PF now known as Bell or Bella is ours. DH picked her up Friday for a trial trail ride on Sat. When I got off of work we loaded up and headed to MIL’s. I left my girls at home. I figured I would stay back and watch Ty while MIL, Chase and DH rode. Then I didn’t have to see how she did to be part of the decision.
When we unloaded everyone at MIL’s we put Bell in the round pen. She didn’t seem too concerned about being in a new place. Later that evening we got the horses out and rode. Ty rode Nikki, Chase & MIL both rode bb w/a halter and DH on Bell. The worst horse was Abby. She was nervous around Bell. Since Chase was on bb and losing control he decided to get off. I hopped on and had a nice conversation w/Abby and all was fine. After that MIL got on Bell. Poor girl is going to be doing a lot of loping since she is so smooth.
The next morning we got up and everyone got ready to head out. Well what is planned never seems to work. FIL got into town early w/my niece and nephews. They are visiting from out of state for two week so MIL wasn’t able to go. Instead, DH, Chase and I loaded up and headed out to the trails.
When we got there I opted to ride Abby so Chase didn’t get killed and put him on Sis. The first 5 minutes was the worst of the ride. Abby HATES going from one surface to another and she is very aware of what she is stepping on. It took a long time to get her on the pavement and then over the cracks in the pavement and then finally onto the trail head.
Once on the trail Abby and I stayed out front doing some turns around trees, bending, etc. She was actually doing very well. A shy here or there at a pile of poo but nothing too bad, she is just very lookie lo. Of course Bell was being an angel. I can honestly say the way she was going that I would have trusted her to carry Chase. Kind of made me sick to my stomach she was being so good. She only spooked once and I’m not really sure if it was a spook or if she was just getting out of Abby’s way when Abby spooked at a deer and tried to land in Bell’s lap.
We didn’t stay out too long – maybe 4 hours. Bell is about as out of shape as Sis and I managed to sprain my ankle at the farthest point on the long trail so we opted not to ride the last trail. When we got back to MIL’s DH turned Bell loose w/the herd. Amazingly there were no arguments.
She is not perfect in any way. She has some tuning up to do. She has an iron mouth and doesn’t know how to neck rein. She also lacked a bit of confidence on the trail as a leader but seemed to do well by the end of the ride. That all being said – I think she’s a perfect fit for DH.
Tuff E Nuff Quarter Horses
Lucy
Showing posts with label PF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PF. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
PF - Test Drive
Last night DH and I went out to watch PF go. When we got there she was already saddled up in the round pen. We made out introductions to the owner and then headed over. DH was taken back by her similarities to Sis and we laughed as Chase said “that horse looks just like Sis”. Lol
The gal did a little bit of round pen work with her and explained that she really doesn’t do much ground work with her before riding. Just enough to make sure PF is paying attention to her. It was fun watching someone else RP as all of her turns were made to the outside. When she asked PF to move faster it took quite a bit of encouragement – she doesn’t want to loose anymore weight! Lol When she asked her to come to the center she did and then immediately dropped her head to graze. That is so Sis and it had DH laughing.
She showed how she’ll give her hips nicely when you look at them. I did this with her the other night and she did do very well. Then we headed to the “arena”. She had a bit of a problem taking the bit but the owner explained that her son had bumped her a time or two in the teeth with the bit so it was very understandable. She had her in a D ring w/rollers similar to a bit we use on Sis but she had it very low in her mouth (almost to the point of falling out). You could tell PF wasn’t happy about it being so low but she picked it up and held it anyways.
Through our conversations we learned that it had been since last August since PF had been ridden last and she hasn’t been loped once in the 2 years the owner has owned her. The owner got on and rode off and PF moved off quietly and calmly. At the end of the arena she started to nicker back to her buddies but kept moving. She walked her over a log and then bumped her up into a trot. It was a forward moving trot but not a fast one. We watched her ride for a while and then I got on.
