Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Update 2: I Don’t Love Horse Shopping But I Do Love Canada

Alright, so this is going to be a bit out of order because I did go to CA for a Mary Wanless Instructor Training at the end of January/beginning of February, but I just went to Canada last weekend and wanted to write about that first while everything is still fresh (everything for Mary is written down and still simmering, lol).

I’ve been horse shopping since the start of January. As of now: I’ve seen 5 horses, vetted one unseen, vetted one of seen horses, fallen off once, been to Canada to shop, and have countless videos and pictures etc. I’ve had several be sold before I could get to see them.

Since I can't share sale horse pictures, this post will have a ton of pictures of Niagara Falls!

I don’t want to go into too much detail on any of the horses because as far as I know, they’re all still for sale. Of the seen and unseen:

  • Horse 1 (seen): Coming 4 year old that’s a unique, interesting, and nice cross that should have been a moderately expensive cross. I found out why he was inexpensive- the colt starter that did his base training did a really poor job and his owners aren’t equipped to deal with him. This one jumped out from under me while I was swinging a leg over mounting, therefore I ate dirt. Eating dirt wasn’t what made me pass on him- I got back on, or rather made it completely on. He must have been ridden in draw reins, because he tucks his chin into his chest and doesn’t go forward. He tucked it harder when I put leg on. He is a reactive and unconfident horse that tends to be spooky then bolty, but not forward thinking and needs a complete restart. That is what made me pass. I know I could do it, but I worried what would happen when I made a mistake, because I know I will as a rider. I am sad for him, but his owner is a lovely person who will make sure he’s taken care of.
  • Horse 2 (seen): I LOVED him. 8 Year old OTTB, built uphill, his back and hips were even and not dropped on one side, good brain, nice personality, pretty and a unique color, pleasant to ride, should be super fun to bring along. And lame. He was slightly foot sore when I saw him (he’d had significant time off from an owner without time for him, and he’d had 3 rides back in work). No shoes, and it didn’t seem like there was a plan to put shoes on. I suspected front hoof issues because his feet are very underrun and flat, and he was foot sore after 3 rides. I couldn’t see how he could possibly have a positive or even neutral palmer angle. Passing on this one made me very sad.
  • Horse 3 (seen): 6 Year old Dutch Harness Horse. We didn’t even ask his owner to ride him after seeing him free lunge. He was way too much horse for me. The owner seemed relieved she wouldn’t have to ride him.
I have to say, I don't understand anyone who feels the desire to get anywhere near the falls in a boat or barrel. Standing next to this railing had my survival instincts on red alert and I felt a strong need to get away from the falls.
  • Horse 4 (unseen): 4 Year old warmblood/draft cross that looked well put together. He was far enough away that I wanted to vet first, then go see him with the trailer. I don’t think I’ll do that again! Long story short, he has eye issues that could lead to uveitis, if he hasn’t had a flare already, in addition to some possible foot issues. Not sure about the feet because we didn’t get far enough to look at those.
  • Horse 5 (seen): Also a horse I loved. A very nice horse, slightly out of budget but I think underpriced to right on target. Flashy 3.5 yr old that moved well, was very sound, wonderful brain, snuggle bug, not started but ready to be sat on. He checked all the boxes and looked like he’d be a super fun partner for dressage and non-dressage. He was a super resale prospect that would have provided a really healthy budget for my Silver/Gold horse if it turned out he wasn’t talented enough to go 3rd or above. He failed his vet check in spectacular fashion. Grade 4/5 sidebone on both sides of both fronts, with one of the sides being 5/5. He also had loose stifles and one had already developed a hook. The vet even confirmed he was sound at the moment, but most likely wouldn’t stay sound with the work I wanted to do. He also wouldn’t be a good resale horse.
  • Horse 6 (seen): We went to Canada to see an 8 year old American Warmblood. His videos looked great, and he was well represented by his owner and the videos (she properly lowered my expectations before I arrived by saying he can be spooky and naughty when he’s not in work, so she wasn’t sure how he’d act after 2 months of no work, but we’d find out together!). He has solid training, solid show experience, and a fun personality… and I just didn’t like riding him. We didn’t click. I didn’t even care about the small spooks he gave me, or the tiny porpoise moves he did into the canter. He just needs a confident leader who can sit up tall to keep him focused and it’s not even that hard to do. It was a long way to go for a simple “I didn’t click with him”. Maybe it’s me being mostly unfit while trying to change my bio-mechanics as a rider, and him being unfit too, but I struggled to ride him. Sure, I could tap into majority of his skills and get them done. Doesn’t change the fact I simply didn’t enjoy riding him.

