two horse, one horse, pop
Sep. 6th, 2002 01:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
joflasherSo they sold Joe while we were on vacation. Joe is the horse that the Boy and I have been leasing for over a year. This summer we also started leasing Majic, as one horse between two people isn't all that fun. Anyway, we went up to the farm and, hey, Joe's gone.
Not that this is anything new. Almost every time we've gone away on a big vacation, we have come back to find Joe sold. The other two times, obviously, he came back. Once because the woman who bought him was cracked and the other because he didn't pass his vet check. Oh, he's healthy and sound, he just doesn't have the leg bones of a young horse anymore. He isn't meant for a new career as a jumper at the ripe age of 14.
Anyways, I'm good and upset about it. Not so much because he was sold. I can' afford to buy him and they need the money. Its just the fact that I didn't have any warning and the old owner was less than truthful to everyone involved.
They had told us they were taking him off of the market after the cracked lady tried to have him put down because of an allergic reaction to a wormer. They told us they were going to keep him unless we wanted to buy him. I had all these wonderful daydreams involving the Boy and I riding through the autumn leaves this fall. Dream go smush.
The old owner was going on about how they were getting Tisa and Apache going and they would make a good trail mount for the Boy and we could lease one of them instead. Um, both are under 4 years old and have never really been ridden before. This is a good mount for an advanced beginner how? I don't think so.
So that leaves Boy on Majic and me on someone else. I might be willing to ride Tisa on the trails (Apache is just over 2...way to young to ride for any length of time). Tisa's a fairly levelheaded young girl but she has quite literally never had anyone on her back. I think I'm too old to do that shit anymore. I found out after a couple falls that I don't bounce like I used to. I could try taking Kavort. Kavort's the one that bucked me off and kicked me in the head and rib cage last summer. He's better now but he's still a walking accident. He managed to take most of the skin off of his back by trying to crawl UNDER the butt bar on a horse trailer earlier this year. I'm afraid he'll trip on a pebble and we'll both end up broken. The other option is to ride Steele, who belongs to another girl. The old owner was all for us taking him last night but we refused to without actually getting written permission from his real owner.
There's still a chance Joe might come back this time. The old owner didn't exactly tell the truth to the new owners about him. He went to a novice horse family as a beginner child horse. Joe is many things but a bombproof beginner horse he is not, especially not for a child. He can be as stubborn as all get out, he rears and bucks when he doesn't get his way, he's been known to run away with people and he's entirely too hot out on the trails for someone without a decent amount of arm strength to control. I hope no one gets hurt over there and they have a trainer evaluate him. Any decent trainer will be able to tell them "hey, this isn't a beginner child horse". I wish the old owner had done the same. I know they are tight for money but still...I don't think I care too much for the old owner's honesty. I guess its true, all horse sellers are liars and all horse buyers buy at their own risk.
I love Majic but it might be time to find a different barn to ride at. One where I can look the owner in the eyes.
Not that this is anything new. Almost every time we've gone away on a big vacation, we have come back to find Joe sold. The other two times, obviously, he came back. Once because the woman who bought him was cracked and the other because he didn't pass his vet check. Oh, he's healthy and sound, he just doesn't have the leg bones of a young horse anymore. He isn't meant for a new career as a jumper at the ripe age of 14.
Anyways, I'm good and upset about it. Not so much because he was sold. I can' afford to buy him and they need the money. Its just the fact that I didn't have any warning and the old owner was less than truthful to everyone involved.
They had told us they were taking him off of the market after the cracked lady tried to have him put down because of an allergic reaction to a wormer. They told us they were going to keep him unless we wanted to buy him. I had all these wonderful daydreams involving the Boy and I riding through the autumn leaves this fall. Dream go smush.
The old owner was going on about how they were getting Tisa and Apache going and they would make a good trail mount for the Boy and we could lease one of them instead. Um, both are under 4 years old and have never really been ridden before. This is a good mount for an advanced beginner how? I don't think so.
