how much do you know about your horses history and when it was broke

ester

ester

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as the question of when to do what has popping up again in a variety of forms recently just wondered how many people know what happened to their horse as a youngster. Frank is 16, I know where he was from age 8, before that no idea and I don't really need to know. He could have been broken at 2, I wouldn't know.

So how far back do you know your horses history?
 
Mine is 17, I bought her at 8, but I knew her at 6. I don't know any further back than that.

My filly however....I know what has happened to her on every single day of her life, as I bred her.
 
Goddy I brought as a 3.5yr old, just backed! Lucky is a 4yr old, just backed, so yes I guess I do! My little cob before that was supposedly 7, but was actually closer to 4/5, so didnt have much idea about him
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My horse is 9 and has been with 2 people before me, I bought her from one person, so obviously spoke to them about her (they broke her), and have visited her breeder for a chat. My vet is also the previous owners vet, so there are no secrets.
 
Mine is 12 now, I have had him since he was 7 and his previous owner filled me in from the age of 4 as that's when she bought him from a dealer.
The dealer broke him in so I'm assuming he was backed at 3 or 4 and know nothing other than that.
I'd like to know, just for curiosities sakes (plus, he was sold to me as welsh x arab yet I fail to see anything arab about him and if nothing else I would like to know his breeding) But it's not the end of the world, I know I won't ever find out, just one of those things.
 
If what the dealer told me is true my horse belonged to the dealers contact over in Holland and Bailey belonged to his wife. She was in hospital having their first child and he sold Bailey to the dealer I bought him from whilst she was away. Apparently they had discussed selling him prior to her going to hospital so it wasn't a total shock for her. She broke him herself when he was four. He was seven when he was sold to the dealer and I had him a week after he arrived in the country following a vetting. He is very well schooled so I think she did quite a bit with him when she broke him in, he also has done some serious work when young as he came to me with terrible wingalls on his hinds. I've had him five years and love him to bits.
 
I was told Murphy was born and bred on a farm, and just left out in a field with very little grazing with lots of other youngsters. When he was 2 yrs old the farmer decided he wanted to sell them all off, so the people I bought him from went and picked him out of the field. The girl, who was then about 12, sat on him straight away, and he was always surrounded by kids running around him! He was sent away to be broken at 3, apparently he was broken in in a pelham
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. He was then just a fun pony/hack, didn't do any jumping or schooling, until I bought him when he was 8
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From day one
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I loan him and he still belongs to the breeders. I even know that on the day he was born, he was apparently so tiny he would walk under his mum's belly..and somehow he grew into a 17.1hh monster
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I know when he was broken, what sort of work he's done, where he has lived..everything (assuming the owners are telling the truth!!)
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I know painfully little about mine. My 20yr old tbxwelsh was bought by last owner at 5. She had to spend a long time training him to make him sane (silly tb lol) and competed very successfully at dressage. He lost his eye at 9 but still carried on competing. However, I know that there is a lot that she didnt tell me so I expect he was more of a handful than she let on.
My lovely Welsh cob spent 2 years at a dressage yard (not that you would know it now :P) and then 2 years at his last home. But apart from my old boy, I know nothing about training/breaking.
This is worrying me! Will do some more research!
 
My first horse is now 30. He was a film horse before I bought him, owned by David Goodey, Foxhill Stables, Reading in the 1980's the biggest film yard in the country.

I know David bought him from Reading Horse Sales he was part of a driving pair. Prior to that he was owned by a lady in Newbury. Try as I may I can find nothing of his early life or the name of the Newbury owner. Carriage Driving even published an article about him.

So if anyone knows of a pair of bay geldings about 15.3hh sold at Reading Sales in the early 1990's to David Goodey do pm me.
 
I know Pips history from when he was 2, and before then don't know, 2 studs say they might have bred him
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but most likely he was picked up from a sale.
I know all of Gingas history
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same for Tally
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Very little idea about the section B's, but Ajay was bought from his stud
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Just thought, do know about other mare from birth and although well meaning not sure they got it exactly right, was just thinking how many of us assume that our horses were broken in at an age we would think approrpriate, ie in my mind at least a rising 4 year old.
 
I hate not knowing what they've done before, especially if they have quirks, as those quirks can usually be explained by something traumatic that happened to them back in the day.

I've had my 16yr old Welsh Cob for 14yrs and bought her from a stud.

She was incredibly difficult to break in, and lungeing her was very tricky as she'd just bolt, and the main issue seemed to be with the handler eye-balling her! (You had to lunger her, facing slightly behind her and not look directly at her!!)

I put that down to the way Welsh Cobs are trotted up in hand and chased in small circles to show off their paces, which is how she was shown to me.

If she'd been 'shown' like that even a few times in her baby years, it clearly upset her.

Whereas my current 4yr old Welsh Cob whom I also bought aged 2yrs old was virtually unhandled.

The breeder was very sure to tell me she'd done nothing with her.

So this youngster is very laid back and calm about everything and nothing much seems to bother her.....

Bliss!
 
Right back to the beginning
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my friend bought her from a friend when she was 8. Prior to that she had been used as a brood mare. So she's had 3 foals, 2 of whom I know as they live close by. She was backed at 8 and started to compete at endurance at 10. I trained her from about 12 onwards. she was retired from competitive endurance at 16 (after reaching 75 miles in a day) and went back to stud. She was in foal as she turned 17 but lost her foal, her uterus has polips or soemthing which means no foals
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I got her at 18 and brought her back into work, she's now 23 and only doing distance riding at home. She's too stressy at comps now and I worry about her blood pressure!
 
Having bought H from an advert in the local rag I didn't know that much about her other than what was on her passport - I've been in contact with the people who had her from birth and have been filled in on other owners that she's had...

