Opinions on horse?

be positive said:
At the asking price I cannot see him ever being worth triple, that would put him at over £5k next year he would have to be something really special to ever reach that money, if bought for similar money that the dealer probably paid then it may triple in value but I think he is way over priced even if he is described as a bargain.
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You wouldn't get much change from 5k round here for a 14.2hh that's nicely schooled, jumps, and is a safe willing conveyance for a teenager.
This horse isn't really my cup of tea, but I think he'll be a nice workmanlike sort once he's grown up, muscled up, and learned a few things about life.
 
Auslander said:
You wouldn't get much change from 5k round here for a 14.2hh that's nicely schooled, jumps, and is a safe willing conveyance for a teenager.
This horse isn't really my cup of tea, but I think he'll be a nice workmanlike sort once he's grown up, muscled up, and learned a few things about life.
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Surely they would require a few miles on the clock at PC and be ready to go on at a reasonable level to make that money, this one looks as if he needs at least a year to build up some confidence and then another year of mileage before he is likely to be ready for much, I think he is far from what I would consider a project to aim at that market and that is the type I look for. I have one here that has had a year and is almost ready to sell he will be half that money as he still needs to gain a few more miles, the PC market is fairly good but they are thorough when doing checks on history and do expect the whole package to be in place. Maybe I will send some in your direction.
 
be positive said:
Surely they would require a few miles on the clock at PC and be ready to go on at a reasonable level to make that money, this one looks as if he needs at least a year to build up some confidence and then another year of mileage before he is likely to be ready for much, I think he is far from what I would consider a project to aim at that market and that is the type I look for. I have one here that has had a year and is almost ready to sell he will be half that money as he still needs to gain a few more miles, the PC market is fairly good but they are thorough when doing checks on history and do expect the whole package to be in place. Maybe I will send some in your direction.
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Fair enough - a year might be a pushing it a bit! What I'm trying to say, badly, is that this sort of pony, once it's done a bit, is probably going to be worth a bit. He's not the classiest, but that's not such a negative, as he will probably be safe, sane and tough as old boots.
 
The rider is talented and experienced. He rides beautifully. But, the rider is not the one for sale :rolleyes:

The horse was unlevel in trot. That needs looking in to.

The horse looks young, weak and freshly backed. I see an anxious horse, beautifully ridden. I dare say that if the horse stays with this rider he will be good. The rider is great at distraction whenever the horse has a wobble, be that physically or mentally.

There was little right rein trot shown , and a break in filming at a strange moment for canter.

The tack worries me not at all.

The child on the horse proves nothing, both horse and child were well restrained and it was a still photo. The loose horse stuff showed something nice about the other horse, but did not really prove anything about the one for sale. The bit on the road again showed an anxious horse, beautifully ridden.

As for the price, a horse is worth whatever someone wants to pay.

All in all, if this horse was still for sale in 4 weeks time I would ask for another video if there was a lot of travelling. I dare say that would double the time it has been under saddle:D

I would hope to see it moving a bit stronger and either still unlevel, in which case I would not visit, or level. I would also hope to see the horse more confident.
 
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be positive said:
At the asking price I cannot see him ever being worth triple, that would put him at over £5k next year he would have to be something really special to ever reach that money, if bought for similar money that the dealer probably paid then it may triple in value but I think he is way over priced even if he is described as a bargain.
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5yo who can do a prelim dressage well if not novice, jump a course of 85cm and go XC whilst being a friendly sort at his height has the PC market made... He might be common but he's still pretty. I'm going off what is being bought round here for similar money.

ETA: at 14.2hh and 5 he's going to be for the ambitious parents/ teenagers rather than the safe PC lot. But he'll be worth the risk in a lot of people's eyes, especially if he has a nice jump.
 
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I haven't read any of the other posts - I think he looks very green, but has been started ok. He needs to learn to go forwards to a contact, and to learn to use his back. If he doesn't get some correct work from here on in, there will be problems.

I can't decide if he is slightly lame, or if it is just the different coloured front legs, or it may be that he is hopping a bit. My little mare does this when she gets her head up and hollows her back.

He's nice and forward and very willing, and there is lots to like. I wouldn't attempt to put a price on him as I'm in the wrong country.
 
_HP_ said:
Funny how we all see different things :)
I see quite a worried little horse...
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I do as well and he looks unbalanced and possibly lame to me. I see a lot of over correction (? unnecessary) with the reins early on in the video which I haven't watched fully.
 
