would you back a 9 year old.....

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monsterwillow

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evening :) being doing some thinking and hoping for some opinions :)

i recently bought a 9 year old wb x tb mare. she is in foal and due in 5 weeks.

on the advert i saw for her it said she would only be sold to a breeding home, this is fine with me as i wanted her and the foal. but the more i think about it the more i would like to back her after weaning.

the story is she reared and fell over as a yearling when loading. no signs of injury at the time and no vet inspection etc. when the previous owner went to back her as a 3 year old she supposedly exploded. she then had some physio for a few months and everything appeared fine. then a yearling colt got in with her and she was in foal so obviously backing went out the window.

anyway since then she has never been tried again, not even bridled. previous owner said she was funny about getting the headcollar on but shes never flinched with me (maybe because i forgot and just put it on like any of my other horses) also funny about getting front legs brushed or touched but she got a short, sharp NO and has been fine since.

im now thinking that once she has foaled i am going to have vet and physio out to check over and if all ok i would like to back her.

what would you do? i know she was sold as a breeding mare but she is mine now and if all is ok then is it ok for me to back her? xx
 
I wouldn't see her age as a problem. I'd be cautious because of her history, but I might give it a go if she seemed physically OK. Well, put it this way, I'm at an age where I'm not really doing this backing stuff, but if I was 10 years younger I'd probably give it a go. :-))
But - be careful - my mare's kissing spine may have been caused by a fall over backwards as a youngster when loading, and that can only be diagnosed by xrays.
 
Tinypony said:
I wouldn't see her age as a problem. I'd be cautious because of her history, but I might give it a go if she seemed physically OK. Well, put it this way, I'm at an age where I'm not really doing this backing stuff, but if I was 10 years younger I'd probably give it a go. :-))
But - be careful - my mare's kissing spine may have been caused by a fall over backwards as a youngster when loading, and that can only be diagnosed by xrays.
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thanks for that :) its not her age thats the problem for me either. i will definitely get her checked over 1st and if any signs of discomfort then i iwll of course rethink and investigate further.

i just think it might be worth a go :)
 
monsterwillow said:
evening :) being doing some thinking and hoping for some opinions :)

i recently bought a 9 year old wb x tb mare. she is in foal and due in 5 weeks.

on the advert i saw for her it said she would only be sold to a breeding home, this is fine with me as i wanted her and the foal. but the more i think about it the more i would like to back her after weaning.

the story is she reared and fell over as a yearling when loading. no signs of injury at the time and no vet inspection etc. when the previous owner went to back her as a 3 year old she supposedly exploded. she then had some physio for a few months and everything appeared fine. then a yearling colt got in with her and she was in foal so obviously backing went out the window.

anyway since then she has never been tried again, not even bridled. previous owner said she was funny about getting the headcollar on but shes never flinched with me (maybe because i forgot and just put it on like any of my other horses) also funny about getting front legs brushed or touched but she got a short, sharp NO and has been fine since.

im now thinking that once she has foaled i am going to have vet and physio out to check over and if all ok i would like to back her.

what would you do? i know she was sold as a breeding mare but she is mine now and if all is ok then is it ok for me to back her? xx
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Yep, sometimes they are a bit set in their ways and you have to work with the fact that they 'think' they know everything, but I've never had a problem, bonus is all their skeletal system is fully developed by then:)
 
Yes if she has a good temperament, get her checked over first but it sounds as likely that she had a couple of frights then was given up on.
Watch what you're doing with her and take your time.
I wouldn't bother if it were a stressy rag pot though....
 
Age no problem. We've just backed a 14 year old brood mare. Piece of cake, she loved it all. In fact easiest horse I've ever backed. I think the maturity is a definate advantage.
With your's, my only concern would be health and injury history. Get a full vet check when time comes, if that's all ok, go for it.
 
Careful. I would wonder if you have been told the whole story. We had a similar horse with similar history years ago and she never could be ridden safely. Finally she was PTS as being dangerous. Careful, that's all.
 
yes I would, she has hopefully had long enough to forget about her bad experiences and will have matured so much more than she would have been at 3! She may have just been started too young!!

Go for it and just take it all slowly!! GOOD LUCK
 
Suelin said:
Careful. I would wonder if you have been told the whole story. We had a similar horse with similar history years ago and she never could be ridden safely. Finally she was PTS as being dangerous. Careful, that's all.
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thanks. i do wonder if i have been told the whole story. thats why im a bit undecided but ill get her checked and take it slow.
 
