RE: [RC] Was Frigid Digit Now Buying Horse Sight Unseen - Rae Callaway
Just wanted to add that a horse's personality on the ground
can be very different from his personality when you're riding. I've got
one that is a very laid back, submissive boy in the herd and around the
barn, but once you're on his back, he's extremely bold and fast moving (add
being green on top of that and the first couple of trail rides were quite an
adventure!).
Subject: Re: [RC] Was Frigid Digit Now
Buying Horse Sight Unseen
IMHO, a 13 hour drive is a small price to
pay for being certain that the horse is just what you want. Start
adding up what it will cost you if the horse isn't right: upkeep, shoeing,
ordinary vet care, riding time, angst, worry, guilt, and finally the
effort you'll have to put into selling him. Some people can ride
anything and get along just fine and they are usually trainers. The
rest of us get along well with only a pretty specific type of horse.
A lesson I learned several horses ago, was to think long and hard about
how a horse is described when the describer is not like me and doesn't
ride like me. It's a problem both when the seller is a very
experienced horse person with whom all horses are angels and when the
seller is inexerienced and therefore can't really describe the horse in
any meaningful way. The horse I bought had been with a very strong
and confident rider who could support and carry the horse through
anything. I'm a very good but not strong rider and my best efforts
at supporting that horse weren't enough to make us feel comfortable with
each other. Her insecurities never came up with the stronger rider
because the rider was the dominant leader and the horse felt
comfortable. A couple of weeks ago, I posted about my
enjoyment of Jane Smiley's, "A year at the races." In it she
suggests that a horse'e personality can be described in 4
dimensions: the horse is either 1) dominant or submissive, and 2)
curious or afraid, and 3) friendly or aloof, and 4) energetic or laid
back." Describe yourself along those same characteristics and it
become obvious why some types of horses are bad matches.
You say you don't want to sell another horse that turns
out not to be suitable. That tells me that you should be making
every effort to make sure the horse is suitable! Don't skimp!!
Remember, "ride your own ride." What I mean by that is, don't fall
into the trap of thinking that the horse will be right for you because it
was a good ride for someone else unless you know that person well enough
to know that they are very much like you. Good
luck! Laney Dabney Finch wrote:
