smellshorsey

Do We Dare Fall in Love?

We're over a week into our trial with Markus and so far he is just what we want. Lily had trouble with him in her riding lesson on Monday because the jumps where she takes her lesson are in a large field, and I think Markus thought he was doing cross country. They were supposed to jump two small warm-up jumps, then canter around and do them again. 

Markus had other ideas. Coming off the second jump, he locked onto a giant roll-top with poles on top of that and that's where he took her. It was like watching one of those war movies where the fighter pilot locks onto the target and releases the missile. I think Markus could do this whole jumping thing with no rider.

This scared the britches off of all of us and though Lily steered around the huge jump, she just couldn't get him to stop. He wasn't running away. He wasn't tucking his butt and being scared. He wasn't bucking. He wasn't being evil. He was just ready to do his job and was going to keep going until he did it. After a lap or two at a fast canter, she got him stopped.

So they did the small combination again and she steered him away from the big jump early, only to have him lock on another jump for a repeat performance.

You have to admire his willingness and his work ethic. You have to complain most loudly and screechingly about his brakes. But I repeat -- he wasn't running away, he wasn't bolting. He was just going....going....going. He has been a racehorse and a preliminary eventer. Going is more important than stopping in those jobs, but still. He needs to stop.

So, she tried the combination again. And after some necessary roughness, she got him to stop. Once he caught on, he was fine. 

You have to ride him round into the jump, check him frequently, and check on landing. He likes a heavy rein and wants you to stay with him. The complete opposite of Buddy, Lily's still-and-former horse.

Markus has a great and willing heart, a busted knee, and a fine mind. Do we dare fall in love until after the vetting?

Before the lesson was over, Markus had given Lily enough confidence to jump jumps she's never jumped before. And even if she screws up, he takes care of it all. He can jump anything and will jump anything. He can go slowly. He'd rather go fast. But he's not a rusher and is strong but controllable. That's what she said she wanted. I wish I could show you the big smiles that came with all this.

He's your basic plain dark bay TB. A cribber, something I said I'd never have. He has an old racing injury with a slab fracture of the knee, and though the knee is ugly, it is beautiful to me because if it weren't for that we couldn't afford him. He's ten-years-old and probably has arthritis and who knows what else. He also has a very fine mind and an awesome work ethic. 

I planned to take them to a schooling show today. Lily was reluctant to go, partly because she's had a terrible week with social drama at school, had her piano recital last night, and then something else. If I were her, I'd really want to take this new horse to a little show and see what I could do.

But she said, "No, Mom. He might do really well. Then he might not vet out on Monday. And I don't think I could part with him."

Do we dare fall in love? I already have.

Let Me Tell You Why You Shouldn't Buy My Horse

Buddy is a beautiful, delightful horse. I feel like I'm trying to sell my dog. I act like I'm trying to sell this big ugly goat.

Buddy is a big handsome guy. He is sound and healthy. Buddy has a good mind and has excellent bloodlines. Buddy is a gentleman and a great fellow. He's only for sale because he has informed me (without the use of a Horse Communicator) that he doesn't wish to comply with Lily's dreams of jumping higher and going further. So, as I've said before, he's for sale.

And I'm not the best one to sell him. In fact, I'm sure I'm the worst. I spent yesterday afternoon and this morning in a stew, fussing over the house and barn (with no visible change) so that it would look like a place that would have a nice horse for sale for when my potential buyer comes.

 

And then, the potential buyer who was coming to try Buddy called and said that after sleeping on all the things I told her about him, she just didn’t think she wanted him. She thanked me for being so honest.

 

I cannot help myself. I tell everything I know, especially the bad things, even if they’ve never caused a problem (she was concerned about an injury he had before we got him – an injury that has given us no problems).

 

So, rather than come look at my horse whom she knows everything about, she’s going to go instead to look at the horses offered for sale by a man I believe to be unscrupulous. I know him from when I had another horse and boarded at a stable where he worked. I believe that he certainly will not tell the whole truth about his horses, and here I’ve lost a potential sale because of my overabundance of honesty.

 

I have to believe that God will find Buddy a good home and that I’ve done the right thing, but it doesn’t feel like it.