Age no problem - I backed an 8yr old Brood mare and she loved it! Finally no foals!

They do try and boss you around like a foal though!

With this particular example - as others have said - beware, its the history that would stop me from investing too much into this venture = not the age.

Edited to say - By investment I mean Emotionally, time and money,,,
 
I've backed older broodmares with no problems before. I would think about getting a full vet check including possible X-rays in case there was undiagnosed broken withers etc from her previous fall.
 
Age not a prob, ive had an 8yr old ex broodie backed & my 10yr old Highland backed as well, i would, as others have suggested, be inclined to get her a full MOT before doing anything with her & then take it from there.
 
Suelin said:
Careful. I would wonder if you have been told the whole story. We had a similar horse with similar history years ago and she never could be ridden safely. Finally she was PTS as being dangerous. Careful, that's all.
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This ^^^. I also think there is a reason why as 9 year old she is a broodmare and has never been broken but I am very cynical and look very hard at stories people say as to why things have or have not happened. First port of call is vet then physio.
 
Yes have done much older.

Age is never the issue...but previous history is. Difference to an 'old' unstarted one, to an 'old' 'started and failed somewhere along the lines' one....

I would take things very slowly and carefully if you do. Get a full work up done on her, then restart completely from scratch and take a good long time on her...or send her away to someone specialising in 'those' type of horses and seek their opinion [again, they could start working her from the ground and get the opinion straight away to not bother, or vice versa].

Me personally, with knowing that much of her history [which could either be the 'dumbed down' version or what actually happened, or just the genuine truth...you don't know], I would pass on riding her and say there are plenty more others out there to ride or restart instead. But that said, I have no ambitions of anything slightly explosive out of choice nowadays!
 
I personally think you should be extremely cautious.
You have purchased this horse as a not to be ridden Broodie. There is a reason behind that and proceed at your peril and at the potential expense of this horses welfare.
 
well! as her previous owner, I have been completely honest with you and can only say that in my opinion and based upon what I have witnessed with this mare I do not consider that she is worth the risk of being backed as was fully explained to you. As you have stated I advertised her to a breeding home only and this was because I feel that she was too dangerous due to injury to be ridden safely. This was of course reflected in the asking price. Had I wanted to be unscrouplous I could have asked a lot more for her especially taking into consideration her breeding and the quality of the foal that she will produce.

However as you have said she is yours now, although I am dissapointed at your attitude towards me and my honesty I wish you luck with her and hopefully she will be fine. However in the event that somebody or indeed the mare herself should get injured then you must understand that is a risk you are taking.
 
There's your answer op. The horse isn't safe due to a previous injury and the owner has made the situation clear.
 
pointersrus said:
well! as her previous owner, I have been completely honest with you and can only say that in my opinion and based upon what I have witnessed with this mare I do not consider that she is worth the risk of being backed as was fully explained to you. As you have stated I advertised her to a breeding home only and this was because I feel that she was too dangerous due to injury to be ridden safely. This was of course reflected in the asking price. Had I wanted to be unscrouplous I could have asked a lot more for her especially taking into consideration her breeding and the quality of the foal that she will produce.

However as you have said she is yours now, although I am dissapointed at your attitude towards me and my honesty I wish you luck with her and hopefully she will be fine. However in the event that somebody or indeed the mare herself should get injured then you must understand that is a risk you are taking.
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OP, if you do go ahead then please, please do the backing/starting yourself and don't get some unsuspecting trainer or naive teenager on her. Not saying that you would - but a lot do...
Good luck in any case.
 
pointersrus said:
well! as her previous owner, I have been completely honest with you and can only say that in my opinion and based upon what I have witnessed with this mare I do not consider that she is worth the risk of being backed as was fully explained to you. As you have stated I advertised her to a breeding home only and this was because I feel that she was too dangerous due to injury to be ridden safely. This was of course reflected in the asking price. Had I wanted to be unscrouplous I could have asked a lot more for her especially taking into consideration her breeding and the quality of the foal that she will produce.

