She's a 10 year old black Missouri Foxtrotter. They called her Sissy, but I'm not entirely sure I'm going to keep that name. I haven't seen her papers so I don't know what her registered name is; the lady couldn't find her papers last night (or any of her other horses' papers; she said some kind soul had cleaned her office and put the folder with the papers somewhere safe). She will have her papers for me when I pick her up this afternoon, filled out and ready to transfer.
The lady I bought her from runs a handicapped riding facility called Hoofbeats to Healing (if anyone is interested, her website is www.hoofbeats2healing.com), and she uses nothing but Foxtrotters and Foxtrotter crosses; she calls them "Angeltrotters." She says the movement of the gait stimulates the brain and back and promotes healing. She has a brain injury, herself, and she says she was her own first client! There were several of her handicapped students around yesterday, and they were all sweet, friendly kids and fun to talk to.
I was told the horse was no good in an arena, she's a better trail horse. I was also told she's very nervous. She used to be a dude string horse, but she hadn't been ridden in several years because she was owned by an elderly gentleman who didn't ride anymore, and he donated this mare and her dam to this program. She's only had her a few months, and was selling her because the mare was just nervous and wouldn't gait with most of the kids, although the better riders could manage her. Apparently she's as good as gold on a trail, she'd just never been used in an arena, and she didn't really do anything BAD with the handicapped kids, but she wouldn't perform for them.
She had a gelding with show experience for sale, and I agreed to try both, and she also let me try her National champion horse to see what he felt like. That was an experience and a half! Weird canter, kind of like what the big lick tennessee walking horses do, but he's barefoot and does it! Fun to ride, but weird.
She had a little student ride the mare for me, and she kept slipping in and out of gait, but I saw enough of her gait to get the idea. Then she let me on her, and told me I probably would not be able to get her to foxtrot, she recommended a few lessons so I could learn to get the horse to gait (in fact, she gave me a lesson while I tried out the horse), but to get on her and play with her so I could see if I was comfortable on her.
So I got on her. The horse was never spooky with me, or nervous, and she was very responsive. I clucked to her, and she immediately went into her foxtrot and I have no clue what I'm doing, but I never felt her do anything different so I assume she stayed in her foxtrot the whole time. I told Tami (the nice lady) that my hips felt like they were sliding from side to side, and was that right, and she said yes, that was how it was supposed to feel. Then I clucked again and she loped both ways of the ring, both leads, and Tami called her little student in, and asked me to do it again so the student could see, so I did. Apparently, they can't get her to lope, and she just went into it beautifully for me.
I did try the gelding, but he was 17 hh and too big, and I just didn't feel comfortable on him. I was on him about two seconds, and that was plenty, I wanted off in the worst way (my mom said I looked like a deer caught in the headlights on him)! I explained that I knew he was better trained, but I just felt more connected to that little mare. I also said that she didn't seem that nervous to me, and Tami said no, but she wasn't behaving for me like she did for others. Then she quietly explained that this horse was a one person horse and they've been searching for her person. She said it was obvious the mare liked me, because she won't mind for people she doesn't like, then she said I rode her beautifully and I looked right on her, and she felt I was this horse's person. She said she's had many other people look at her, and she's refused to sell her to them because they couldn't ride her right. She says she didn't think this horse was a show prospect (when I called her, she said she wasn't a good show prospect, only trail), but after seeing me ride her, she changed her mind and she thinks I could show her in breed shows. In fact, she wants me to come down so she can teach me how to show a foxtrotter, and how to groom them, and what to wear, and so on. She also suggested I ride her in the State Fair, and she would help me (I think she's unofficially adopted me LOL!). I don't think I will, the Fair is only 2 weeks away, but Tami says that really doesn't matter as no one ever enters the foxtrotter classes so if I make an ass of myself it's fine (somehow that wasn't very reassuring....). Then she asked when I was moving down that way because she needs an instructor! LOL!
Almost as exciting as the horse is the new friends that come with her, and the new doors that have opened up because of her. This place is an hour and a half away, but I may get some lessons anyway, and I know that if I need help, it's there.
I'm going to pick my new horse up this afternoon! I'm excited to start on this adventure, but a little apprehensive, too, because I know I have some work ahead of me and it's always a little nerve-wracking getting to know a new horse. But I think she's the right horse.
How exciting! I have not ridden a foxtrotter before, but the people I have met who own them just love them. We will, of course, be expecting photos. Please update us as you get the opportunity to know her better and to ride her. Congrats again!