 

My lost potential buyer asked me what I knew of the man she’s going to see, and she told me she knew that he had a very good reputation. I said I didn’t know anything about that, but that when he was a farrier, I had to quit using him and use someone else because he was unable to shoe my horse. I didn’t tell her about the suitcase of beer he brought with him and would drink while he worked on the horses. I didn't tell her about other things. Maybe he's cleaned up his act. I don't know. I said that I couldn’t speak about his reputation as a horse trader.

 

So, I’ve been in one kind of stew and now I’ve gotten in another kind. But I’ll be all right.

 

I’m not good at this buying and selling of horses. I find it quite stressful. I got several very excited e-mails from another potential buyer that I think I ran off by telling her absolutely every bad thing I know. Not the good things. Anything that could possibly be wrong. I have a compulsion to do that.

Why don't I tell people all the wonderful things about this horse? He is very special. Is there something called being too honest?

Probably I'm not being too honest -- I'm probably being too negative, and no, it's not because I don't want to sell him, though deep down I probably don't. But we have to, if we're going to get a horse that will do the things that Lily wants to do. I want him to get a good home and everybody to live happily ever after. Us. Him. His buyer. Our new horse.

Another prospect is coming next week to look at him. I think I'll excuse myself and let Lily and her teacher show the horse. That is, unless I talk to the prospective buyer again and talk them out of coming. 

Buying and Selling Horses

I finally got Buddy's web site put together and have listed him on two horse classified sites. The phone has started ringing. And I'm looking for a horse for Lily.

Which are the best horse classified sites? Where should I be listing him?

I thought to link to his site here, but I've got my phone numbers and all that other personal info. on the site and I'm trying to maintain some kind of privacy with this blog. If you're interested in an 11-year-old Apx. QH/TB gelding that does English and Western and is the sweetest horse you've ever seen, leave me a comment and I'll contact you and send you the info. and web site link.

I don't really want to sell Buddy. That's like selling your dog. And Lily is even worse about selling him. A teenager at the little show we went to last weekend found out Buddy was for sale and was dying to buy him. Lily didn't think she was good enough for Buddy and I almost had to lock my daughter in the trailer because you just can't say those kinds of things to a prospective buyer. Or to a stranger. Or really, to anybody. (She was only saying them to me about the girl but I was afraid she would be overheard.)

The teenager rode him and the funniest thing happened. When she asked Buddy to trot, he started limping. He'd just done three jumping classes and several flat classes. He wasn't anywhere close to lame. I stood there in wonderment. Lily said, "See? He doesn't like her either. He's faking so they won't like him."

After about eight lame steps he returned to normal, but Lily is convinced (and I'm wondering myself) if this wasn't a protest. Fortunately, the girl's father already has four horses and though the girl's instructor and the girl loved Buddy, we haven't heard a thing.

Then somebody else who'd seen him at the show asked us to bring him to their farm for a woman I know slightly to try. So that's what I did last Sunday. Lily rode Buddy first so that the woman, who has had several bad experiences with her own horse in the past year and has lost confidence, could see that Buddy is a fun, reasonable guy. Lily then took him out in the field and jumped a bunch of log jumps. Buddy was a saint.

Then the woman, whom I'll call Rebecca, got on Buddy. They did great. I could tell that something was bothering Rebecca, though. She wasn't in love. I told her she could take Buddy on a trail ride with her friends, which she did. Buddy wanted to get in the front but she had no trouble keeping him back. He didn't have a problem when other horses rode his rear-end. He didn't mind the cows. He tried to tippy toe around the water but he was still okay. And he didn't have any problems with odd objects or the activities of people on nearby property.

Rebecca and her friends reported that Buddy had been great and that they really liked him. BUT....

When Rebecca and I were away from everyone she confided in me. "You know I've had my horse, "Wifebeater" (name is made up), for many years. I don't think I'm ready to get another horse," she said. "Even if I'm afraid to ride Wifebeater."

She is a really kind and sensitive woman who takes excellent care of her horses. I wish she would buy Buddy. He would have a great forever home. And he would treat her better than Wifebeater has.

"I can't imagine going into the pasture to catch another horse while Wifebeater looked on," she continued. "It would break my heart to see his face."

My heart was beginning to break. I wanted her to buy Buddy.

"I really haven't resolved my issues with Wifebeater," she said. "I had a horse communicator out to help." She made it plain that she didn't really believe in horse communicators, but still, she had paid one to come out.

