What things can you not have in a horse i.e. windsucking etc?

S

silverstar

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 July 2007
Messages
1,527
Visit site
The title is rubbish sorry. Im currently horse hunting and my list of things a horse musnt do is getting bigger. I realise Ive got to compromise on something but not sure what.

My list currently is:-

No windsuckers, crib biters, buckers or bolters, must hack on own and in traffic, must be okay to bring in on own and be on a yard on his own.
 
Must hack alone; must be able to lead/leave a ride without napping; no crib-biters, windsuckers or weavers; must be good in traffic and above all must be a nice person on the ground.

Impossible?
 
I will not have a horse who won't be caught. Winds me up so much. When your busy with other horses to sort out I haven't the time to try and catch a awkward bugger.
Windsucking, weaving never bothered me but now iv sold the ones that done this I wouldn't buy one again. I love my post and rail fencing to much.
But if your spending a lot off money the " must hack in company,alone, tie up, shoe 100% etc" is what you would expect off a well mannered horse
 
penfold said:
The title is rubbish sorry. Im currently horse hunting and my list of things a horse musnt do is getting bigger. I realise Ive got to compromise on something but not sure what.

My list currently is:-

No windsuckers, crib biters, buckers or bolters, must hack on own and in traffic, must be okay to bring in on own and be on a yard on his own.
Click to expand...

Add weight carrier and you've got a lot of people's perfect horse!

FDC
 
I'm pretty tolerant when it comes to buying horses, and have horses (well, one really) that has most of the 'vices' you lot say you'd never have!!

Wings: crib bites, doesn't catch in summer unless is left with a headcollar on, does hack alone but can be spooky, doesn't stable without company, rears/bunny hops when is excited, can be temperamental when it comes to loading, can be bargy. But, he has gotten much better since I've had him with the loading, barginess and spookiness, and when I ride him, he tries his heart out, will go out and win shows, and is a generally nice horse to be around. Yes, he isn't most people's idea of perfect, but I wouldn't change anything about him! :D


What I can't tolerate? Kickers and generally nasty horses. I've had buckers, rearers etc., that doesn't bother me as can be solved, but can't deal with kickers (as in, malicious kickers or biters), or horses that try to hurt you and be tw*ts :p Can also not deal with really mareish mares!
 
thatsmygirl said:
I will not have a horse who won't be caught. Winds me up so much. When your busy with other horses to sort out I haven't the time to try and catch a awkward bugger.
Click to expand...

This. My last mare was a cow bag. Never again. My gelding is bolshy and my filly is filthy but I'll put up with a lot as long as it's nice to ride. He is. Hopefully she will be too.

I couldn't have a horse that was bad on the ground and bad under saddle. One or other is enough for me!
 
Gonna put rearing in this. Its something I can handle on the ground but not when riding.

When I was 13 I rode a friends horse who went up for no reason, friend said oh he does that sometimes!!!!!!!!!!! I can say I promptly got off and demanded my pony back :D
 
i absolutely won't have a horse that:

is bargy on the ground
kicks or bites, or even pulls proper faces
bolts
is hard to catch
i wouldn't consider viewing anything that did any of them

i'd probably avoid a horse that:
bucks
rears
naps
has 'vices'
was difficult to shoe
but would still go to view them, and give them a chance

x
 
Must:
hack alone or in company
catch

Must not:
Door Kick
Crib bite
Windsuck
Kick

I'm pretty tolerant, I am prepared to put the work in to teach a horse manners, get it used to the farrier/vet/clip etc (as long as it's not too bad) and teach it ground manners like standing for mounting, leading, picking feet up etc. I have worked with completely feral youngsters and horses that have been let away with murder and turned them into well mannered horses. However I don't have a lot of money to spend on horses so have to be prepared to take bad mannered/green horses. The one thing I absolutely won't tolerate is grumpy horses!
 
I will walk away without a second glance at horses that rear, bolt for no good reason, are dedicated nasty buckers, won't load easily on a trailer and horses that weave.

I will consider horses that crib (wind suck) or chew wood, give the occasional half-hearted baby buck, need to be sedated to clip, have to have individual turnout because they don't get along well in a herd or are hard to catch. More than one of these issues will probably make me walk away.

Life is just way too short and there are way too many good equine citizens out there to be loved and appreciated to waste time on the naughty ones. I say this wholeheartedly. Everyone who can should give a lovely good home to the next wonderful tempramented horse you run across. Even if you just buy it for the deserving, horse-crazy, horseless kid at the barn to ride and fuss over. In a perfect world....
 
Last edited:
i dont have the time for soemthing that wont load or takes hours to do so,ditto something thats a PITA to catch.(my boy is sticky to load but goes every time, first time, with a blindfold, so i dont mind something quirky, but just flat out stubborn is a no go)

and a box walker would drive me bonkers as im anal about beds!

ridden wise im less fussy-i enjoy working through that, but horses that *waste* my time, such as the above, are the only thing that makes my temper flare.there may well be a good reason for it, but i dont enjoy sorting them out.

would have to be perfect in every other way if it bucks, dont mind a rearer.

dont mind if its difficult to clip-have worked though this one a million times over so not a deal breaker for me personally, wouldnt have anything that was actually agressive though.
 
