After a 6 month search, Ive finally found one! My Spanish purchase.

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1) finding the right saddle that fits - they're fairly different to most horses over here, had to go with a Wow competitor after all;

TRY STRADA SADDLES, I HAVE A DRESSAGE AND A JUMPING VERSION, FIT TO PERFECTION ( THEY HAVE A "IBERIAN" FIT)

3) cold weather! clearly they're not used to it - mine went very stiff in the last few days but all solved now with the help of a half wool numnah. Also needed a major number of rugs :/

MINES CLIPPED OUT WITH HIS SNUGGY HOOD ON AND A LIGHTWEIGHT NO FILL RUG AT THE MO AND HE'S AS WARM AS TOAST. THEY ARE MOUNTAIN BRED ORIGINALLY SO CAN COPE VERY WELL WITH OUR CLIMATE.

can't go barefoot as hooves are very brittle.

AS THEY ARE MOUNTAIN BRED THEY HAVE VERY TOUGH FEET. MINE IS BAREFOOT
 
Ditto the coping with cold weather, my half bred is a very hot bod - has to be clipped in the summer to keep cool :)

I have an albion saddle. :)
 
He's gorgeous!
For training try Peter Maddison-Greenwell in Northamptonshire - he only does classical dressage and has a lot of experience with PRE's, he also sells saddles specifically for PRE horses, so worth having a chat with them.
Feed wise as others have said they can get very hot on hard feed and they are good doers, so I'd try to get him onto a more natural fibre based diet - addlib hay will be just fine with a vitamin lick of some sort - will also stop any stomach ulcers too.
Hope you have fun with him!:D
 
I grew up in Andalucia riding these horses and am SOOO jealous. I don't believe there is a kinder, more genuine, more trainable breed in the world. I wish you all the very best and hope you have an amazing time together! My only tips of knowledge are:

- that they tend to leave their hooves wide and long over there as they are naturally "deep" hooved (or however you would describe that!)

- they are by far the most comfortable horse bareback

- they are not fast gallopers so don't ever challenge anyone to a race!

- I would personally try something like a verbidend from NS bit wise, but that is cause I love them!

- Enjoy,and get him insured cause I for one am thinking of coming and stealing him :) xx
 
Thank you for all the lovely comments and tips guys, its really appreciated.

As for names, again Colin is never going to happen (we already have a Dave on the yard and thats enough!) but Mr Darcy is quite cute so will have a think about that.

Bareback, not for a while LOL! although its the comfiest sitting trot ive ever had, so I see where you are coming from!

Im a bit torn about the weather as you would assume the cooler climate would affect them, but he hasnt ever had a rug on and it still gets down to freezing in the winter. Im am buying a heavy weight stable next week though.
 
well I guess although there are similar traits among horses of the same breed there can be differences too. Mine definitely can't go barefoot because I have tried and within 1 day they crumble to a very scary state, and he is definitely very cold in this weather. I think it may depend on the kind of stable that you have, but I think the heavyweight stable rug will defo come in handy at night in winter! what I also wanted to say that they're generally very very clever and benefit from everyday work and interaction - they thrive on food for thought :) feel free to pm me if you're coming to patchetts :)
 
Thankfully I have the help of training livery to keep him occupied and its quite a busy yard so he will have plenty to look at. Im going to leave introducing turnout (please dont scream at me) until the spring when the ground is firmer. He doesn't know what grazing is yet, so another few months wont harm him and at least this way we will know any changes in temperament etc wont be down to the grass. Im not a fan of changing too many things at the same time, id rather try and do it one by one.
 
Oh wow he is STUNNING i could just look at him allday :)
Wish you all the luck in the future with him,hope you have many years of happines and i will look forward to seeing updates of you both in the future. As for a stable name im sure something will come up when he arrives that suites you both
 
He is beautiful! I know an Andalusian stallion who is a dream to handle and ride..... He's a bit of a delicate little flower, pulls tendons and ligaments in the field(!), but he is also stunning to look at and easy to do.
 
Another that sees no reason not to try barefoot - I have personally never dealt with one with bad feet. Tend to shoe in front, not behind.