And strangely enough... I've since found out all about her as my friend Nat (on HHO) was on the yard when she was born and filled me in on all the "naughty foalie" details
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HHO makes for a VERY small world
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Kate x
 
I've had one since she was 5, she's now 12. I know nothing about her prior to me having her apart from she was bred from. She was backed within the week between us ringing up about her and actually going to see her. Needless to say I re-backed it!
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My other mare is 8, sh' the above horses daughter, although we bought her she was 2. For those two years she was turned away, I got her then backed her.
 
Mine is 14, and I've had her since she'd just turned 5. We bought her from a local dodgy dealer and were told very little other than that she had been shipped over recently from Holland, and that she 'doesnt jump fillers'.
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I have her papers, and although they are in Dutch I have translated most of it, but attempts I made at tracing her dam and her breeder were unsuccessful
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I have found some info on her sire, but not as much as I would have liked
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Backed both of my current riding mares myself. Had one since she was 4 the other since she was 7 months, but knew her before that. The rest of the herd we have either had since foaling or weaning, so pretty much know full histories. Much prefer it this way
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My 2yo - I know everything about her - I bred her, and pretty much nobody else apart from me does anything with her (even leading her / picking up feet etc!!!)

My 3yo - he came to me last October (obviously not broken / backed) - but his history is sketchy to say the least, with lots of "he said this" and "she said that"s in it!! Poor chap - no wonder he is confused!

My dad's driving pony - came from a VVVVEEEERY dodgy dealer in Kent, and was a lot younger than we were led to believe - but is an absolute trooper. We reckon now that she was probably only just 4 when we had her, (now 9 /10 ish according to dentist) and was already riding and driving like an angel!

My mare is 12 - I brought her when she was 8. I had been told by the lady I brought her from that she had ben broken with Parelli (which I didn't really know anything about at the time) - but after some research about it, it all becomes clear as to why she is soooo messed up in the head!! I didn't delve into the details of the parelli breaking - apart from the fact that she wasn't rideable - need I say more..... .
 
Blue is 9yo we've had him for 6yrs.

Bought him from market supposedly 'rising 4yo' but actually think it was more like rising 3yo/just turned 3yo to be honest which was a little worrying.
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But then we did buy him off a traveller
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Merlin, i've known since day 1, even less than that as B bred him
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I know very little about my current boy. I bought him from a dealer as a 9yr old and only know what I was told when I rang the number on his passport. He was brought over from Ireland as a 6yr old and owned and hunted (nothing else) by a russian man who wasn't very good but very gutsy and just hung on and let him go. He went back to russia for a few weeks and left him at the livery yard, but after a week phoned the YO and said he wasn't coming back and for her to sell him and keep the money in lieu of livery. Rather than have him eat (literally) into her profits while he was for sale she sold him on to dealer quickly (and I think cheaply) and then I came along!

I know the full history of my old boy even though he was 14 when I got him. I had him from a friend who had bought him from another friend. In fact when I moved him to the yard I'm at now at the age of 25 he was going back to the yard he first came to at 8 months when he was weaned! He was reunited with an old friend up there and they teamed up again inthe field before the other one died and my boy followed eighteen months later. I alwas thought it was quite nice for him to end his days back where he started from.
 
Pilfer i got at 10 but from his BE record i know he started eventing at 7- before that i don't know.

Millie has been with us since she was 2 weeks old and i broke her myself so know her very well!

Vinnie i bought at 5 months and i am currently breaking him in
 
my nag is 12ish. Know he came from Leicestershire, and by the powers of deduction think he was a whips horse. Also think he has had complete numpty owner at some point as hes very stroppy. Thats as much as I know, which is a shame as we think he is very well bred.
 
My pony I have known since she was 3 and my trainer brought her - I helped with backing her etc and know everything that she has done riding wise.

Beast in sig brought at 9 previous owners had had her 18months and I know what they did the home before souly hacked her and she was with her breeders til 4.

My old grey I know very little about and what I was told I don't believe. Although through a weatherby's DNA test (to reg a foal) I found out her orginial Passport name and the name of her breeder - however I have been unable to find out more.
 
I got my horse when he had just turned 21, and previously, his owner had had him since he was 14. We know he was broken to race and was useless and too small and was sold on, and went from home to home for quite a while. Then his previous owner got him to hack out with her son, and then started doing more and more with him, as did her son. Age 18 he teamchased, but she had too many horses and he was no use to her, so she loaned him to me beore giving me the owbnership after a year. Wish I knew more, because we don't have any set in stne age for him- he's potentially up to 30yo, but we stick with 25 because that doesn't seem quite so geriatric!
 
I bought my cobbie at 14 months so know all about how he was started cos I did it
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My other cobbie was bought from Southall Market so have a fair idea how she will have been started
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As for the others...no idea.
 
I got my warmblood aged 7. I know that before this he was at the place I got him from for a few months, they'd got him from a dealers in Scotland he'd been at briefly and before then he'd been shipped over from Holland. Have no idea what they did with him over there but he had a lot of issues (mainly fear related) and already had big windgalls at 7, so I imagine he was roughed about a bit
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Would love to know what he'd done as a youngster but doubt I will ever find out as no real way to do so.

My angloarab I know a fair bit about, he is 21 now and I know what he's done since about 12 (mainly pc and riding school work). Before that I know he did a lot of xc with his owner. Not sure what he did before she got him. Again would be lovely to find out but as neither of my horses are registered and passports were only issued a few years ago no real way to find out.
 
From birth - I bought her from her breeder and keep her where she was born.

She is my 5th horse and I have known the full history of 4 of them (having bought 3 from their breeders). The only one I didn't know anything about was a gelding I was given when he was 15. His owner had him about 12 months before that, but we never really knew anything about the first 14 years of his life.
 
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