Do you know your Horses history?

L

LuanneCat

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 June 2005
Messages
701
Location
South Gloucestershire, UK
Visit site
No reason really lol, just wondering what people know about their Horses history.

I'v met a lot of people recently who said they don't know their Horses history and am intrigued as to how many do or don't.

If only they could talk eh? :)

I bought my mare from her breeder as a 6yo and know every little detail of her past, she has been a lucky girl as it's all been wonderful.
 
I know all of Mystis :)

But Honey i only know as far back as 4 years when my friend bought her as a broodmare! Shes 13 and we dont know anything before that :( Whatever did happen cant be good, ive had her over a year and shes still nervous!
 
No but would love too....bought her out of the Admag 14 years ago from the Lincs area.

She was 10-14 then and she was delivered and that was that.
 
I know my lad was bought as a gypsy foal - his then owner would say rescued. He was in poor state from the photos. She backed him. Sold him a few years later to the people we bought him from. He had spent a year out on loan before we bought him - but it was through our PC so we know the family he was with.

So I don't know anything about him before he was about 1 year old. But pretty much most of it since.
 
I'm lucky. I bought my boy from his breeder and have a full history. She also sent me a whole load of foal pics from the day he was born to the day I got him. It's lovely

untitled.jpg
 
Only a little bit from what 2 people who used to ride him have said. Apparently my lad belonged to a master huntsman, and was hunted etc. He also belonged to a women/girl who kept him at jamie atkinsons yard and was trying to make him into an eventer but failed, im not sure if this was before or after the hunting. Then after that he was just past on to lots of homes until he reached the owner I bought him from. When she bought him he didnt have a name so she renamed him. I have had a few people asking me is this ..(insert possible name here), so hes a bit of a mystry horse. :)
 
Most of it, I know all about him before he was imported, they keep good records in Germany. Then nothing of what happened in the UK from 2001, until before I got him he had been passed around a bit done some SJing and hunting. Id love to know who imported him but its not in his passport sadly.

My little welshy, yes owned her from 6 months to 15 yrs :D
 
This is Lucys story
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=373541
I know most have seen already so thought i wouldn't type it out again. :p ;) :)
She had a terrable start bless her but she came good in the end lurning to trust and giving me the best 12 years of my life.
I miss her so much :(
Horrid has alot of problems and all i realy know is he was bred on the new forest, had 6 owners by the time he was 8 and he was a stallion till he was 7. His last owner did Parelli with him ( the less said about that the better ;) LOL) I'm thinking about writing to his old owners to try to discover where all his problems started but you never know how truthful they would be. :rolleyes:
He is getting so much better now though and is starting to lurn to trust and we are starting to form a bond. Atleast i know his future will be secured with me and realy thats all that matters.
 
I would love to know something about his history. Unfortunately he came over from the continent purchased by the dealer I bought him from and she passported him - he was supposed to come with breeding papers but I never got them so I know absolutely nothing.
 
I know my horse's life history and have traced his relatives back to the 1800's. He's an ex-racehorse so it is very easy to do this. I've also found lots of video footage of him racing throughout his life, and the reports of his performance after every race are interesting!
 
I know bits and peices about my pony.. i would rather have known nothing but he is what he is and what he has now is a hell of a lot more love than hes ever had so far in his short life.
 
No unfortunately :(
we wish we did so we could work out why she is like she is sometimes!!
She is a rescue - if anyone has found their rescue's history, I'd be interested too!
 
I saw him advertised for sale on another forum at weaning. Drooled over the pictures for weeks but didn't think I could afford him. Showed his pictures to my hubby who just grunted that his ears were too big! Christmas day 2009 I got an email saying hubby had bought him for me!! So I've known my boy since he was a few weeks old, he came to me as a yearling straight from his breeder. His grandsire is Fleetwater Opposition so it's not hard to find out about his family tree!! It's really nice knowing so much about him. Does mean any problems we hit will be completely my fault though!
 
