Chavhorse
Well-Known Member
Hi Everyone Just an update on the Spotty One
As you may or may not be aware I decided a few weeks ago that much as I love Vardi to death he and I are not a match under saddle, he needs a very confident rider to bring him on and I at the moment accept that actually I need a confident horse, at the moment the two of us are a bit like a mirror, I dont know what I am doing You dont know what you are doing neither do I this is followed by both of us going Whaaaaaaa!
On Wednesday I had the vet come over to do a pre sales clinic (normal practice in Holland as no on buys without a stage 5) as sods law would have it he passed clean on the leg that was injured in the casting and failed with mild early stage Ringbone in his off fore In a word arse! Vet says horse is totally sound on and as long as I do not want to go jumping huge courses (or trot him in small circles on concrete or do flexation tests I assume J )then he could well stay sound for the next 15 y - 20 years alternatively he could be a pasture puff in 2 no one knows.
Long and short is he will never pass a clinical inspection now and also no insurance company will ever cover the affected leg here. This effectively means that in Holland he would be impossible to sell unless I advertised him at a low price and hoped that someone was stupid enough not to want the vetting,. I could not do that as a) it would place him in a very precarious position and b) I would not pass my problems on to some poor unknowing soul. Retirement livery here is either prohibitively expensive at 300 plus euro a month or non existent and frankly at the moment he does not need it.
So I have made the decision that to give him the best possible chance as there is too much chance of him ending up on a one way holiday to the Salami factory in Bologna if he stays here, I had better pack him off to the UK, where we seem to be far more sensible about things like Ringbone!
So he is off to my Friends small riding school in Kent where he will be on an Exercise livery package, she or her other qualified instructor will put together a 5 day a week light work schedule which he will stay on for six months to see a) if he can stay sound and b) turn into a nice well rounded riding horse.
Both my current trainer and vet say that as long as he stays sound and can get his head around being a work a day riding horse then he will make someone a cracking recreational happy hacker, riding club or even low grade dressage horse. He is not suitable for a loan yet as although he is six he has the ridden ability of a 4 year old due to time off for his casting accident and the slow start he had to recover from it, however Jan has done a cracking job in his basis training and it is all there he just needs some miles on his milometer!
If after 6 months he is not sound then I will have to look for a funded retirement livery for him, I have somewhere in mind that has offered to take him now but I feel it is too soon for that at the moment. If all is well and he is up to light work and has become a good citizen then he will be put up for loan staying at Kellys yard with someone who is totally aware of any limitations he may have.
When I return to the UK in 2 - 3 years I can either leave him on loan if he is happy and it is working out or if he is in a retirement livery bring him back with me as a companion.
The really good think is that I know and trust Kelly and know that her good horsemanship and no nonsense approach will do him the power of good , Vardi has a bit of a worry wort side which Jan and I are convinced a bit of good old fashioned cool calm ridden work will do wonders for as Jan says he just needs some mileage putting on him. Kelly will very much be ok today we are going to try something new its called hacking, now I know at times you will think you will die but the other horse with you will take care of you and you may actually find you enjoy it and we suspect it may just be the making of him. I know there will be no cotton Wooling as Jan calls it just a fair workload that he will be capable of and fair but no nonsense handling.
He is due to leave during the 1st week of july and I am currently making lists of all the things that need to go with him, it is a bit like sending a much loved child off to boarding schoolJ I know that both Jan and I will be in bits when the transporters arrive for him.
The best of it is that I visit Kent every other month to visit my family so can keep an eye on him and my brother who lives in the next village will be pulled in for regular visits to feed Vardis banana fetishJ
Vibes please that the spotty one grabs this chance with all four hooves (including the slightly dodgy one!) although I have a horrible suspicion that I will receive a phone call in a week or so saying so why have you sent me a dope on a rope exactly? he has that kind of sense of humor!
I kind of get the feeling that fate did not want me to sell this horse?
