Ive just bought my first horse - whoo hoo - pics and vid

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djlynwood

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Finally bough my first horse and she is arriving tomorrow (Wed) eve. Ive not been able to sleep or eat for days! I started riding when I was 31 and Ive waited 6 years for this!

She is a 16h ISH 6 yrs old. She has not done any work since last summer and has winterd out. She had hunted in Ireland and lightly showjumped with current owner. She is a good dooer and has just been fed hay only while out at grass.

She looks in need of some TLC and I want to make sureI do whats best.

Ive been advised to just feed her hay for the first few days while she settles in. She will be stabled at night. Then introduce some pony nuts and Hi Fi on Saturday.

Im going to let her settle for a couple of days and will ride her round the yard on Sunday and maybe go out for a short hack. She will be hacked almost everyday and I plan to start slowly in walk and build up to longer trots and canter.

She is quite unbalanced in the school and quite stiff. I plan to introduce some light schooling after our first week.

Am I worring too much!! Am I thinking along the right lines for her?

Ive attached some pics and some short videos, this is her last weekend. Also any CC on conformation would be greatfull on her. Not the riders as I was not filmed riding her but I am on her on the pic. Im hoping to make her into a good allrounder.

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Looking a bit neglected

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And some vidos in the school and her juming
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF7x1AaWch4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdklcI79DQg

Thanks in advance for any advice
 
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Congratulations :D
she looks like a sweet mare and with some time and correct feeding she will turn into a really lovely horse, she just needs topline and muscle on that bottom of hers bless her, but if she's wintered out and only fed hay to be honest she hasn't done too bad.

I am no good on correct feeding as my lad was a lami and copd so had certain diet all the time.

I hope she turns out to be a fantastic horse for you she certainly looks a lovely sort.
Best of luck with her :D
 
You've got your videos listed as private view only, you need to go into the setting of them and edit to public view. Congrats on the new purchase anyway, good luck and enjoy!
 
She looks very, very sweet with a lovely kind eye.

Nice to see she's just in a snaffle and cavesson to, that's reassuring. You look to have got yourself a nice little mare there, with a bit of TLC she'll look lovely. Hope you have loads of fun with her, keep us updated :)
 
Ive think Ive sorted the Youtube links now!?

She is so sweet and not phased by anything. I never thought that I would be buying a mare or a 6 year old but she has such a calm attutude and is so willing.

It was very windy where we were when I tried her out both on Sat and Sun so was perfect for trying her out on a hack and in a school.

Her mouth is lovely and soft but she does lack a bit of steering but I think that will improve as she becomes more balanced and supple.
 
She looks lovely!! Very honest with her jumping bless her.
I think what you are going to do with her/feed her sounds perfect. It usually takes 6 weeks to build a horse up from field to fitness.
Enjoy!
 
djlynwood said:
Ive think Ive sorted the Youtube links now!?

She is so sweet and not phased by anything. I never thought that I would be buying a mare or a 6 year old but she has such a calm attutude and is so willing.

It was very windy where we were when I tried her out both on Sat and Sun so was perfect for trying her out on a hack and in a school.

Her mouth is lovely and soft but she does lack a bit of steering but I think that will improve as she becomes more balanced and supple.
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Just watched the videos, she looks wonderful. And well done on going about it all the right way, i think what you plan to do with her sounds perfect, good luck!
 
:D:D congratulations, she looks lovely and condition looks ok considering she has only had hay all winter. as the grass will start to come through soon and you are changing her to being in at night i would maybe wait a little longer till you give her any feed. perhaps just give her plenty of hay plus a balancer to give her all the vitamins etc. for the first month while you are getting used to her, she wont be in hard work to start with so she should be able to manage. i know you will want to pump food into her to make her look even better than she does now but be patient and go slowly. i love feeding loads but with my current mare i can only feed a small amount as she is a good doer and VERY sharp so i feed 3/4 scoop happy hoof, 1 scoop soaked unmolassed sugar beet and formula4feet once a day in the winter(hay as well obviously) and she looks and feels great . have lots of fun with her...:D
 
Her name is Pixie and it really suits her.

I think that I will just carry on just feeding the hay for a bit longer. We already have some spring grass coming through here.

Is a balancer just fed on its own or is that in place of pony nuts?
 
a balancer is a feed that has all the vitamins and minerals a horse should need so it can be fed on its own. you can phone any of the feed people for advice, they are usually pretty good. theres spillers, baileys,dodson & horell,dengie, theres lots more but i cant think of them. you sound very sensible in your approach so im sure you will do well with her.... also although i have many years of successful horse ownership, its only my opinion so you need to learn about what suits her as you go along.....have fun and enjoy everything....
 
