The story so far ...............

TicTac

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I have finally just found out some history on my mare who I have owned for about 14 months.

I brought her from a reputable dealer and liked her when I tried her, no problem, had her vetted and brought her home. Whilst she was not particularly difficult as such , she napped going out on her own, had a buck that could send you to the moon, was aloof and ungiving. I was given her previous owners contact details, so after a couple of months or so , I phoned them to ask about her. The answers to my questions were very short, he told me she had a good buck in her and to just give her a good whack, that she needed to be ridden at least every other day and to leave her out 24/7.

As the months have passed and with the regular help of a good instructor I have built up a good relationship with my horse. I don't give her a reason to nap or buck, she is a real sweetie, allthough she can get a little stressed and is happy in her work be it 5 times a week or once a fortnight.

Anyway a couple of weeks ago, I sent a text to the old owner and asked him if he would like to see a picture of his old horse, he replied with his e-mail address and said yes. So that's what I did , together with a brief note on how happy I was with her now.

Finally after all this time he sent me back a reply that answered some of my questions.

My mare was imported from Holland by a dealer in Scotland called Jack McGeoch. He then sold her to show jumper/dealer Alan Thomas. She was jumped at 1m 10 regularly by Alan and the previous owner jumped her several times at Alan's yard before deciding to buy her. Once he got her home, the mare started to stop ( for which she got a whack for). She was inconsistent in her jumping and the previous owner got very frustrated with her. He wanted to showjump. He did say that he also took her to a couple of dressage shows where she did well ( reading between the lines they really wanted a jumping machine, she was 6 at the time he brought her!)

The long and the short of it is that, the previous owner tried to sue Alan Thomas for his money back or an exchange on the horse, but he got neither, so he sent her to the dealer that I brough her from,

My mare has caused me alot of frustration during our 14 months together but she has also taught me alot. ( she is 9 now) She is beautiful, athletic, fidgety and self opinionated but most of all she wanted leadership, kindness and understanding.

It just goes to prove that some horses act the way they do for very good reason. Learn to take a look at the whole picture and give the horse a chance.

Thank you for reading and a big bag of choccy biccys all round if you got this far!
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Ooooo yummy choccy biccy's!!
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I'm so pleased you have made progress with your girlie. I think its quite common for horses to be treated like machines and then discarded when they don't perform like one. I've got one like that and its taken nearly a year of patience to sort out his ulcers, evasions etc Its been frustrating but so worth while now we are coming out the other side as he really is the nicest horse. I think the biggest lesson you can learn from horses is patience - but not everyone is open to that suggestion!! Well done to you and your mare - she is lucky to have found you.
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Well done for having the patience to help her through it all! A huge pat on the back to you
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Horses always do something for a reason, it's just figuring it out and taking the time to listen.

I bet she's equally as happy that she found you!!
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It sounds like your mare was very lucky to end up with a somebody like you. So many lovely horses end up going wrong or becoming dangerous because of being in the hands of the wrong people.
Mares in particular seem to need to have a good relashionship/bond with thier people, something that her previous owner clearly didn't have but you do.
Well done.
 
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