So that leaves Boy on Majic and me on someone else. I might be willing to ride Tisa on the trails (Apache is just over 2...way to young to ride for any length of time). Tisa's a fairly levelheaded young girl but she has quite literally never had anyone on her back. I think I'm too old to do that shit anymore. I found out after a couple falls that I don't bounce like I used to. I could try taking Kavort. Kavort's the one that bucked me off and kicked me in the head and rib cage last summer. He's better now but he's still a walking accident. He managed to take most of the skin off of his back by trying to crawl UNDER the butt bar on a horse trailer earlier this year. I'm afraid he'll trip on a pebble and we'll both end up broken. The other option is to ride Steele, who belongs to another girl. The old owner was all for us taking him last night but we refused to without actually getting written permission from his real owner.
There's still a chance Joe might come back this time. The old owner didn't exactly tell the truth to the new owners about him. He went to a novice horse family as a beginner child horse. Joe is many things but a bombproof beginner horse he is not, especially not for a child. He can be as stubborn as all get out, he rears and bucks when he doesn't get his way, he's been known to run away with people and he's entirely too hot out on the trails for someone without a decent amount of arm strength to control. I hope no one gets hurt over there and they have a trainer evaluate him. Any decent trainer will be able to tell them "hey, this isn't a beginner child horse". I wish the old owner had done the same. I know they are tight for money but still...I don't think I care too much for the old owner's honesty. I guess its true, all horse sellers are liars and all horse buyers buy at their own risk.
I love Majic but it might be time to find a different barn to ride at. One where I can look the owner in the eyes.
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no subject
Date: 2002-09-06 11:45 am (UTC)It just seemed fishy, and I have this inkling that they put him down (he was like, 30 or something- he wasn't anywher near young), and nobody had the heart to tell me, which is sad, cause... if they did, I want to know. At least you know where (theoretically) to find joe and see him and visit and maybe convince the new owners to let you lease him or take him on trails if you help out somehow, or whatever.
And yah- if you don't like your stable, you should find one that you do like. Why spend all the money to be around an owner/trainer who you don't think is deserving of your time and hard earned cash? I switched stables a long while ago, because I didn't like the way the trainer there dealt with "problem" horses, and it made me feel really uncomfortable.. there's lots of good horse people, just gotta look...
no subject
Date: 2002-09-06 12:27 pm (UTC)a) need two horses that are up for an on farm lease AND are both sound. Jumping and eventing are big things up here. Both leave the horses less than healthy.
b) not extremely expensive. Our current farm is a rescue (hence all the unridable horses) and they need all the help they can get. We work off part of our lease at the current place by doing stalls and field work on Saturday.
c) relatively close by and laid back - almost all farmland near Boston has been bought up by developements. The execption is Cambridge and its mainly show farms out there. I don't really want to show at all, just trail ride. So the choices are a long commute to the barn or a show barn. We lucked out finding a rescue that's only 45 minutes away and in need of help.
Of course, this isn't the first time I've been on the recieving end of the owner's modified truth. Her ad for help said "many horses for working lease situation". We spent 3 months getting Joe ridable again and the only other horses who had EVER carried a rider before was a pregnant mare and a 30+ year old who was lame in the front. Joe had spent 3 years as a pasture pet and was NOT happy about being ridden again.
I just got email saying the MIT Riding Team is back in business for the fall. We were on hold since our wonderful, wonderful coach was pregnant. If all else fails, I guess I can just get my horse fix through lessons until I can find a new lease situation.
no subject
Date: 2002-09-07 10:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-09-06 05:13 pm (UTC)Not that I really have that much experience in getting attatched to horses through taking care of them... I'm just not the practical one in my family at all. But like Tolkien, it's something that I've been bombarded with all my life. And the thought of trail riding in Autumn makes me drool. So the depth of the suckfulness is not lost to me.
This is probably why Chris acquires her horses for herself instead of leasing or anything... But you need lots of money-land-stuff for acquisition...
I really, really hope that something works out for you with horse-stuffs. You guys so obviously enjoy it a lot...
(Sorry... I'm none too eloquent by the time I get on the computer in the evening, methinks.)