Since the owner was short I decided to ride in her saddle. Those Tuckers are pretty comfy. Anyways – PF did well except she wanted to cut the arena. The problem with this was the tree in the far end where she wanted to cut was a thorn tree. Ouch! When she’d get to that spot she’d nicker and you could feel her want to speed up to get back to the other horses. I turned her in circles and put my inside leg on to see if she knew how to bend. Not really but she did soften after a little bit. She has an iron mouth compared to what I’m used to. I bumped her into a trot and it was pretty cozy. Would be a lot nicer if she’d slow down just a tad but that probably wouldn’t be hard to do.
PF was being good so I decided to push it and ask for a lope. OMG! She has one of the smoothest lopes. Like Black, she covers a bit of ground. She wasn’t upset at all that I’d asked her to lope and continued in a nice, relaxed lope until she had an excuse to stop (me talking).
After that DH got on and rode. She was a bit different for him but by this time she was pretty hot and sweaty. When I say different, it wasn’t really in a bad way. He was trying to neck rein her and she doesn’t and there were a few other times where I felt there was a miscommunication between the two.
Once we were done we watched her owner bath her and clip her. She did well but kept talking to her pasture buddies. She wanted to be back with them and you could tell.
I wasn’t in a very good mood last night so when DH asked me what my thoughts were I was probably a little rough on him. Told him she was a nice horse but she’s probably going to need some work and I wasn’t doing it. I kindly reminded him that I’ve trained too many horses for him that he’s sold when they weren’t “good enough” and I wasn’t doing it again.
I’m not sure what he’ll do, if he’ll take her out again, make up his mind from here or just forget about it.
The gal did a little bit of round pen work with her and explained that she really doesn’t do much ground work with her before riding. Just enough to make sure PF is paying attention to her. It was fun watching someone else RP as all of her turns were made to the outside. When she asked PF to move faster it took quite a bit of encouragement – she doesn’t want to loose anymore weight! Lol When she asked her to come to the center she did and then immediately dropped her head to graze. That is so Sis and it had DH laughing.
She showed how she’ll give her hips nicely when you look at them. I did this with her the other night and she did do very well. Then we headed to the “arena”. She had a bit of a problem taking the bit but the owner explained that her son had bumped her a time or two in the teeth with the bit so it was very understandable. She had her in a D ring w/rollers similar to a bit we use on Sis but she had it very low in her mouth (almost to the point of falling out). You could tell PF wasn’t happy about it being so low but she picked it up and held it anyways.
Through our conversations we learned that it had been since last August since PF had been ridden last and she hasn’t been loped once in the 2 years the owner has owned her. The owner got on and rode off and PF moved off quietly and calmly. At the end of the arena she started to nicker back to her buddies but kept moving. She walked her over a log and then bumped her up into a trot. It was a forward moving trot but not a fast one. We watched her ride for a while and then I got on.
Since the owner was short I decided to ride in her saddle. Those Tuckers are pretty comfy. Anyways – PF did well except she wanted to cut the arena. The problem with this was the tree in the far end where she wanted to cut was a thorn tree. Ouch! When she’d get to that spot she’d nicker and you could feel her want to speed up to get back to the other horses. I turned her in circles and put my inside leg on to see if she knew how to bend. Not really but she did soften after a little bit. She has an iron mouth compared to what I’m used to. I bumped her into a trot and it was pretty cozy. Would be a lot nicer if she’d slow down just a tad but that probably wouldn’t be hard to do.
PF was being good so I decided to push it and ask for a lope. OMG! She has one of the smoothest lopes. Like Black, she covers a bit of ground. She wasn’t upset at all that I’d asked her to lope and continued in a nice, relaxed lope until she had an excuse to stop (me talking).
After that DH got on and rode. She was a bit different for him but by this time she was pretty hot and sweaty. When I say different, it wasn’t really in a bad way. He was trying to neck rein her and she doesn’t and there were a few other times where I felt there was a miscommunication between the two.