I have one in some weird limbo where his owner is trying to get him handled again so he’s not feral for when I visit, and to make sure he remembers he’s a riding horse so I can actually try him out. There are some other beasties in the early stages of fishing for information and media. For the most part, I’m basically numb to the horse search and to the “I’ll never find a horse” feeling. Something I learned after trying to vet a horse unseen: don’t be so eager about any horse you do something stupid. There will ALWAYS be another horse, even if you don’t see him right now.

So much ice on EVERYTHING!

After seeing Horse 6, I asked a friend if I was being too picky because I felt like I had no real good reason to not like Horse 6. She said “No! You’re basically shopping for a spouse. It has to be the right fit.” I agree with that… I’m speed dating for a spouse who isn’t going to financially support himself. I better really like him!

I reflected on Penn and the trip I took to see him. I liked riding him, I liked his personality, and I just liked everything about him except he felt small. Feeling small was not a good enough reason to skip out on him, so we went forward with that and you all know how that worked out. For better or worse, Penn was a GREAT find and while I don’t regret giving him away, it has been made abundantly clear how difficult he will be to replace.

Panorama of the Horseshoe Falls

Despite my mixed feelings about the horse I saw in Canada, I loved Canada! Well, I can only speak to the 5 hours or so of Ontario that I drove through, but still.

Everyone is exceedingly nice. That goes for everywhere, by the way. Apparently when roads have a speed limit of 100 km/hr, they’re just suggestions. I was going 120 km/hr around the “Golden Horseshoe” (the half circle around the west most edge of Lake Ontario from the USA at Buffalo to Toronto). Despite being LAPPED at 20 km/hr over the speed limit, every driver was exceedingly polite. I was never cut off or run off the road or pushed around. When we came back into the USA into New York, I was being pushed around and cut off again. Everyone we talked to (hotel, restaurants, and the horse’s owner) were helpful, polite, and easy going.

I finally got to try poutine!

Around the western end of Lake Ontario seems to be one giant continuous city. We saw numerous groups of skyscraper-esk buildings grouped together... only to find out that they were not office buildings, but apartments and condos. It seems like the cities are trying to cram most of Ontario's population in right next to the lake. We were set to take the 407 around Toronto, but from what we could figure, it was around 0.25 USD per km, and we were supposed to be on there for 61 miles... so I figured out we could take 403 and 401 instead. Wee, new country? No problem, I'll make my own directions!

I also have a new love for Tim Hortons! It's probably sad I've developed a love for it, but I don't care. It’s a good thing there are no Tim Hortons near me though!

Turkey BLT with wedge fries.
Totally didn't know the side dishes for Tim Hortons are different from location to location. I had a wonderful blueberry muffin from the Tim Hortons at Niagara Falls!
Timbits are right up there with donut holes from Dunkin Donuts! AND I even liked the coffee (I'm not a huge coffee drinker). Mom said it was really strong... maybe that's why I liked it? No idea, but it was good!

We stopped by Niagara Falls, Ontario on the way home. We decided even though it was a 9 hour drive home with stops, we'd stop to see the falls because we were so close and the horse was a no go. We were also hungry for lunch by that point, so we thought we'd try to have lunch overlooking the falls. It ended up taking us 11 hours to get home with our side trip, but we didn't care. The falls were worth it!

The Canada side of the falls are definitely the side to see the falls from.