"The horse communicator talked to Wifebeater. It didn't help with the problems we've been having. But Wifebeater did say it was all right if I got another horse -- so long as it wasn't another male horse," she said.

So Buiddy was perfect but the wrong gender to suit her old horse? I wish I had thought to say, "What do you care what Wifebeater thinks? He's treated you terribly. You deserve a nice horse who'll be nice to you." But I didn't think to say anything because my thinking apparatus had frozen up.

$17 Away from a New Trailer

Lily is $17 away from earning a new trailer. She found a $20 in a drawer and tried to give it to Paul, but he said she had to earn it. She'll have the opportunity to do so this weekend and it won't be too soon for me. (She doesn't have to earn the total price, just a portion. It's been a hard, slow slog of menial construction work, drudgery and splinters. Good for the soul and an eye-opener that physical work is hard so keep studying.)

She sure better work it out before we start going to Pony Club rallies. The old trailer is sound but needs a lot of work. It's steel and is rusting so badly that the horse can almost see sky. The new one will have a small tack/dressing room which will mean we don't have to haul stuff in Paul's Yukon. Once you put hay in a car, it's there forever. Even if you wrap it in a drop cloth. Diamonds aren't forever. Hay is.

The almost sad part is that for all of Lily's work, she's not getting the trailer she wants. She wanted an aluminum Gore, Trail-et or Sundowner. There's a huge difference in price between a steel trailer and an aluminum one. In fact, I don't understand how they can ask that kind of money for an aluminum trailer that doesn't even have an engine in it. I can get a new Toyota (motorized, air conditioned, music system, etc.) for less than I can get an aluminum trailer. Something is wrong with this picture.

We've looked at used aluminums and it's impressive how they hold their value. But not quite impressive enough to spring for one.

Right now the front-runner is a semi-custom K&K steel trailer (made by Bee) that is made of galvanized steel. They swear it won't rust if the paint is knocked off, but it will rust if gouged. We're considering the stock-type trailer with some of the options on the enclosed trailer, pictured below. It won't be soon enough for me -- or the next Pony Club meeting.

Looking at Horse Pr0n Again

My computer keeps crashing and I have so much to do but somehow I got distracted a little while ago (when I got the computer working again) so what do I do? Go look at horse Pr0n.

I've got a couple of questions that sound like they're mean but they're not. There are a gazillion "retired" racehorses offered on the Internet. Taking photos of horses is difficult, but it would probably help the horse get adopted/purchased quicker if the photo didn't have the horse standing there with every muscle in his body tensed, head as high as it will go, and the whites of the eyes showing. The horse looks a nanosecond from a bolt. Yes, the ears are forward, but you don't ride on the ears. I don't care if the description says that the horse is quiet and gentle. The horse looks like this is the first time he has ever stood still in his life.

Then there are the nutty but hopelessly optimistic descriptions. I was flabbergasted to read this description (below) of a 19-year-old horse with screws in his ankle who was raced for 13 years. They suggest that he probably has a career ahead of him as a barrel racer or an endurance horse. I'd say he had a career BEHIND him as an endurance horse. Poor fellow. Handsome, too.

15.2+ hands, 19 years old.        Here's a campaigner who had a LONG career and is now in need of a new        home. This guy raced until he was 13; he's spent the last few years just        hanging out on the farm. Owner says this guy has tons of energy - and,        quite obviously, a LOT of longevity! Sounds like a great endurance        prospect here. Owner also says he is very agile and handy and thinks this        guy would make a great barrel horse as well. He had some type of rear        ankle injury as a two year old and the ankle does have screws in it, but        we're told the horse has never taken a bad step on it and is completely        sound. $1,000 Nego.

Shopping for a Horse Trailer in a Bad Economy

First, the good news. A couple of years ago I developed a near-phobia about hauling horses in a trailer. I've done it since I was 15 when I would drive myself to riding lessons and have to be sure I got home before dark, when my daytime-only license expired. I had no cell phone and didn't know how to back the trailer. It all worked out just fine.

But over the years, trailering began to cause me anxiety. Maybe it was from the time I almost lost a wheel on the towing vehicle because the tire dealer had rung off the lug nuts when they put on new tires. Maybe it's from all the stories about people I know or know of who had horses fall through trailer floors. (That's a total of two people and three horses. The people lived. The horses were destroyed on the spot.) And then the stories about the people you DON'T know.

