This is a sweet boy we are considering purchasing. It looks like it will be a choice between the rescue mare and Riggens. He is a 9 year old Paint gelding and has more "Whoa than Go" as they say. In defense of Riggens, it was hovering around 100 degrees in Charleston, SC. He has a personality very much like my 1/2 QH/Arab gelding I had when I was young. My girls each rode him and he has a very slow (wonderful!) ultra-comfy jog and will stretch out for a nice trot - handy on those hill topping fox hunt rides I hope to do this fall. I feel very confident that he has the experience and demeanor to take care of my girls as they are beginners and get me back into the saddle.
The owner has given me a week or so to decide on Riggens. I am watching another horse Molly (aka Titania) and observing her training (I posted about her below). She is a Palomino QH, green and sweet - a rescue mare I am donating my money to receive professional training from "Cooler Horsemanship". I don't believe she has been ridden for at least a year or so and is 6 or 7 years old. Her owners had an unfortunate ending (A murder and suicide) and she was left without a home. Red Dog Farms rescued her. She is sweet and very smart and very willing to please. She loves people. She is about 14.3.
We are awaiting the arrival of our Oberon, the gelding QH buckskin I highlighted a few posts back.
Searching for a horse is much tougher than I thought. I have adored many, but am trying to keep a level head and think what is the best fit for all of us - I could handle a bit more of a "go" horse, I think, but my girls are far too new at horses and I do consider myself a cautious rider - not one to take on too much of a "go" horse.
The ONE thing Riggnes did that was kind of odd was when we first approached him in the stall he laid his ears all the way back. The owner told me he would do this, that he was all "talk". Riggens is "low-man-on-the-totem-pole" in a barn of 5 or so bigger or older geldings. She said he just likes to play tough and seems to be saying that "this is MY space - I'm in charge". As soon as we touched his neck his demeanor changed to ears forward and sweet (never nipped or looked like he would bite). We got in his stall, brushed him and pushed him around, cleaned his feet, rode him, gave him a soapy, sudsy bath and touched his ears, under his belly... He never did anything to make us afraid. We spent about four hours with him.
If you have any words of advice or comments, I do appreciate them.
5 comments:
The paint is lovely,just make sure about the temperament and let a competent vet check him out thoroughly,especially the legs! I do like the palomino a lot!
I like the look of them both, so it's a tough call you have to make. I loved the paint at first sight, but a little taken back by what you said about the ears. I would be going back for a 2nd and 3rd look till I was satisfied that all is as the owner is claiming. Temperament should be the no.1 thing - just my thoughts. cheers Wendy
Liesl & Duchess - Yes, I agree. A vet check I will always have done and I purposely went into his "space" and brushed him and picked his feet up and he was a sweet boy. He didn't follow up the ears with any biting or nipping or even really putting his nose out... I think it was all show. But yes, I think it is a good idea to travel down one more time if I decide to purchase him. And, after all, Charleston is one of my favorite historic towns... I 'd love a weekend with my husband before the end of summer... :)
All three horses look like they would work well, you just need to go with the one your heart tells you will be the best fit.
Are you planning on stall/ turnout keep or will the horses be on full time turnout? Living in a stall could make any horse a little cranky, and if all Riggens does is one ear pinning at the approach to his stall, it probably isn't a big issue.
PS- but I'd want to know what he's like to catch in a herd situation.
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