Charlie came from Ireland as a 3 year old, passported by the dealer, so no!! :( He has to identical white marks either side of his whithers which look like he may have had ill fitting driving harness on:( BUT he loves human contact and is very trusting so I hope this means he was never knowingly ill treated.
 
I traced my chap's pedigree myself, but that is all I know about what he has done previously. He has some foibles, but I suspect that is just through his living conditions in Holland - he is not suited to small spaces!! I would love to know what he has done, as he is very well schooled.
 
The Shetties I know quite a bit.

C bred on the islands sold to a dealer through a sale then I picked him up at 6 months old! He had chunks missing from his tail where a cattle prod had been used to load him onto the lorry at the sale... Not good

B was bred locally, brought for children, new owner hated him and he bucked off the children so she loaned him to me as a companion for my old mare. He thrived and I brought him for more than I should have paid at about 4 or 5 years old.

The big boy we have very sketchy info about. His old owners and I both thought he was alot younger than we now think he might be... vet and dentist both think older and they have seen far more teeth than me! So we don't really know how old he is but we are guessing that he turned 30 this year, he could be younger or older! He was bred in Ireland, hunted for a season (perhaps 2) as a 3 year old them imported to the UK where he has been through various hunting yards and dealers, his last owners liked the look of him and brought him from a local huntsman, then after about 4 years sold him to me because he loved me more and we got on so well!

I have heard that one of his old owners jumped a landrover from 3 strides of trot on him because he was drunk and someone bet him £50... Someone else said that they once saw him write off a lorry by panicing and going through the front end (from the inside!)... Someone else said that they saw him tank off with various riders (about the only one that I know is more than likely truth!)... What to believe? He is a boring bay so quite common to look at although he is very impressive he would be easy to muddle up with another bay of the same size if you didn't know him! In fact when A was around there were many people who couldn't tell the difference because they were both bay, the same size and had roughly the same markings? I can imagine him doing all of the above in certain circumstances but is it true? I don't know. I am afraid I take everything with a pinch of salt these days. I think he has had some name changes along the way as well which doesn't help at all!

I would love to fill in the gaps and find out what is and isn't true, his old owners would love to know as well! They were horrified when we found out he was older than the chap they brought him from had said! God only knows where the "guess the age" game started! I guess this is where passports would/ will help. It would stop the "elaberation" of the truth!

Still, he is a good horse, I love him to pieces, can do anything with him including riding onto a firing range and crossing over dual carrage ways, jumping over fire and cantering up to the combine and tractors to hand out ice creams! He has been used for RDA jumped round a course of 4ft x country jumps, excelled at dressage when he can be bothered, and just about managed to contain himself and only jump the jumps in the arena instead of the fence around the arena as well. These things I have done with him so I know to be true! We have a few rosettes, lots of very happy memories and a great friendship between us.

But as for the rest - no idea.

How have people traced their horses history back?
 
When we bought Ceilidh, one of our CBSH mares, we didnt know a lot other than who her breeder was and that she was kept in a super posh agistment establishment that charged $200 a week base rate, plus $50 every time she was taken out of her stable and excersed whether it was lunged or ridden or turned out.

We knew that somewhere along the line she has been pricked by a farrier due to her reaction when my hubby (who is a farrier) tried to put a shoe on her and the sound of metal hammer on metal nail totally freaked her out and she went completely nuts...... (this is a horse who is usually so darn quiet you can do absoloutely anything with).....

There were a few years of her life that were a complete mystery to us.... then we got an email from a lass who used to own her.....

She bought her from the breeder, and sold her to the lass we bought her from.

She said she was brilliant, and at the age of 3 got struck by lightning, and was locked in a loose box for 12 months basically, unable to do anything but stagger in circles, and fall over a lot. She needed support to walk and do anything......

But with lots of perserverance and vet care, she did come good and was able to be ridden .....

With us, she has been 2003 Australasian Champion in Breed Classes with the CBHSA :)

Shes done brilliantly in the hack ring (showing under saddle), done brilliantly in dressage and is quite good on stock (sheep and cattle) and out on trails! :)

Now shes retired and is a broodie :) Shes had 4 gorgeous foals for us.....
 