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Why do you feel sorry for him? The rider is nice as far as we can see and he's quiet on his back.[/QUOTE]



Because he is so worried and tense! he doesn't look like a happy pony his ears are back. He is lame so that means something is hurting him! He is being jumped while lame! That's why I feel sorry for him- its not rocket science!
 
hihosilver said:
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Why do you feel sorry for him? The rider is nice as far as we can see and he's quiet on his back.
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Because he is so worried and tense! he doesn't look like a happy pony his ears are back. He is lame so that means something is hurting him! He is being jumped while lame! That's why I feel sorry for him- its not rocket science![/QUOTE]

He simply just looks like a freshly backed horse who is unsure of it's surroundings. Plenty of horses look tense at some point in their ridden career. My mare quite often (in fact pretty much every single ride) will spend a certain amount of time dragon breathing with wild eyes at various things surrouding her (she's 13). His ears are not pinned back, they are just back. This is not indicative of an 'unhappy' horse. It's indicative of a horse who is paying attention to what is behind him. Do you honestly think horses have to go around with their ears forward permanently whilst being ridden?

We don't know the horse is lame. It could just be unbalanced. Though I do err more on the lameness side having watched it again last night.
 
I beg to differ here. A lame horse is a unhappy horse. He is very tense. If horses have been correctly backed with time spent on them they don't look like him. Well mine I have backed have never looked like this!
 
hihosilver said:
I beg to differ here. A lame horse is a unhappy horse. He is very tense. If horses have been correctly backed with time spent on them they don't look like him. Well mine I have backed have never looked like this!
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We don't know he is lame. We suspect he is lame. If he is lame, then yes, I agree, it's wrong.

I completely disagree with your comment about being correctly backed makes a horse look 'happy' at all times whilst being ridden. Are you honestly staying your horses NEVER have their ears facing backwards at ANY point during their ridden time? Really?

FWIW, as you can see by my previous posts, I don't like the vid, I don't like the overall impression, and I suspect the horse is lame. I think the horse looks unsure of what it is being asked, because it has barely had anything done with it. I think the seller is trying to get a quick turnaround on a horse that is not much beyond basic backing, and he is trying to make it look like it is further on than it is, which fails spectacularly IMO from the vid. I just disagree with your opinion that 'ears back' means unhappy. It doesn't necessarily mean that at all - it is part of a horse's nature to be aware of what is behind them. If the horse is newly backed and just ridden away, in a strange place, it most likely is nervous as to it's surroundings, and also it is focusing on the rider on it's back, which I hazard a guess it isn't used to yet. Doesn't mean that it's 'unhappy'.
 
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Moomin1 said:
We don't know he is lame. We suspect he is lame. If he is lame, then yes, I agree, it's wrong.

I completely disagree with your comment about being correctly backed makes a horse look 'happy' at all times whilst being ridden. Are you honestly staying your horses NEVER have their ears facing backwards at ANY point during their ridden time? Really?
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He is lame and maybe that's why he has his ears back. Of course not ears go back and forward all the time but his ears are NEVER forward. I would not be happy if I had backed this horse myself and it looked like this. I want the vet out to check back/feet. Then I would turn him away to fill out or re start him. The whole picture of him is horrible. What are you seeing? Poor poor horse!
 
hihosilver said:
He is lame and maybe that's why he has his ears back. Of course not ears go back and forward all the time but his ears are NEVER forward. I would not be happy if I had backed this horse myself and it looked like this. I want the vet out to check back/feet. Then I would turn him away to fill out or re start him. The whole picture of him is horrible. What are you seeing? Poor poor horse!
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Have you not read my full post?

You do not know he is lame. Have you never seen an unbalanced horse? This horse is clearly very unbalanced, and with an oversized rider on. I *suspect you are right, he is lame. But we don't know that. That would be up to a vet to decide.
 
I just see it that the pony is newly backed, not used to having someone sit on him and is paying attention to the "monster" on his back than the ground in front of him, hence the ears swivelled back and the high head carriage.
 
Moomin1 said:
Have you not read my full post?

You do not know he is lame. Have you never seen an unbalanced horse? This horse is clearly very unbalanced, and with an oversized rider on. I *suspect you are right, he is lame. But we don't know that. That would be up to a vet to decide.
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Yes I have a just backed 3 year old 15hh part arab. He is very unbalanced on a circle but not lame ( vet checked) but the pony on the video is clearly lame head is nodding- looks lame on the left rein. I actually like the pony but he is so unhappy that would put me off buying him -even if he was sound-which he is not.
 
hihosilver said:
Yes I have a just backed 3 year old 15hh part arab. He is very unbalanced on a circle but not lame ( vet checked) but the pony on the video is clearly lame head is nodding- looks lame on the left rein. I actually like the pony but he is so unhappy that would put me off buying him -even if he was sound-which he is not.
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Many horses who are unbalanced can look lame. That is the point myself, and many others, are making.
 
