Recent content by SillyMare

Sometimes threaten to tie mine to a fence and go home with out her - mainly at dressage competitions. If anyone ever comes across a grumpy looking mare in said predicament, please look after her (and don't get bitten). (obviously I love her to bits deep down)

Lots of good advice above. Only little addition I would make is if you are using bands, I like to use 2 at a time. Better tension and helps keep the plaits tight. Also makes the plaits more resilient for a day of hunting or if you are doing them the night before. Sorry if someone has said...

I lost my 2 boys in the last 18 months (unrelated - they were just oldies sadly). The first one had 2 or 3 weeks of illness which we worked with the vet to try to treat - sadly it became very clear to me what needed to happen and once the decision was made, it had to be as soon as possible...

HEROS generally have a very good reputation (although I'm sure there are instances like the one mentioned above - hard to avoid the odd issue when they have a high throughput of horses). HEROS (or any other reputable retrainer) are definitely not a cheap option - ex racers can be piced up far...

Horrible pay. Long hours. Hard work. Heartbreaking when things go wrong. BUT you get to spend every day with amazing horses and if you are good enough to ride, working the horses is the best fun ever. Wouldn't be for me as a proper job but I have had loads of fun in the past riding out on...

This. I wouldn't loose sleep over it - those sums of money are nothing compared to the wider costs. If you love her and are prepared to deal with whatever the future holds for her then go for it. She looks well enough in those pics.

If she is in good health now, you are prepared to potentially make a difficult decision at some point and the price is low enough then maybe. If however you don't think you or your family could survive the potential heartache then sadly I would steer clear. Admittedly no horse at any age...

Me too - but I quite like having them in at night all year. I can manage what they are eating and be sure they get handled / checked properly every day (I work away). Have been in two different yards with this regime over the last 10 years and it works fine for me.

For a first outing, maybe focus on in hand only and see if you can enter 3 or 4 little classes (there are usually 'prettiest mare', 'best condition' type things that she would be eligible for as well as her main class). Set yourself a simple objective that you can achieve / over achieve on...

Have you tried just sitting it out? You will need to allow ages the first few times (all day if necessary). Rather than get cross with her and risk a battle / explosion when she sticks, just sit there ensuring she remains pointing in the direction you want to go. Ignore any steps backwards...

Sorry - she is a she! One more thing - can you use the neck strap as a control aid while she is learning? Horses can learn to slow down on a tug around their neck - useful training aid (no trigger for resistance).

I think it depends what you want to do with him in future and how long he has been out of racing / how much education he has had. If he is fairly recently 'ex' racing, my first approach would be to try to address whatever issue he has with his mouth. It would be worth getting a really good...

Oh yes, missed that. You might just need to sit tight then.

Are you allowed to turn him out yet or is it just 30 mins walking as a form of controlled exercise? Maybe speak to your vet and see if turnout in a small paddock or pen would provide an alternative. Would long reining (if you have somewhere safe to go) be better or worse? Not worth the risk...

The GG centre is OK - usually has a few jumps in the indoor school (although you need to take pot luck on availability as it is first-come-first-served and sometimes there are lessons in there).