I actually went to counseling about this because if I was going to do what I wanted to do with horses, I needed to get a grip over this. (If you don't like to fly, you can take a Xanax and konk out in the back of the plane.  If you're flying the plane or driving the trailer, this is a bad strategy.) Over time, I've gotten where trailering is once again routine.

Now the bad news. I took our trailer in on Monday for yearly servicing before the first Pony Club meeting this coming Saturday. The shop called. Major safety problems. Correction will cost more than the trailer is worth. (Yes, it's a rusty old, no-name trailer, which is probably one reason for my earlier anxiety.)

A week or two ago Paul struck a deal with Lily that if she earned $500, he would buy her a new trailer. She has not been able to make a dent in this amount in the past two weeks and I suspect that it will be very difficult for a 13-year-old who has few babysitting opportunities out where we live to make that much money for a long, long time. (She has saved up that much and more over the years in the bank, but Paul won't allow her to use it. Some lesson he's trying to teach her about working for what you want, except I think she feels like she already earned that money.... Sometimes it is hard not to knock your husband upside the head but we do try not to contradict each other or let her play us off each other.)

So, unless she can catch a ride to Pony Club this weekend, I don't think she'll be going. Major disappointment.

Paul wants to take her in the present trailer, saying it can make one more trip. Lily refuses to put her horse in something that may be unsafe. I'm with her.

I would think, with the price of gas and market turmoil, that there would be recent model, good trailers for sale at good prices. Where are they? At the barn where Lily takes lessons the doctors and lawyers are buying fancier, bigger trailers, so I guess that for many horse owners, even if things aren't as good as they were, they're still good.

Paul's business is actually thriving and growing, but part of why he's done well is that he is not attracted to $12,000 horse trailers. Or $6,000 horse trailers. Or $3,000 horse trailers. Or anything that costs money. See a trend here?

Anyway, we're looking for horse trailers. Lily and I want a 2-horse bumper pull with a small dressing room (I don't want to be hauling some monstrous trailer -- just a small compartment you can step into and keep your tack, hay, etc.). That's all she and I can agree on.

She wants an enclosed trailer. I think those are often dark, uninviting and hot. I want an open, stock-type trailer (only the upper half of the walls -- not the whole side). Horses like to get in those, and in S.C., horses are more likely to get overheated in a trailer than to get cold (plus there are always blankets and plexiglass panels we can add). Lily and I can't even agree on the color.

And we've got Paul nowhere near on board. I've brought it up several times only to have him go fetal.

I'm leaving for the weekend. I'm going to the beach with college buddies, leaving Paul and Lily at home to figure out how to get to Pony Club. I think it will be a fine thing for daughter and father to butt heads on this one. And I'm trying to arrange a ride for Buddy to go to Pony Club but no luck so far.

I'm liking a Calico trailer (never heard of that brand before) that's a slant-load and has a removable partition between the "dressing room" and the rest of the trailer. That means you can take all the barriers out of it and use it to haul lots of hay. The downside is that urine can run under the partition and into the "dressing room." It is really the bare minimum, no frills trailer. It's the silver trailer pictured.
Not a thing of wondrous beauty. I'm past needing wondrous beauty. Not something for somebody who wants to be envied at the country club. However, this trailer will do the job, and that in itself is a thing of wondrous beauty.

Lily wants what I'd really like but am adult enough to do without. I think. Here's a photo:
It's a Gore walk-through with dressing room. A real dressing room. Padded everything and a ramp. And aluminum, too. It's over twice the price of the Calico. Maybe three times.

In the meantime, I'm looking at ads for used trailers and deals at dealerships where trailer sales are slow.

One trailer dealer in S.C. offers 17-YEAR financing on their trailers. That makes me feel dead. Can you imagine paying for a trailer for 17 years?

It would be foolish, in my mind, to finance something that will not increase in value and will not generate income. That makes the choices easier and brings me back to the Calico. Now. All I have to do is get Lily to quit saying she hates it and to get Paul to uncurl from fetal position.

You have to pay to live.