Moomin1 said:
Many horses who are unbalanced can look lame. That is the point myself, and many others, are making.
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Yes he improves a lot as the video goes on (assuming it's the same ride) and the tail swishing stops. Although the rider is quiet I don't like the side to side rein corrections, the pony seems very sensitive and it would be nice to keep him that way, but what do I know? Never started a youngster.
 
He looks a nice workmanlike sort.

If I had him, I wouldnt restart him as such, but I would give him a year spent out hacking.

Differing terrains and hill work, crossing streams and generally developing his '5th leg'. I would definately take him cubbing in the Autumn also.

I would do twice weekly polework and carrot stretches to further facilitate his muscle development.

He just needs to see the big wide world.

A little concerned about that near fore though,but not all doom and gloom if Vet is on hand to advice.
 
Not at all my cup of tea, short in the neck and long in the back. Having said that I am sure he will make a decent pony for someone one day. I am most likely the only person who would never school a youngster in a field until it has learnt and has the confidence to go forward. I have always hacked youngsters with and without a companion until they are swinging along, ears forward, with little interference from me. I have even taken them autumn hunting, they learn to balance themselves naturally. Then they might have the ability to be ridden in a circle, which, in my mind is one of the most difficult tasks for a young horse, especially one with no natural movement like the pony being discussed.
 
justabob said:
Not at all my cup of tea, short in the neck and long in the back. Having said that I am sure he will make a decent pony for someone one day. I am most likely the only person who would never school a youngster in a field until it has learnt and has the confidence to go forward. I have always hacked youngsters with and without a companion until they are swinging along, ears forward, with little interference from me. I have even taken them autumn hunting, they learn to balance themselves naturally. Then they might have the ability to be ridden in a circle, which, in my mind is one of the most difficult tasks for a young horse, especially one with no natural movement like the pony being discussed.
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^^^^^
This is what I would do as well get hacking out with a good companion so he gains confidence and his ears will be forward!
 
hihosilver said:
^^^^^
This is what I would do as well get hacking out with a good companion so he gains confidence and his ears will be forward!
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All well and good, but if this pony is from a dealer then I doubt they can afford to hack out every youngster they get in for a year until they're 'happy'.
 
SpringArising said:
All well and good, but if this pony is from a dealer then I doubt they can afford to hack out every youngster they get in for a year until they're 'happy'.
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Quite, but he does not need to be re-started, just hacked. 'happy' is very important to me, your post makes is sound like a luxury.
 
justabob said:
Quite, but he does not need to be re-started, just hacked. 'happy' is very important to me, your post makes is sound like a luxury.
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Not for me personally, but for many many dealers, it is a luxury and not an important one at that (unfortunately).

I agree with you Moomin. Any anxiety would be normal given the (assumed) circumstances.
 
zigzag said:
rider a bit of an idiot with the loose horse (not the sort of thing I would do,) but did show the horse in a good light.
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Why? I ride mine around my other loose horses in the paddock all the time. I don't have time to bring in other horses just so I can ride, we dont all have luxuries like a sand school ;)

I think this looks like a really sweet pony and don't get why people are going a bit weird about it. Its only a 5yo and clearly green but it seems nice and willing, and doesn't look unhappy IMO. I don't see why on earth he would need restarting, just get on and get going with him?
 
As the others have said, very baby green, immature, honest pony, sympathetically ridden, fairly typical of its type (aka 'fresh off the boat'). Closer to 'just backed' than 'ridden away'. Didn't strike me as overly anxious for the stage in its training (ie very early on). There is a question mark over soundness, but that could be a lack of balance. Wolf felt quite unlevel the first few times I did rising trot.

The pony will go grey, probably with a year or two, so imagine him white and see if you still like him. The other thing I would say about his greying out is that it may contribute towards his worried expression. Our Felix always looks worried, and it's purely because of the way his face is greying out.
 
MagicMelon said:
Why? I ride mine around my other loose horses in the paddock all the time. I don't have time to bring in other horses just so I can ride, we dont all have luxuries like a sand school ;)

I think this looks like a really sweet pony and don't get why people are going a bit weird about it. Its only a 5yo and clearly green but it seems nice and willing, and doesn't look unhappy IMO. I don't see why on earth he would need restarting, just get on and get going with him?
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Not riding it with loose horses, standing next to loose horse and poking it with a stick...
 
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