Update on horsey I went to see to share

[Nicki85]

So I went to see Jess and her owner on Saturday morning to see what it was all like. Jess was in the field with her two sisters so we got them all in (cue me being a wuss over the getting the electric fence down!!

).

Jess was an incy bit bigger than expected, me being used to a high withered 15.2ID x. Jess is a 16.1 Gelderlander (i'm not convinced on this, will have to post some photos for you guys...). She was very sweet, seemed a bit too attached to her sisters but nothing to worry about. So tacked her up and took her in the school. Was a bit nervous, Jess hadn't been in the school for months and is only hacked at weekends. But she was very good, she is quite green (actually very green!)

but she just wanted to go fast. So I think i am going to have some fun trying to school her!

We went on a hack yesterday and had some nice canters. She is so much more powerful than the mare i used to ride, it was a bit of a shock when i asked for canter up a hill and i had all that power behind me!! But good fun!

She is an ex hunter (13yo) hence the lack of schooling! She feels like if you pointed her at a 5 bar gate she would get over it! So there is the possibility of starting my hunting career on her over the winter with the hunt the lady bought her from.

Long post, sorry! I am going to try and take before and after pics of her as at the moment she has no topline and a bit of a (well a big) grass belly on her, so it will be nice to see how she changes as i work with her. Hopefully i will get a pessoa type device on her in a couple of weeks in of work.

Any tips on building her topline and schooling much appreciated!

 

[chickeninabun]

Sorry, no tips, except start slowly and work your way up, but congrats of finding such a lovely sounding horse. Gelderlanders often seem much bigger than their stated height because of their high head carriage.
Good luck, especially on the hunting! I'd love to have a go but am too much of a wuss and feel too old to start now (she says, and not even 30 yet!)!!

 

[diggerbez]

ooh, sounds promising. i like project ponies where you can actually notice a difference. and great if owner will let you get out hunting on her

 

[Tickles]

Sharing is great - glad you got two proper trials and it sounds good.

The 14.3 Arab x I share seems much taller becasue his head is often in the air looking for things to spook at ;-) Riding a v chilled shire x at the weekend I was surprised how little it felt with head always on the verge if reaching down for grass!

Mind you, with even show ponies heights so 'variable' I'm pretty sure these things are a lot more approximate than we often think!