Once we were done we watched her owner bath her and clip her. She did well but kept talking to her pasture buddies. She wanted to be back with them and you could tell.
I wasn’t in a very good mood last night so when DH asked me what my thoughts were I was probably a little rough on him. Told him she was a nice horse but she’s probably going to need some work and I wasn’t doing it. I kindly reminded him that I’ve trained too many horses for him that he’s sold when they weren’t “good enough” and I wasn’t doing it again.
I’m not sure what he’ll do, if he’ll take her out again, make up his mind from here or just forget about it.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Shopping
Who wants to help me?
DH’s back seems to be back to normal so the hunt for a new (younger) horse is on. Black is doing well but I’m not sure we could have expected her to keep up on the trails we hit on Sunday as it even took a toll on our younger horses. On the way home, we discussed what it was that he wanted in a horse. He told me that he just wants a nice dependable horse like Sis to trail ride on. If he could just steal Sis he’d be thrilled but that isn’t going to happen!
A while ago I ran across a horse on CL that really caught my eye. She is almost a mirror image of Sis. I never pursued it because DH hadn’t ridden much because of his back and I figured he was still on the high dollar roping horse kick. After our weekend and our talk I decided to take a look to see if she was still available. Her ad was still there so I sent an e-mail. She was still available & the owner gave me her number to call her later in the day. Here is her current ad:
I did a little bit of google searching and found her previous ad from 2 years ago (previous owner).
I talked to the owner on the phone last night. Sounds like PF (that’s what we’ll call her for now) hasn’t been ridden much in the past 2 years. -1 She purchased her for her husband/son and neither of them have ridden. She said she was a horse you could leave and then jump on and go. +1 She said she wasn’t for beginners. +0 She is still ridden in a snaffle. +1 She prefers to follow on the trail. +0 She doesn’t like to leave the other horses. -1 In a later e-mail the owner said she will not refuse to leave but will just nicker to the other horses. +0 The owner was fine w/me taking her on a trail ride but wasn’t to sure about letting me take her to the arena (flag). The feel I got was that she is semi-confident in PF’s abilities. Since she hasn’t been ridden – she just isn’t sure but she was ok with allowing me to ride her w/o her being there (I’m not ok w/that as I’d like to see her go once first before hopping on).
She is only a few miles from us so I did drive over and see her last night w/o the owner there but w/the owner’s permission. She has a very soft, intelligent eye but she doesn’t look like her pictures. She’s lost weight (which the owner was happy with) but with the weight loss she’s lost muscle as well. She looks more like a thin track horse vs. a fat QH like I expected. The tone of the muscle she does have is very nice though. She's still hanging onto her winter coat and looks wormy depsite being on a regular schdule. Nothing that a little Karbo Combo won't help with. She’s a bit more refined then Sis. It is nice in her face but I’d kind of hoped for that big chest and butt.
The bo got her out and I picked up her feet. She picked them up well. She needs trimmed but her feet weren’t horrible. She did have a noticeable bump on her left front pastern. The owner said this was from an injury as a foal and it was scar tissue. Her vet (a very reputable one) said it was no big deal and wouldn’t affect her. I’m still on the fence about how much I think it might affect re-sale value.
I took her to the RP and sent her off. She left but wasn’t afraid of the whip or me. She wanted to turn away when I stepped in front of the drive line (most do so no big deal). She sure can get her butt underneath herself. She’s athletic but on the lazy side. When she finally did learn to turn into me she figured that out quick but once next to me she thought the grass was more appealing. She did nicker to the other horses but didn’t get too upset. She also didn’t seem to mind Ty running all over the place.
I haven’t told DH about her yet. I want to ride her and have MIL ride her to see how she goes. Then if she passes those tests I will have DH look at her. I don’t want a project horse – I don’t have the time and DH doesn’t have the patience. Any thoughts? Anything strike out at you that I might have missed?