The horse shopping continues...

19 comments:

  1. Timbits ARE the best, haha. Glad you enjoyed your visit up North :)

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    1. Loved my visit up North. When PA gets too tropical (since it appears to be getting hotter all the time), maybe I'll go North in summer, haha!

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  2. We have Timmy's and aren't too far from the falls here in Rochester. Catch me on a bad day (literally this entire winter) and I'd probably sell you my super sound dressage horse with a side of timbits!

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    1. I'd take him and the timbits right now! πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

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  3. horse shopping is worse. both times i went on the hunt i think i looked at 5-8 horses. when I went to find runkle I looked at 15. The right one is out there, youll find him!

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    1. Ugh! I know the right one is out there... But I look down my list and go, "Ok, where can I compromise?" and well, the only thing I could do is look at more OTTBs, but I don't feel the need to do that just yet. 3-8 yr old 15.2h +, 3 clear gaits, no OTTBs at this time, gelding, dressage purpose. I won't compromise on the gelding part- the mares at home have become so witchy with each other now that they're in heat! It's not even that there isn't space for a mare, it's that they're downright mean to each other! I'll keep hunting though!

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  4. Horse shopping seems like it should be so much fun but it's actually the worst. You'll find one sooner or later!

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    1. It does seem like it should be so fun! Ugh. Hopefully I find something before spring!

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  5. Horse shopping should be exciting but always ends up depressing. After the first one I liked not vetting at only 4 years old I thought I'd never find something. I was pretty numb through the buying process for Maestro, I just assumed he wouldn't pass vet either. I only tried 7 horses to find Maestro but my friend tried 17. Your next pony is out there somewhere. If you ever end up horse hunting in SE Michigan let me know. :)

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    1. Well then I'm right up there in the "I've seen x number of horses" and I should be due to find the right one soon!

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  6. I agree with the comments about horse shopping being fun when you have a horse and are window shopping. Way less fun when you’re actually wanting to buy something specific. I’m looking forward to hearing more of your journey though and sending lots of positive horse shopping thoughts :)

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    1. Window shopping horses is SO FUN. I'll definitely share when I have more to share! And thanks for the thoughts :)

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  7. I went to Niagra when I was in highschool but it was also summer, can't imagine being there in winter lol and I love poutine!!

    So when I was horse shopping and getting kinda sad about it 3 months in with no horse, Peony pulled me aside during one of our visits and told me she was glad I wasn't settling and I was taking my time to find the best horse I could afford. She didn't even know I was getting sad and desperate yet! Her statement really bolstered me to just keep going and to not settle just because I really wanted a horse.

    It took me a total of 4 months to find and move forward with Dante and another month to vet and buy him. I think I asked after 40+ horses, and seriously considered about 15.

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    1. I don't think I'll be compromising anytime soon. The only thing I'd be willing to change on is no OTTBs, the rest are really base things that shouldn't be comprised on. It will be quite the search!

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  8. I'd say better to be too picky and find the perfect horse than to jump on one that might work. It's no small chunk of change to drop. And you have some major goals you want to work toward. I know you're going to go crazy from not having a horse but I'm sure you'll find the perfect partner because you're going about it in the right fashion.

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    1. I'm happy to keep being picky. I need to be happy with the horse. He needs to make me smile every day, even the days I may want to shoot him (Penn had many of those days! I expect another green horse to be no different.) My goals can be a little flexible, but the horse needs to do 3rd at a minimum or be an excellent resale prospect.

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  9. It took me 7 months to find the right horse. I lost count of how many I looked at. I had 3 failed PPEs. There was definitely moments of despair that I would ever find the right one. The one I bought was 3x the budget I started out with. But he is worth every penny and worth the wait.

    Keep the faith - the good ones are out there and they're worth the search!

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    1. My budget has already snuck up a bit. If I could double it, I'm still not sure I'd find a horse I liked! I'd just have more options to look at.

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  10. Now I'm hungry for food I can't get lol!

    Best of luck as you continue this arduous journey.

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