Can I please just thank the following members for their sound advice when they received a panicked PM in the early hours of Friday morning it was a great help and really helped clarify things
Rowreach
Tarrsteps
Mrs M
CPTrayes
Martlin
Kerelli
Cadfael& Coffee
Wagtail
Egerden Farm Stud
Its at times like this you realise just what a great resource HHO can be so thanks from both of us x
As you may or may not be aware I decided a few weeks ago that much as I love Vardi to death he and I are not a match under saddle, he needs a very confident rider to bring him on and I at the moment accept that actually I need a confident horse, at the moment the two of us are a bit like a mirror, I dont know what I am doing You dont know what you are doing neither do I this is followed by both of us going Whaaaaaaa!
On Wednesday I had the vet come over to do a pre sales clinic (normal practice in Holland as no on buys without a stage 5) as sods law would have it he passed clean on the leg that was injured in the casting and failed with mild early stage Ringbone in his off fore In a word arse! Vet says horse is totally sound on and as long as I do not want to go jumping huge courses (or trot him in small circles on concrete or do flexation tests I assume J )then he could well stay sound for the next 15 y - 20 years alternatively he could be a pasture puff in 2 no one knows.
Long and short is he will never pass a clinical inspection now and also no insurance company will ever cover the affected leg here. This effectively means that in Holland he would be impossible to sell unless I advertised him at a low price and hoped that someone was stupid enough not to want the vetting,. I could not do that as a) it would place him in a very precarious position and b) I would not pass my problems on to some poor unknowing soul. Retirement livery here is either prohibitively expensive at 300 plus euro a month or non existent and frankly at the moment he does not need it.
So I have made the decision that to give him the best possible chance as there is too much chance of him ending up on a one way holiday to the Salami factory in Bologna if he stays here, I had better pack him off to the UK, where we seem to be far more sensible about things like Ringbone!
So he is off to my Friends small riding school in Kent where he will be on an Exercise livery package, she or her other qualified instructor will put together a 5 day a week light work schedule which he will stay on for six months to see a) if he can stay sound and b) turn into a nice well rounded riding horse.
Both my current trainer and vet say that as long as he stays sound and can get his head around being a work a day riding horse then he will make someone a cracking recreational happy hacker, riding club or even low grade dressage horse. He is not suitable for a loan yet as although he is six he has the ridden ability of a 4 year old due to time off for his casting accident and the slow start he had to recover from it, however Jan has done a cracking job in his basis training and it is all there he just needs some miles on his milometer!
If after 6 months he is not sound then I will have to look for a funded retirement livery for him, I have somewhere in mind that has offered to take him now but I feel it is too soon for that at the moment. If all is well and he is up to light work and has become a good citizen then he will be put up for loan staying at Kellys yard with someone who is totally aware of any limitations he may have.
When I return to the UK in 2 - 3 years I can either leave him on loan if he is happy and it is working out or if he is in a retirement livery bring him back with me as a companion.
The really good think is that I know and trust Kelly and know that her good horsemanship and no nonsense approach will do him the power of good , Vardi has a bit of a worry wort side which Jan and I are convinced a bit of good old fashioned cool calm ridden work will do wonders for as Jan says he just needs some mileage putting on him. Kelly will very much be ok today we are going to try something new its called hacking, now I know at times you will think you will die but the other horse with you will take care of you and you may actually find you enjoy it and we suspect it may just be the making of him. I know there will be no cotton Wooling as Jan calls it just a fair workload that he will be capable of and fair but no nonsense handling.
He is due to leave during the 1st week of july and I am currently making lists of all the things that need to go with him, it is a bit like sending a much loved child off to boarding schoolJ I know that both Jan and I will be in bits when the transporters arrive for him.
The best of it is that I visit Kent every other month to visit my family so can keep an eye on him and my brother who lives in the next village will be pulled in for regular visits to feed Vardis banana fetishJ
Vibes please that the spotty one grabs this chance with all four hooves (including the slightly dodgy one!) although I have a horrible suspicion that I will receive a phone call in a week or so saying so why have you sent me a dope on a rope exactly? he has that kind of sense of humor!
I kind of get the feeling that fate did not want me to sell this horse?
Can I please just thank the following members for their sound advice when they received a panicked PM in the early hours of Friday morning it was a great help and really helped clarify things
Rowreach
Tarrsteps
Mrs M
CPTrayes
Martlin
Kerelli
Cadfael& Coffee
Wagtail
Egerden Farm Stud
Its at times like this you realise just what a great resource HHO can be so thanks from both of us x