DH’s back seems to be back to normal so the hunt for a new (younger) horse is on. Black is doing well but I’m not sure we could have expected her to keep up on the trails we hit on Sunday as it even took a toll on our younger horses. On the way home, we discussed what it was that he wanted in a horse. He told me that he just wants a nice dependable horse like Sis to trail ride on. If he could just steal Sis he’d be thrilled but that isn’t going to happen!
A while ago I ran across a horse on CL that really caught my eye. She is almost a mirror image of Sis. I never pursued it because DH hadn’t ridden much because of his back and I figured he was still on the high dollar roping horse kick. After our weekend and our talk I decided to take a look to see if she was still available. Her ad was still there so I sent an e-mail. She was still available & the owner gave me her number to call her later in the day. Here is her current ad:
PF is a versatile mare that we have used for trail riding. PF is very athletic
with a sweet and willing disposition. She loves attention and will be the first
one to greet you in the pasture. She clips, loads, stalls and hauls with no
problems. We are selling PF due to lack of time to ride.
I did a little bit of google searching and found her previous ad from 2 years ago (previous owner).
She has been shown in 4-H in halter and showmanship. This is a beautiful
young mare that can go in many different directions. Great trail horse.
Used by family on overnight camping trips, ridden in groups and alone.
Husband safe. Has also been used to move cattle. Her sire, PP, is also on
allbreedpedigree.com. His offspring have points and are winning at AQHA
shows and in many other arenas as well. He is very line bred Poco
Bueno.
Classy and feminine mare
7 years old
15.2
Likes attention and people
Quiet to be around
100% Sound.
No health issues.
Clips / Loads
wellGood for the farrier
I talked to the owner on the phone last night. Sounds like PF (that’s what we’ll call her for now) hasn’t been ridden much in the past 2 years. -1 She purchased her for her husband/son and neither of them have ridden. She said she was a horse you could leave and then jump on and go. +1 She said she wasn’t for beginners. +0 She is still ridden in a snaffle. +1 She prefers to follow on the trail. +0 She doesn’t like to leave the other horses. -1 In a later e-mail the owner said she will not refuse to leave but will just nicker to the other horses. +0 The owner was fine w/me taking her on a trail ride but wasn’t to sure about letting me take her to the arena (flag). The feel I got was that she is semi-confident in PF’s abilities. Since she hasn’t been ridden – she just isn’t sure but she was ok with allowing me to ride her w/o her being there (I’m not ok w/that as I’d like to see her go once first before hopping on).
She is only a few miles from us so I did drive over and see her last night w/o the owner there but w/the owner’s permission. She has a very soft, intelligent eye but she doesn’t look like her pictures. She’s lost weight (which the owner was happy with) but with the weight loss she’s lost muscle as well. She looks more like a thin track horse vs. a fat QH like I expected. The tone of the muscle she does have is very nice though. She's still hanging onto her winter coat and looks wormy depsite being on a regular schdule. Nothing that a little Karbo Combo won't help with. She’s a bit more refined then Sis. It is nice in her face but I’d kind of hoped for that big chest and butt.
The bo got her out and I picked up her feet. She picked them up well. She needs trimmed but her feet weren’t horrible. She did have a noticeable bump on her left front pastern. The owner said this was from an injury as a foal and it was scar tissue. Her vet (a very reputable one) said it was no big deal and wouldn’t affect her. I’m still on the fence about how much I think it might affect re-sale value.
I took her to the RP and sent her off. She left but wasn’t afraid of the whip or me. She wanted to turn away when I stepped in front of the drive line (most do so no big deal). She sure can get her butt underneath herself. She’s athletic but on the lazy side. When she finally did learn to turn into me she figured that out quick but once next to me she thought the grass was more appealing. She did nicker to the other horses but didn’t get too upset. She also didn’t seem to mind Ty running all over the place.
I haven’t told DH about her yet. I want to ride her and have MIL ride her to see how she goes. Then if she passes those tests I will have DH look at her. I don’t want a project horse – I don’t have the time and DH doesn’t have the patience. Any thoughts? Anything strike out at you that I might have missed?
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