The Proposition

This photo was taken in 2006 when Lily borrowed a school pony, Tudor, to ride in an event because Buddy kept bucking her off. Tudor was great and they had a wonderful ride and a great time. Too bad their dressage circles were, um, not very circular. Tudor was a good boy and did much to build her confidence. Since Buddy was doing a lot of bucking, I regretted that I hadn't found Tudor before the riding school did. I was one week too late.

If I had found this horse before we got Buddy, I would have bought him. He's a cute little QH-type kid's horse who's just perfect. He is fun and willing, and the riding school bought him a week before I called the man who was offering him for sale. Tudor was the one who got away.

Buddy is fancier and bigger. And Buddy is absolutely wonderful (now), though he will still buck. But I still have a soft spot for Tudor. I've tried to figure out ways to get him. And now he's available.

Here's the problem -- and the proposition. A while back Tudor went to summer camp and discovered that if he bucked, the little kids fell off and he was rid of that problem. So they put more little kids on him, and he bucked them off, too. So they put big kids on him. Guess what. Splat! Yes, indeed, he learned to buck the big kids off, the experienced kids, you get the picture. So the head of the riding school worked with him and restored him to respectability. An older, more experienced student then leased him and absolutely loves him.

But he's bucked her off twice. The second time, she broke her ankle. So now he needs a new home, though she still comes out to pet him, groom him, love him and wants to start leasing him again. The riding school owner is over Tudor and looking to find him a new career, new owner, new whatever.

The riding school owner, knowing how much we like Tudor, called with a proposition. We can have Tudor and work past this little difficulty. Lily is older now and very much experienced with a horse that bucks. When Tudor is back to the sweet self we all remember and love, we can sell him and get whatever we can for him, minus a small sum to go back to the riding school owner. Actually, it's not all that small of a sum. If we can't sell him, she'll take him back.

Paul immediately said, "no" because he is a wise man who knows that horses like to eat. Lily immediately said, "yes" because she's been looking for an opportunity like this.  I immediately said, "Hmmm."

There are lots of reasons why this might be a great idea. We like the horse. It would feel good to rehabilitate him and help him go to a suitable home.  Lily is trying to save money for a fancy warmblood (Buddy is half QH -- doesn't that make him a warmblood?). I like a project. I like Tudor. I like the riding school owner.

I called Jane today to run it past her. Jane doesn't have a crystal ball, but she does have a better sense of, well, better sense.

There are a lot of reasons that it might work. But between the depressed price of horses, the danger of bodily harm to Lily and the unlikelihood of us being able to make a permanent change in his behavior, I don't think I'll be able to say yes.

I'm sure Lily could ride him and get him where he didn't buck her off. But I'm not sure that he wouldn't buck off the next person. We don't need him, couldn't keep him, would have to sell him. I'm not sure we could find the right buyer.

And we're already very fond of this little horse. This might just be heartbreak on a stick.

The Working Student

At 13, Lily's too young to get a summer job, other than babysitting. There are no babies that need sitting in our neighborhood. But something even better has come through -- a neighbor and friend who does competitive driving and dressage needed a working student. So, Lily has a job, a place to go in the morning and she's learning a lot. Right in the neighborhood.

I just hope it's paying off for her employer/teacher. (Lily gets lessons, formal and informal, in exchange for riding horses, doing light chores and having fun at the neighbor's barn. Too good to be true!)

They usually quit around lunch time, which is a good thing because it's 100 degrees today. Lily rode three horses (including Buddy). She looks worn out but happy.

I was so afraid she'd spend the summer in front of the TV, and while she's getting her TV hours in (and has been reading a lot), she's gainfully employed in the morning.

Summer -- I love you!

Looking for Hay Alternatives

My hay supply is dwindling and although my pasture is green, it isn't enough. I have to feed hay all year. The thought of doing what I have to do -- find hay and stock up for the coming winter -- makes me tired just to think about.

The hay fields have been converted to corn fields to make fuel for me to burn in my car. Other countries are buying up our hay crop. I wonder if this summer will be yet another drought? The price of gas and fertilizer will drive the hay prices up whether or not we have enough rain. Ouch!

The two hay suppliers I consider friends have more friends these days than your average philanthropist. I may start baking cakes for them and other bribes. I do so hate to beg but beg I will. And then pay a fortune.