I couldn't be doing with any sort of vice/issue tbh :o Reason 234. I don't have a horse!
However, I could not be doing with something that is difficult to catch. There was one pony at the RS who was lovely but a bugger to catch and it peed me right off and I just dont have the patience and I'm afraid many a feed bucket was chucked at a disappearing welsh bottom!
 
As I buy to sell I try and avoid all the above to make my life easier!:)

Though I really cant stand crib biters/wind suckers, horses that go for you in the stable and mean it and rearers that have bee known to go over backwards.
 
Lameness
Arseyness
Bolting
I wouldn't keep another horse that threw me more than once

I wouldn't buy a horse with stable vices on purpose but they aren't something I've ever put much effort into avoiding so if a horse turned out to have stable vices I'd live with it so long as it had a good attitude when ridden.
 
Personally, I won't have a horse that is aggressive. You can work through it with some horses on a one to one basis, because the root cause is normally fear and insecurity, but I'm no expert and there are no guarantees, so I'd rather leave that one for the experts!

Same for unsafe habits such as bucking, rearing, bolting etc. I don't mind the odd baby buck, but I'd never take on a horse that did any of these things. I'm also not a big fan of horses that whip round and gallop off when they spook. Had one of those. Not fun!

So, for me, a horse has to be a nice person and generally safe to ride. It must also pass a 5* vetting.

Most other things like stable vices, loading issues etc I'll think about and it would depend on the horse. My old boy was a g*t to load when I got him, but he's very food oriented so it was easy to cure him of that. He now thinks lorries are food factories! :)
 
As I've only recently bought a horse I know what things I can stand and those that I cannot!

The horse has to:
hack out alone and in company
not rear
not bronc
not bolt
travel in a trailer
not be mare-ish...or be a mare!

I didn't mind weaving, cribbing, windsucking, one that is difficult (but not impossible!) to catch, one that travelled in a trailer (we can deal with one that is nervous/a bit difficult to load as long as it travels fine) bucking, greeness, bad to clip, grumpyness and face pulling (already had 14 years of that one!)

I don't think I was being fussy atall but sadly due to a limited budget of about £2k most of the ones we enquired about met my 'must not' list!
 
Having had a horse that napped, reared, bucked, spinned, leapt, plunged, rein snatched, would rear in the stable, etc etc...tho was such a lovely horse it broke my heart to see him go to his new home.
I would say that i wouldnt ever have a really difficult horse again.

My mare i have now is amazing. Perfect in every way....except she is quirky to catch....but that doesnt matter.....my YO gets her in for me so i dont have to miss out on riding by not being able to catch her.

I like a horse with a spark in it, a good spook and a bit of energy...but would never have a really difficult/dangerous one again.
 
I won't have a kicker. And hacking out well on its own is a must have.

I don't mind (and am quite attracted to :p) horses that don't load and won't be caught. This I find a challenge and work through it.

Rearers - well depends on the severity as does bucking, but not necessarily a deal breaker. I have one who rears and bucks when stressed (separation anxiety normally) but we work through it and he's so talented I'll take him however he is!

Don't want a cribber but if that was a horse's only vice I'd probably go with it.

Don't mind nasty faces at all (have a couple who do this), or even biting if it wasn't truly malicious.
 
i wouldnt have a horse that windsucks!! I'm on livery yards and they are not well recieved, would make it very difficult, other reasons too, but that would be the main one!!!
 
Napping.
I have no time for persistently nappy horses. I give them time to settle, try to work out their problems, and after that, if they still do it they are on their way again. I sold the two I have had to summer camps where they can do the mindless nose to tail thing, they are perfect for the job.

Bullies.
Not tolerated at all.
Either they go in individual paddocks, or I sell them. I had a stunning horse once, wonderful with people, tried to kill my mini and launched himself over a fence at a foal. He was off the farm within an hour of the foal episode. Now lives alone very happily and is adored by his young owner.
 
Personally I don't mind windsuckers, crib biters, Buckers, Rearers (unless they're VERY extreme), Bolters, nappers, grumpy horses etc etc (I have one who does or did all of the above!). I already have one who, at last count, took 9 and a half hours to load so I'm quite used to that one too!

There's very few things I cannot stand in a horse, I will not tolerate malicious aggression as it's just plain dangerous and I'm not a big fan of door kickers simply as it annoys the hell out of me, if door kicking was the only issue I'd take the horse though. Being impossible to catch is my only other bug bear but I think it would totally depend on the severity of it and if it could be solved with work as to whether or not I'd consider the horse.

With typical stable vices some people do have issues finding a suitable livery yard as not a lot of livery yard owners like to take horses with vices. I'm lucky in that respect as my YO is very easy going (I suppose it's because one of her horses displays the majority of stable vices!).
 
No sarcoids - had one who had loads of all the types and was soul destroying watching them flair up and grow sooooo fast - would never knowingly go there again
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top