I really wish I knew more about my horse. Bought him as a 5yr old (now 11!! going on 12). But I have reason to believe he was hit by taffic (probably a horse lorry) when he was much younger due to scarring.
If only he could tell me what really happened! :(
 
Yes, have a good idea.
Bought mine as a ten yr old after loaning her for 6 months. Before this she was owned by lady I bought her off for 7 years, they bought her as a 3yr old off my old yard owner who bred from her. Yard owner got her from the stud, so the only people I haven't spoken to are the stud but I have pics of her as a foal and her foal. Would of liked more though.

Don't speak to her old owner or yard owner anymore since I moved yards (only few miles away). I used to contact her old owner but she stopped contacting me back so I don't bother now, which is a bit sad but her choice.
 
yes I know most of mine.

Millie i got at 2 weeks old with her dam.

Vinnie i got at 5 months old direct from the stud.

Pilfer i got as a 10yro but you can see his history on the BE website back to a 6yro.
 
I've had B from 3 and a half ish, but prior to that, I have to guess. The couple I bought him off (in texas) had bought a pair of percherons (half brother and sister suposedly) out of the back of a trailer, (again suposedly) on it's was to Mexico.
Both horses had docked tail bones, a sign of being born at a percheron showing barn, most of which are in the north of the country. So if I'm right, my boy has done a lot of travelling!
 
My big chap, I have known since a 4 year old, where he was bought by a friend of my Mum off the boat from Holland for her son as a dressage horse (despite the fact he was a real novice). her son couldn't ride him so he was sent to a dressage trainer for her to compete him(for about 6 months) but this got expensive So she asked me if I would take him or else she was goig to put him down:eek: (emotional blackmail or what?) So I took him on as ayoungster working at elementary and the rest, as they say, is history.

Blitz
 
We've had Herc since he was 4 (he's now 12) and all we know was that he was used in a RS, The women we bought him off hadn't had him long as she'd bought him for a friend who fell pregnant (i think)

As for Blue, i have no clue, i don't even know how old he is. He had apparently been hunting at least once and we know of one yard that he used to be on (prob the one before us) as someone saw my sister out hacking him and asked if it was him.

I really wish I knew more about the pair of them, esp Herc....I'd love to see is Baby pics.
 
Unfortunately not, but I wish I did. Have tried to find it but with no luck and have contacted the breeders in his passport but with no avail *sigh*
 
Misinterpreted said:
I know my horse's life history and have traced his relatives back to the 1800's. He's an ex-racehorse so it is very easy to do this. I've also found lots of video footage of him racing throughout his life, and the reports of his performance after every race are interesting!
Click to expand...

Pah, we traced our Sec A back to the early 1700s. We were simply staggered, we bought this hairy, dirty ball of white out of a field largely on the word of the DC. She did say he had good bloodlines but when we checked we were astonished at his pedigree. He came up from England and although we know a little of what he did, it is only a little.

We know everything about younger son's Sect B since birth. We are still in touch with the previous owners and meet them and his breeders regularly. He was certified as a stallion, then one ball did not drop. Gelded and went to a friend of the breeder from whom we bought him.

The British Riding pony originally went to Ireland as a stallion. Did not work out and was gelded. We keep in touch with the people who brought him back from Ireland for their daughter, and the people who bought him from them, from whom we bought him. Also see both sets of owners regularly at shows. Always nice when previous owners come looking for you to see how their pony is getting on.

The Haflinger stood as a stallion in Holland (notice a trend here) and had some highly rated foals. Was brought over here then gelded shortly after. Never found out why. Went to a couple for the wife to learn to ride on then came to us.

Eriskay we bought from the breeder and have known since birth.

Coloured cob was also bought through pony club. He was 11 when we got him and we know his history from 5. He was a serious competition pony who has won lots for us, but at a lower level and a less hectic pace. Also keep in touch with his previous owners.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top