If you search for "hay alternatives" on the 'net you'll find out all kinds of information that basically says there are alternatives but none as good as hay (except maybe alfalfa cubes). Beet pulp is easy and readily available (and really fattening) but it can only be part of the solution. Shoot.

Many alternatives, such as haylage, apparently carry the risk of botulism. And I don't think I can get my horses to eat ground up peanut shells. I don't even want them to.

Anybody have any success with "alternative fuel" for horses? I hope some feed company is out there working for a solution, because we're certainly ready for one. I've checked several feed manufacturer sites and nobody's talking about developing a hay alternative.

I can't use round bales. Colic, colic, colic. It has to be good hay. Horse quality hay. Hay that was babied from the moment it sprouted to the day it was baled. I feed it to them on a swept concrete pad, which seems to cut down on waste.

Sigh. Since when did dry grass get to be such a rare commodity?

Some Professional Advice on "To Breed or Not to Breed?"

Thanks for all your comments on "To Breed or Not to Breed?" Breeding a nice mare to a nice stallion and wanting to keep the offspring (assuming said offspring lives, etc.) in spite of what Fugly says has many benefits, ranging from just plain fun to learning about life to, as MiKael pointed out, being allowed to follow your dream. Is there anything more important than that?

So, I called my niece, the horse vet, for professional advice on what to do next and her opinion on the whole project. If I was hoping for an endorsement, perhaps I should have called someone else.

"Oh, Anne! You DON'T want to do that," she said. Her passionate, unequivocally negative response surprised me.

"I don't?" I said, shocked and disappointed.

"Absolutely not. I've seen so many bad horses that were raised by mother-daughter owners. Some of the worst horses I deal with.  Not that you and Lily would necessarily ruin the horse, maybe if you had good professional help you wouldn't, but horses raised as pets in the yard usually don't understand that they are horses," she said. "If it's a male you could geld it and cut off some of those problems, but you'd still have to discipline yourselves to treating it like a horse."

Now, she loves me and knows me. On the plus side, this reaction means she thinks that I'm basically a kind (pushover) person whose existing horses are pets but were, fortunately, raised by someone else. So I'm not insulted even if I am shocked. I do indulge my animals, husband and daughter. And myself. (I'm working on denying myself chocolate.)

But I'd never thought about this pitfall before. "You'd need to treat the foal like a horse, treat it like its mother treats it. Train it and ignore it," she said. But it's so cute! How could we do that? I guess that's her point.

So I said, "What if we got professional help and didn't ruin the horse?" So we talked about who could help us, how it should be done, the perils of pregnancy and birth and the heartbreak that can happen. We talked about the expense and the stallions under consideration.

She said, "I don't think you or Lily could handle it if something went wrong. Bad wrong." She's the one I called when the hamster needed to be euthanized. She's the one who's seen us at our crazy worst with our pets. She has a point. But we're several dead cats and hamsters under the bridge, so to speak. And isn't this part of the learning process about following your dreams? That sometimes bad things happen and you have to take a detour, redirect, redream and try again another way? So I got her to go along with that.

But then we got to the thing that's probably going to stop me. Lily is 13. If we breed Lucy tomorrow and she foals next year, Lily will be 19 before she can start jumping the foal and really using him/her.

Sure, at 19 Lily could still be riding like a fiend and could somehow win enough scholarships to afford to go to college AND take a horse. But there's so much important in life that needs attention at that age. School, college decisions, boys, a social life. Will she still be my horse-loving girl? And if not.....? I guess we could sell the horse. But this isn't part of this dream.

Lily and I discussed the timing of all this, the foal's age and development and while she believes she will be riding and competing at Rolex in the near future -- and I hope she will but think her schedule is too optimistic by a decade or more and is certainly out of our budget -- she understood that she her goals and the foal's maturation rate don't coincide. Yes, she can be riding and training the baby before it's five, but she can't really be asking for hard physical  work.

More thinking to come, but that's today's state of mind.

She hasn't done all that Buddy can do. Or Lucy, either. I think I'm going to get her to sit down with one of her former trainers who competed at Radnor with an affordable QH and understands dreams and finances. Maybe if we set goals for this year, and next year, etc. Lily is a talented, dedicated rider, but doesn't know quite as much as she thinks she does.

This is tough and I don't want her life lesson about horses to be that it's all about the money. I want it to be that if your dream is big enough, you'll find a way.