Mentally, and generally immature Quarter horse

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Muddy Mare

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Once more I hope to draw on the collective experience here in this forum to advise me.

I have this lovely new quarter horse, big girl, will mature to 16.2, or thereabouts. She is rising 5, broken and riding nicely, all things considered. I've only had her a month and she is the sweetest natured horse, low reactor...real thinking horse.

She is bum high at the moment, so got some growing to do, and generally babyish in that she doesn't really know where her feet are, loves to play with me, struggles to concentrate, thinks everything is about her...bit teenagey, sort of like a 13 year old that is a baby one minute and then amazes you with her maturity the next minute.

so my instinct is to take everything very slow with her. I walk her around village, ride sometime and lead her from my older mare. We have a school to use,, which she loves.

So is there a vitamin or mineral that would help her brain develop? She gets dengie and handful of hard feed at the moment, and what other advise can you give me. I adore this mare, and really want to do her right....:rolleyes:
 
I didn't think quarter horses got that big, but I could be wrong.

They are working horses and cops better when they have a job to do so personally I'd just get on with it. :-)
 
yes, it took me a long time to find her!!
!!
She's by Classy's Star Buck, who always throws bigger foals, and is a 'ranch style' QH, racing, not 'cutting type', very special!
 
High fibre diet with a good supplement. QHs can be prone to EPSM/PSSM.

Personally I'd drop the hard feed and I'd feed one of the molasses free chaffs from the dengie range. If she needs condition linseed and/or oil; although every QH I've known has been a very good doer!

I'd also feed a good supplement along the lines of Pro Balance +, Pro Hoof or the Forage Plus summer balancer.

Photos are a must ;)
 
My QH does badly on starchy or sugary food but thrives on high oil, high fibre. Linseed is high in omega 3 which is sold to people as a brain supplement - not saying it works, mind, just an observation! Have you thought of doing some trail with her? My boy can be quite scatty too but give him a job to do and he really focuses. Trail is particularly good because it's slow and steady and they really have to concentrate. You can do it ridden or in hand, if you don't want to overload her physically.

As Potato! (great name) says, they are working horses, and they seem to relax more with a bit of direction.
 
Although some people seem to think of them as laid back I see them more as the Border Collie of the horse world. Very intelligent and need a job; the " laid back" appearance is, to me, the product of good training.

I've no experience of QHs as big as yours but generally speaking bigger horses take longer and a big factor is the distance from feet to brain! Trail is a good suggestion. Another idea would be to scatter poles and let her pick her way through them both in hand and ridden.

< not so patiently waiting on pictures> ;)
 
I cant see how to put photos on this. I dont know the http address of my photos...however I think i have created an album of pictures of her for your delight...s he's abit snoozy in the sun at the mo!
 
TPO said:
Although some people seem to think of them as laid back I see them more as the Border Collie of the horse world. Very intelligent and need a job; the " laid back" appearance is, to me, the product of good training.
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My thoughts exactly. Mine is different to anything I've had before, highly intelligent with a laid backness under the intelligence. She would easily be a pig in the wrong hands however.

Things like I was fencing the other day. The other three (all natives) were constantly at the bit I was doing, getting in my way and being a pest. She was away grazing. We go to shows and events, she stands tied up like an old cob. She falls asleep in the (noisy!) cattle trailer in transit. She rarely spooks. Waiting to go into our first jump off, she was asleep, folk cant believe she is only 5. However she is unbelievably athletic and fast too when there is something to do!

And yes, where at the photos please! (From you too TPO!!)
 
She has to be a paint not a quarter horse so bigger ones are more common than in quarter horses.

Who is her dam? Racing bred or stockhorse bred?


Some do take a long time to get it together.
 
Quite agree about the border collie comment.

I had a two year old QH who watched me wrestling my QH foal away from the others for a couple of days while starting foal walking with him. I was at the gate- its awkward, the two year old wanted to come out with me, I was pulling the foal out etc...anyway the two year old went round the back of the foal and jumped on him repeatedly until he pushed him out of the field. He then gave me a look, and trotted off to the next place he knew he would be able to see what was going on- ie where I came out.

I honestly wouldnt have believed this if I hadnt seen it, truly extraordinary behaviour from an exceptional horse xx
 
s4sugar said:
She has to be a paint not a quarter horse so bigger ones are more common than in quarter horses.

QUOTE]

That doesn't necessarily follow :) You get big ones and small ones in both Registries, same as with Tbs, arabs etc,etc, it is all down to the bloodlines - as you say.

Paints are basically Quarter Horses with patterning. Bloodlines can be very, very similar. My Paints have many of the same lines as my Quarter horses, every single one of them has Three Bars in them somewhere.

My AQHA stallion is licensed with the APHA which means that any progeny he sires over a Paint can be (and are) registered as Paint yet are in fact 50/50.
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TPO said:
Although some people seem to think of them as laid back I see them more as the Border Collie of the horse world. Very intelligent and need a job; the " laid back" appearance is, to me, the product of good training.

QUOTE]

Oh believe me, they are laid back, from birth, well mine are anyway. Bright as buttons, but compared to many other breeds I have ever encountered they are so placid and accepting that I sometimes wonder if there is a link missing.
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Muddy Mare said:
Once more I hope to draw on the collective experience here in this forum to advise me.

I have this lovely new quarter horse, big girl, will mature to 16.2, or thereabouts. She is rising 5, broken and riding nicely, all things considered. I've only had her a month and she is the sweetest natured horse, low reactor...real thinking horse.

She is bum high at the moment, so got some growing to do, and generally babyish in that she doesn't really know where her feet are, loves to play with me, struggles to concentrate, thinks everything is about her...bit teenagey, sort of like a 13 year old that is a baby one minute and then amazes you with her maturity the next minute.

so my instinct is to take everything very slow with her. I walk her around village, ride sometime and lead her from my older mare. We have a school to use,, which she loves.

So is there a vitamin or mineral that would help her brain develop? She gets dengie and handful of hard feed at the moment, and what other advise can you give me. I adore this mare, and really want to do her right....:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Ah nice to see another Quarter horse person on here ,Re feed most are good doers and seem to do just fine on a basic ration, Re the Bum high this is part of the breed standard esp for the foundation or old bulldog types !!! alot of the modern hunter jumper and pleasure types have to much thoroughbred breeding in them so guess what they look like a TB more than lovely stocky old QH ,good luck and up date us how things are progessing...
 
Well I just had a go at the 's' bend of trial, and she did it so perfectly we then did it backwards. She loved it too! She just very quietly went about it, thinking, not getting in a panic about what I was asking and where her feet were etc.

Very interesting, evidently she is made to do that. Ill try it ridden next which will be revealing - to see if she has remembered the moves we made in hand.

Steering is limited. She is a bit dead in the mouth but works well from the leg, so we will see, and the steering is coming. The breeding shows!! Exciting times.:cool:
 
Muddy Mare - lovely to read your post on here. My 5 year old QH x TB is related to Classy's Star Buck (grandson) and is an absolute pleasure to own. Very laid back, was a dream to back and is now working well under saddle. He's generally a good doer and I've always kept his diet basic - hi-fi, a good balancer, brewer's yeast and micronised linseed.
 
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