I tried to ride her this morning, and in so doing discovered she isn't nearly as broke as I thought she was! Scared the crap out of me whe I realized I didn't have any control over this horse (BRAKES! Where are the BRAKES! LOL!). That's okay, she's got a good disposition and is willing to learn. That's probably why she was so nervous with them, she had no idea what was expected of her. I have no idea why she did as well as she did with me down there. I think part of it was that they had a gag bit on her, so she stopped and turned only because of the leverage (I guess that's the only way the handicapped kids could control her). Tami says you have to ride a foxtrotter in that sort of bit to train them to gait, and I don't know much about gaited horses, but I don't really like the concept of a gag bit, I think it's too severe a bit for such a green baby, gaited or no. I am going to try to ride her in a snaffle.
I am going to start at square one with her and go on from there. I did NOT want a horse quite this green, though, but maybe it will be good for me. Once I discovered she had no clue what I wanted, I got off her and gave her a lesson on ground manners instead. She was leading much more nicely when I got through, and I liked that she kept her attention on me the whole time, watching me to see what I wanted to do next. I might actually be able to train a horse that has an attitude like THAT!
I'm sure glad I got her away from that place, though. She's going to take some work, but she's smart and willing and good-natured. I'm glad they only had her a few months, though, or that gag bit would have ruined her! I'm going to have to undo some of the damage it caused as it is! Reminds me of Cowgirl and the bungee cord the idiots who were her previous owners used as a tie-down.
I also discovered I need to buy a new saddle. All of mine are too narrow. That little horse is built like brick outhouse.
Wish me luck with my greener-than-previously-thought horse!
Meezer
PS She's lots younger than they told me she was, so it must have been her mom that was the dude string horse, and Tami got the 2 of them confused. If she hasn't been ridden in several years, the math says the last time she was ridden was when she was 2!
!!!!!!!
I can't imagine why anyone would think some riding 4 years ago on a 2 year old filly makes that filly an old broke horse that's safe to put handicapped riders on, but it's a testament to her good nature, I guess!
Oh, boy Meezer - looks like you've got a project on your hands. But it could be lots of fun!
There are tons of gaited trainers out there who think you need to have curbs and gags to get the horse to gait. I was told mine would have to have a curb. I went to a gaited horse clinic, and the clinician put almost every horse there in a Wonder bit - which is essentially a gag bit. Then, he stood back like a magician, beaming as the horses all gaited.
However, I have since learned there is a growing contingent of trainers who insist that horses can gait just fine using a plain snaffle. Since I took my horse back to a snaffle (against his trainer's better judgement), I have found out all of the things that he never learned - things like collection, impulsion, lateral and vertical flexion. They can't learn those things in a curb or gag. The farm where my horse was broke apparently puts their young horses in a snaffle for the first couple of weeks - just long enough that they learn the very basics of turning and stopping. Then, they immediately switch to a curb. And yes, their horses gait. But my beef is - are they gaiting correctly? What will be the physical condition of these horses in another 15 years? They are traveling in an inverted frame with heads up in the air and hind ends trailing out.
That's why I'm on a campaign to change my boy's way of going. I want to have as sound a horse as possible 20 years from now.
If you're interested in learning more about gaited horses and how to ride them correctly, I recommend Lee Zeigler's book "Easy Gaited Horses". I have also purchased Larry Whitesell's DVD set - called something like Ride a Better Gaited Horse (sorry my brain isn't fully functioning right now). I haven't gone through all of the DVD's yet, but he advocates training horses to be light and supple using minimal hardware to obtain gait.
Guess I should get off my soapbox now. Hope you have as much fun in the discovery process as I am!
I totally agree, Easy Gaited Horses is a great book and you should make sure you get it. I also think that gaited horse trainers try to put all horses in a curb way too fast. The trainer at my barn had been consistently telling me to use a curb with Curly to get her to gait. I refused and went to a Myler snaffle instead. It's a great bit (no nutcracker effect) and she is more happy than when she had a regular snaffle. I probably could have gotten her to gait with a curb, but I never would have found out that it was my seat and my legs that were the real problem. Now we are both happier, and she gaits well with the Myler bit. Good luck with the "whoa". I'm sure after a few sessions she'll be stopping on a dime. Horses understand so much, we just have to teach them what we want them to know.
I bought a Myler snaffle for her, and I've ordered a saddle that will fit her. You can get away with riding a horse in a saddle that's slightly too big if you put extra padding under it, but NEVER a saddle that's too small. Especially with her gaits, I noticed that my saddle rolled from side to side even worse than it would have on a nongaited horse.
I also talked to a horse trainer friend of mine, who can't believe I bought a gaited horse because he thought I'd be too chicken to enjoy that sort of horse! He no longer trains horses himself, but what he does now is teach the owner to do the training. It involves working with him every day for a month with the horse, but he tells the owner what to do to train the horse and the owner actually does the training and riding of the horse. I thought that sounded like just what we needed!