I would geld if you don't want to breed. Although they are the most placid stallions, if you are going to be on a livery yard you cannot second guess the actions of others ;)

No reason for an Andy to be more mad on haylage than any other horse - my Andy was fed purely on haylage over here and was 100% on it. I cannot feed my KWPN on haylage tho, it makes him mental...horses for courses and all that - there is not one manual for a whole breed ;) ;) ;)

If he is in a loose ring french link, then leave him in it if he goes well. You don't need anything special. I ride all horses in KK loose ring, just because I like them...but I change this if it doesn't suit them. Again, suck it and see and experiment!

I had a Wintec for my last Andy and it was a super fit, even tho I hate the saddle it really fit very, very well.

Lastly - enjoy him :D You are going to be surrounded by dribbly people very soon, so revel in it LOL!
 
Wow he's lovely- what a beautiful horse!- I'll have to note down where you have bought him from as I hope to get an PRE one day too! all the best with him!
 
I can highly recommend the Yeguada Maipe, they whole family were very welcoming. They sell a lot of horses, most being at least five times my budget (being the bottom end) but they have still been very accommodating with every little worry ive had and treated me like im spending a million pounds.

And thats before you mention the quality of horses are outstanding.
 
not sure if its been mentioned already - i know for sure that lusitanos are intolerant to molasses, so no "normal" chaff, has to be alfalfa type, greengold, alfa a oil type thing. I'm pretty sure it applies to PRE too?!
my instructor has a bates dressage saddle for her luso stallion and its fits fine.
As to keeping him whole or not... in spain/portugal they are used to being around loads of other horses, stabled, turned out etc... ok so you don't want to be teasing him in next to mares etc but it is possible to keep a stallion at home...

eta: he looks lovely ;D
 
dany said:
Thankfully I have the help of training livery to keep him occupied and its quite a busy yard so he will have plenty to look at. Im going to leave introducing turnout (please dont scream at me) until the spring when the ground is firmer. He doesn't know what grazing is yet, so another few months wont harm him and at least this way we will know any changes in temperament etc wont be down to the grass. Im not a fan of changing too many things at the same time, id rather try and do it one by one.
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if he's not used to turn out surely winter is a good time to allow him a couple of hours as the grass isn't as rich, no grass to full sugar grass doesn't sound a great transition to me. even if its only short spells - maybe not straight away, just before spring :cool:
 
coss said:
if he's not used to turn out surely winter is a good time to allow him a couple of hours as the grass isn't as rich, no grass to full sugar grass doesn't sound a great transition to me. even if its only short spells - maybe not straight away, just before spring :cool:
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Thats absolutely a very valid point, but im just worried about gaining freedom on muddy / slippy ground and the tendons etc not being used to the extra stress. Plus the yards grazing is reduced from 4 paddocks to 1 in winter and used for all the horses including a mare.
 
I introduced turnout for mine on sedalin in a tiny paddock, worked a treat. Mine had a sloping back and finding a saddle to fit without having to use a riser was a nightmare, I used 2 of the most popluar master saddlers in the area. Eventually got a bates isabelle werth, fitted lovely. Peter MG saddles are also lovely. I used a KK loose ring snaffle with lozenge as mine was incredibly light like others have said and could come behind the bit, he actually would seek a contact in the KK. Mine felt the cold, grew a coat! Rugged him up quite a bit but he acclimatised well. I heard they were sugar intolerant like others have said so fed happy hoof and topspec balancer and hay. I always turned out in bell boots which covered the back of the shoe as mine overreached and pulled shoes off otherwise. I went for NB shoes all round.

Mine was fine and chilled out as a stallion but he did like to go up when he got excited in hand which was not so nice! And would strike out a front leg occasionally. And out came the plonker when he touched noses with other horses, male or female. When I chopped him that all stopped.

As for keeping a grey clean, no idea, but can you give me any tips you get for my new boy please lol. I have got some absorbine stuff in a blue bottle which is like a shampoo without the water which seems to work on stains.

Not long to wait now for him!

x
 
Hmmm London/Kent Borders you say- not to far from me- let me know when he's arrived so I can plot a cunning plan to steal him immediately.

Really rather stunning chap!
 
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