However as you have said she is yours now, although I am dissapointed at your attitude towards me and my honesty I wish you luck with her and hopefully she will be fine. However in the event that somebody or indeed the mare herself should get injured then you must understand that is a risk you are taking.
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Tinypony said:
There's your answer op. The horse isn't safe due to a previous injury and the owner has made the situation clear.
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I ended up with a mare... She was nicknamed the killer... On the ground she was lovely but on her back... Well, say your prayers because you were off to meet your maker! I witness this mare walk forward... Fine, she then stopped, turned her head, bared her teeth and tried to rip the rider off her back, when that didn't work, head still turned at the rider she reared... Then bronched, with the rider still on her back she literally ran backwards into a wall... This mare 'seemed' ok and had been checked by vets and physios, but then suddenly.. She became dark and dangerous and there was never a specific trigger. She had been to a number of 'clinics' with her previous owner, to no avail. All I knew is that at one point she had muscle wastage on her back, but had been given the all clear by her previous owners vets, and as I've said... My vets assessed her and gave this the all clear too. She had been parellied on the ground by her previous owner...

Now, moving this horse on was not something I did lightly, I was very much on the verge of calling the hunt, as in my opinion, she was unridable, very dangerous and possibly suffering from a neurological condition... When she 'flipped' she would drool like something possessed, I've never seen anything like it. There was one woman who fell in love with her, and I really had to think hard about letting her have this little mare because I didn't want the mare or anyone to be hurt. We spoke long and hard, she was told about this mares behaviour in detail by myself and others who had witnessed it. I wrote a statement in the bill of sale disclosing all the behaviour I had witnessed and my opinion that this mare should never be ridden and was dangerous. This woman, I know her and she was more than happy to have a field ornament she could play parelli games with for the rest of her days if that was all the mare could do. However, after the mare had been with her for a while, she started to try riding her. The mare flipped. This woman realised that this was one screwed up mare. But she believed in her, and she realised she needed to take her time. For the last couple of years they have been riding regularly, doing pleasure rides, parelli games and regularly jumping... There was a picture on fb the other day, this little mare popping a xc jump, perfect bascule, little ears pricked so far forward, and her owner... Well the biggest grin I've ever seen.

The new owner found out that as a yearling this mare had fallen through a greenhouse, she had been majorly traumatised, then had muscle wastage. Whilst physiologically she was sound... Mentally she wasn't. Then her previous owners had done so much parelli with her, she kind of zoned out and flipped... I honestly can not describe the behaviour I witnessed from this mare, but even now, I wouldn't get on her back, even though she is fine, just the memory puts the fear of god into me... If it weren't for this woman... I would have had her PTS... As it is, she is the happiest little mare, very much loved and very much rideable... Sometimes it just takes someone new.

I'm not saying this mare can be backed, but I am saying, having witnessed what happened with the mare I knew, anything is possible if you take your time and work bearing in mind what you know about this mare. I was wrong with my mare, but I do know that I would never have been able to achieve what her new owner has.
 
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I took on an exceptionally well bred & talented ISH as a broodmare who when they started to event her they found damage in her withers which was thought to be due to injury in field as youngster. We bought he on the agreement we wold never compete her (she is so talented & such a mover at local level she'd win easily), as it was known the damage caused her pain when jumped & in lateral work.

We have never jumped her or competed her, in 7 years we've owned her she is about to have her third foal (first 2 have been exceptional). I would never dream of questioning the motives of the lady who sold her. I believe her when she says it would cause her pain, I do not need to test for myself. This mare will never be jumped or competed, we will keep to our word. She has always been 100% sound & happy, I feel no need to inlict pain on her.

The seller has been honest with you when you bought the mare, she must be very upset to hear you may not keep to your agreement. She sold you that mare in good faith, with full disclosure of the facts.
 
pointersrus said:
well! as her previous owner, I have been completely honest with you and can only say that in my opinion and based upon what I have witnessed with this mare I do not consider that she is worth the risk of being backed as was fully explained to you. As you have stated I advertised her to a breeding home only and this was because I feel that she was too dangerous due to injury to be ridden safely. This was of course reflected in the asking price. Had I wanted to be unscrouplous I could have asked a lot more for her especially taking into consideration her breeding and the quality of the foal that she will produce.

However as you have said she is yours now, although I am dissapointed at your attitude towards me and my honesty I wish you luck with her and hopefully she will be fine. However in the event that somebody or indeed the mare herself should get injured then you must understand that is a risk you are taking.
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thank you for replying!

its not that i thought you were lying at all! i love her and wouldnt ever want to injure or hurt her. horses can be totally different in different surroundings etc. like i said i did buy her as a breeding mare and am happy with her :)

if though there is a physical reason that she cant be backed then there is a possibility that breeding from her might cause pain too.

she has a home for life whatever xx
 
I know someone who backed a 8 year old and a few years later its now a 1.50m horse. It had never even been looked at before he got it
 
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