with, which is so unlike your typical bossy alpha TB mare. So either some Trakehners have redeeming qualities, or the DNA test was wrong! Which is totally possible. I would think Europeans would know Trakehners better than Americans since the breed originated closer to their part of the world.
I did always think it was interesting (and odd) that Germans would think Trak/Arab crosses would be bad: I personally would have thought it would be more like an Anglo-Arab in temperament, but apparently not?
I've heard that about Trakehners here in the states!! I figured they were just being breed prejudiced but maybe they are right?
Mara is definitely the best looking out of all of them!! Are the siblings nearby? Could you go try them out, pretending you are buying, so you can see what their personalities are like? I'm so curious if they are like Mara... That gelding's expression is exactly like hers.
If it makes you feel any better from that video she just looks really green and nervous to me. I never would have dreamed she would be such an anxious mess and not get any better after a year of hard work. So don't feel bad for not catching on to her anxiety at the beginning.
You don't like pinto either??
It's always interesting to see the sisters and brothers of your horse. The pinto looks cute. Wouldn't mind having an Arab pinto cross myself, as long as it didn't have blue eyes surrounded by pink...freaks me out. We all have our thing..
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