From: Stephanie
Jessica,
My sister is looking at an eight year old horse to use as a trail horse for her husband. The horse is an Appaloosa gelding that has been used in the Park Service on trail rides in the mountains. She events at novice level and has some dressage experience. She wanted to work with the horse this weekend and noticed that when the horse was by itself it did not want to leave the barn. This barn sourness is not what concerned her. She work five or six times to move the horse away from the barn and although frustrated the horse cooperated. On the last try the horse evaded by rearing. She did not know if this is a habit or a freak type of occurance. Is there a way to know if a horse habitually rears? The horse does not like any kind of contact of the bit. I recommended that she have the horse' teeth checked. But she does not want to put a lot into this horse unless it proves to be save for beginners. Is there anything she could safely try to see if this horse uses rearing as its evasive technique?
This is really several questions in one: first, would this horse be a good trail horse? second, why is he rearing? third, can he be convinced NOT to rear? fourth, is he likely to suit a beginner rider?
To begin with, if this horse has been a satisfactory trail horse with the Park Service, that's a good sign. Your sister should talk with the horse's regular rider/handler and find out whether the horse is a GOOD trail horse or just a barely acceptable one -- after all, he IS for sale, and it would be good to know why. She will need to enlist the rider/ handler's help to try this horse -- and if he is unwilling to ride it, that will be a bad sign...
If this horse is a good trail horse, you will need to know whether he is a good horse for a beginning rider -- not all horses are well-suited to packing beginners.
If the horse is very barn-sour, as he would tend to be if he hasn't been ridden for some time, he is likely to do just about anything that will keep him from leaving his "safe" place. This includes balking, backing, rearing, and bolting back to the barn when/if the rider gets him away from it. It's obnoxious, but not unusual, especially if the horse hasn't been ridden in some time and/or is used to going out in the company of others. If the horse just lifts up slightly on his hind legs, as opposed to going straight up in the air, I wouldn't think that this is necessarily a habit.
My suggestions: first, check the horse over just in case there is some physical reason for his behaviour -- teeth, tongue, back, legs, feet. Then check his equipment -- a painful bit or a badly-fitting saddle (or one with a broken tree) can cause a horse to rear or even fall over! If the horse seems fine and the tack isn't causing any problems, your sister should ask to see him ridden at the barn and away from the barn. Ideally, she could ride another horse on the trail and watch this horse under another rider, preferably its usual rider, and ridden with its usual saddle and bridle and bit.
(BTW, whenever you are looking at a horse to buy, it's always useful to see him under his regular rider. If the rider is reasonably competent and the horse goes badly, you may save yourself a potentially dangerous trial ride!)
If your sister likes the way the horse goes with his regular rider, she should then try him herself (wearing a safety helmet, please, with the harness fastened!) and take him on the same trail, again in its regular tack. That will give her a good idea of how he reacts, and if he is calm and quiet, she can deliberately spend some time riding like a beginner and find out how the horse reacts to unbalanced riders, conflicting signals, etc. If she still likes the horse, she should put her husband on him (in a confined area, wearing a safety helmet, and preferably with his instructor present). If EVERYONE likes the horse at that point, and if the future rider (the husband) is comfortable with the tack, it will be time to call the vet and have the horse checked out.
One warning: The combination of rearing and not accepting contact is very worrying, and certainly isn't suitable for a beginner rider, or indeed for ANY rider who wants to be safe. No matter how beautiful or talented such a horse was, I would think twice or three times before riding, much less buying it.
But keep in mind that a horse ridden on painful contact, especially SUDDEN or PROLONGED painful contact, will often rear in protest, so rider behaviour is something to consider as well. Riders who are used to riding on contact often get into trouble when they get on horses that have been ridden Western and taught to go behind the bit, on a loose rein. These horses don't understand what the riders want if they try to get direct hand-to-bit contact through the reins. The rider thinks he is asking for contact -- the horse thinks it is being punished for moving forward, and that the rider wants it to run backward -- or rear! That's another good reason to watch the horse being ridden by his regular rider FIRST, before you even think about getting on his back yourself. It gives you a chance to see how the horse goes, and how he is accustomed to being ridden.
Even if someone is going to GIVE the horse away, your sister will need to like the horse a lot, feel that it is suitable for her husband, AND have a vet look at it before she makes a final decision. If it's been left in the barn too long, hasn't had its teeth floated, has wolf teeth that need removing, or has uncomfortable tack, those are problems that can be solved.
If it's basically quiet and well-trained, but has had a bad or inconsiderate rider recently, and needs some retraining, this can probably be done -- but is it worth the time and effort and expense? and will the horse be suitable for a beginner, even after retraining?
If the horse is injured, sick, or has been ridden badly for so long that it dislikes the whole idea of being ridden, I would look for another horse -- particularly for a beginner! And in addition to having the vet look at the horse, it would be a good idea to bring her instructor or her husband's instructor, or both, out to see the horse work and give their opinions -- after all, if she buys the horse, those people are going to be working with it!
There are a LOT of nice, uncomplicated horses in the world, and your sister has ONE husband -- at least, I assume she has only one husband! :-) IMO, safe is always better than sorry. If she decides to buy this horse, it should be on the basis of as much solid professional advice as she can get.
- Jessica
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