Pixie is a cute name for her! Very honest popping over jumps and looks to enjoy it too :) Steady away and spend plenty of time on the ground with her too, it helps with the riding bit too. Enjoy and post more pics :D
 
leflynn said:
Pixie is a cute name for her! Very honest popping over jumps and looks to enjoy it too :) Steady away and spend plenty of time on the ground with her too, it helps with the riding bit too. Enjoy and post more pics :D
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I plan to do lots of groundwork with her as she did not have a clue about leg yielding when I asked her. She offered me things and tried bless her, but I like that she didnt get in a tizz about it when she didnt understand.

Ive just ordered a book off amazon about groundwork so cant wait for that arrive.

Its so exciting as I have only ridden horses that have known lateral work and its interesting to teach a horse from scratch.

We also have a huge feed place by us so will be poping in there to get some advice on feed also.

Im so glad that your first opinions of her are good. Ive gone against the grain of what people have told me to buy but I really liked this mare from day one and had a good feeling about her when I went to see her first on my own. I have been looking since last summer and have been to see quite a few horses but didnt get the feeling that I had with Pixie.
 
Congratulations - I bought my ISH last year ( He's a genuine irish import ) and haven't looked back , They do so much with their youngsters over in Ireland that they don't seem fazed by anything , lovely temp on my boy too , mines just turned 7 so i'm still working out the best diet to keep on condition Etc , they all seem to be kept a bit poor over there. Got really good advise from Spillers about just a fibre and balancer diet as mines still quite babyish and can be a little spooky. good luck to you both.
 
Congratulations :D She looks like a super little mare and I love her name :) I hope you have lots and lots of fun with her and don't forget we need updates with loads of videos and pics :p ;) :D
 
She looks like a really sweet fun horse ! Good luck

You might not need to feed her much at all if she's wintered out and looks that good ! Put together quite nicely to be honest nothing jumps out at you on the CC could just do with a ab it more muscle. You should be able to go out and do most things with her and 6 isn't that young she seems quite genuine. Long reining is a great place to start. I like to ride mine buckle end for a while at the begining and end of each session doing circles and turns with your legs and body slowly taking up contact.

... perhaps treat her to a new headcollar lol x
 
Ladylina83 said:
She looks like a really sweet fun horse ! Good luck

You might not need to feed her much at all if she's wintered out and looks that good ! Put together quite nicely to be honest nothing jumps out at you on the CC could just do with a ab it more muscle. You should be able to go out and do most things with her and 6 isn't that young she seems quite genuine. Long reining is a great place to start. I like to ride mine buckle end for a while at the begining and end of each session doing circles and turns with your legs and body slowly taking up contact.

... perhaps treat her to a new headcollar lol x
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Yep, got the headcollar sorted!!

You are right, I dont know why so many people think that 6 is so young, I got a few frowns for getting a 6 year old but if they met her they would see she is quite mature in her head.

I believe that 5/6 is quite old in Ireland, thats why they send them over here!
 
djlynwood said:
You are right, I dont know why so many people think that 6 is so young, I got a few frowns for getting a 6 year old but if they met her they would see she is quite mature in her head.

I believe that 5/6 is quite old in Ireland, thats why they send them over here!
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I think it just depends on what they are born into if they are born then weaned and turned away until they are 3 they are going to be a very diff animal to one that started its education early - it is ok for her to be green though you will be able to bring her on slowly but surely and build a good realtionship with her !

nice mare - I hope you do well together
 
Congrats! Pixie looks a lovely sort and is obviously very honest from that jumping video. She looks great - nothing that coming back into work and developing muscle won't fix 80) Hope you have a wonderful life together, and please keep up posted with updates, photos and video 'n all! 80)
 
Congrats on your purchase. She looks v.sweet and honest and with a bit of schooling will be a lovely mare. Lovely age too. Just needs a topline, and bottom, but that will come with time. Good luck with her and I hope you have many fun years to come!
 
She looks very nice and honest and will look even better with a bit more weight and condition :D

She looks quite tense in her trot work and a bit upside down through her neck, try and work on getting her a bit lower with her head carriage and more relaxed. I like her canter its nice and forward and she was very honest jumping even when she was on the wrong stride and especially because they turned her in the first time very tight !

Good luck I will be interested to see how she progresses with you :)
 
Congrats here also, she looks lovely and with more topline like others have said she will look stunning.
Like the pics with you on board and especially love your coniston boots :;):
 
Pixie looks lovely.
She has wintered well, she has plenty of condition - no ribs are visible in the photos. Do be careful that you are not empted to overfeed her. I would just feed hay/lage and a feed balancer. Monitor her weight weekly with a weight-tape and when you get to know her, that will be the time to think about increasing her feed if she needs it.
 
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