New family member

[rockfan4]

Not a dog, not a cat.

The wife hopefully found her heart horse, after a 50+ year search. There may have been some breaks in that search, but this is something she's wanted since she was a kid.
He's 13 or 14. His name is Cash. We load him up and take him home tomorrow. I'm sure the wife will be a nervous wreck the whole way home.

[Steve Carlton]

He’s a good looking boy! Please tell us more.

[KFC911]

That's awesome! I don't know horses but he looks like a beaut ...

Ca$h

Congrats to you both ... enjoy the journey!

[greglepore]

I'm not a paint guy, but that looks to be a handsome solid gelding. Great age too, old enough to be fully experienced, not too old to be on the downslope. Enjoy. Now you need one.

[masraum]

I don't know much about horses, but that's a pretty one. I'm used to the more solid colored horses with maybe a small spot of white but that's about it. But I really dig the multicolored horses. I think that's what Greg was talking about when he said "paint". I think I've heard of the multicolored being called "painted". Reminds me of westerns.

I've ridden horses 3-4 times and met them another half a dozen times besides that. The one thing that always impressed me is that they seem intelligent creatures.

I hope she gets many, many years of joy from this relationship.

[rockfan4]

I will get one if we find another place, so we can board them ourselves and not have to pay to board two horses.

More info. Apparently no horses within 300 miles of La Crosse are good enough for her, so we are currently in Morris IL. It's a place where my wife's trainer has purchased horses before, and she and her daughter agreed to drive down with us to lend trained eyes. I was more than happy to go to the Amish auction this coming weekend, but got outvoted.

The barn owner we were supposed to meet got in a wreck this weekend, so we worked with his daughter. Quoting him, he has a dozen staples in his head, a broken collarbone, broken shoulder, broken back. His daughter says his T1 is fractured, so he'll be out of commission for a while.

She tried two horses, and looked at a third, but the trainer voted that one down before she rode him. Nothing bad, she said he was too much horse for my wife. There was another one saddled up for another couple to look at. I liked him, but they were asking more for him than my wife wanted to spend. He was maybe more horse than she could handle too.

About Cash. He doesn't head the FBI. They say he's 14.3 h, but I think he's shorter. He has blue eyes. He came from a ranch in either Texas or Oklahoma. That's where this guy gets his horses, he brings them back to the Chicago area to sell. Cash seems pretty friendly, and he isn't dull. My wife bumped him once and he took off on a lope.

I'll know more about him after we've had him a while.

[rfuerst911sc]

I know nothing about horses but I like the markings on that one . Have a safe trip home with him and I hope your wife enjoys her dream.

[Baz]

Congrats!!!

[wdfifteen]

Awesome! Is there a name for that coloration? He’s handsome.

[Jeff Higgins]

"The best horse is somebody else's horse."

Several cousins had them when we were kids, so I essentially grew up around them. My dad grew up on a farm with them. He learned, but apparently several of his brothers and sisters didn't. My cousins suffered accordingly.

I love riding them. My brother in law and his wife own several. We will be spending a week or so with them in northern Idaho in a couple of weeks. Really looking forward to it. Best part is that the horses stay there when we leave.

My wife and I call them "horse hostages". Their lives are entirely beholden to those hay burners. They cannot go anywhere or do anything that does not involve them. Granted, yes, they can get someone to "horse sit", wherein they then return the favor, but that is pretty limited. Any sort of extended vacation away from them is completely out of the question. You don't have to be around them for long to understand why we worked so hard to come up with something better.

[rockfan4]

On the paperwork they list his color as overo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overo

I'm learning this stuff as I go. I would have been perfectly happy with a plain sorrel horse (reddish brown). I hope she didn't choose him for his color. The pink skin on his nose does worry me, I hope he doesn't get sunburned or worse.

If I were to critique him, his back could use a little more muscle and his front pasterns look a little low. I don't like the angle of his hocks, but maybe that's how an american paint is supposed to look. He has shoes on his front feet. The trainer that was with us thinks this is all superficial and he will be fine. One good thing with this horse flipper is he does have a 14 day return policy. Of course, that will entail another 600 mile round trip to return him, but let's not worry about that. Given the 14 day grace period, the PPE has turned into a Post purchase exam, scheduled for next Tuesday. That would give me plenty of time to return him.

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

"The best horse is somebody else's horse."

I feel that way about boats.

This horse will be staying at a ranch about 15 minutes away from our place. We don't have to see him every day. When we go on vacation next spring, we have another boarder lined up to look in on him.

[greglepore]

He's a little cow hocked but its not a big deal. Yeah, he needs to lose a little useless weight and develop more topline, but that's pretty common in horses that haven't been in real regular work, so he'll come around with work and a sound diet.

[GH85Carrera]

As a kid, I wanted a horse. My mom pulled a genius move, and had me spend the night and day with a family friend that had a horse. That cured me.

I want a horse like the ones in westerns. Just let them eat the grass and ignore them except when you want to ride them at full run for hours on end across the state with no rest.

[Seahawk]

I have been around horses my entire life, we still have two.

I love the animal, hate to ride, but I get the appeal completely.

Seems like you are aware of the potential pitfalls so all I can say is this Quick Sea Story:

We have all packages delivered to the stable, center aisle safe about 1/2 way down the drive way and allows the trucks to turn around easily.

My daughters horse is at my sisters in South Carolina and we have one here, almost 30 y/o in the final year or so, no apparent pain according to the vet.

So we let Emma graze around the stable, fans in the aisle for her, etc. She prefers that to her stall and pasture. Who am I to judge?

I have gotten two calls from UPS drivers when I am out with the pup about Emma being out. I will generally drive right to the stable to make sure all is well.

Both times the drivers just wanted to pet Emma...neither of them had ever snuggled a horse. The female driver would have stayed the afternoon she was so happy.

That is why I enjoy horses...very cool to see them through others eyes.

Enjoy. You have an excellent set-up.

[craigster59]

I grew up around horses and going to rodeos. We used to go to The Grand National at the Cow Palace in the Bay Area. My Grandfather always had a horse, it would follow him around like a dog.

He also preferred mules, said a horse would run right off a cliff but a mule knew better.

My Cousin Jeff breeds horses in Texas. Beautiful stallions, they can cost into the mid six figures....

https://oswoodstallionstation.com

[craigster59]

Actually, Cash looks a bit like America's Next Top Gun.....

https://oswoodstallionstation.com/americasnexttopgun/

[vash]

^^^ what is "Cow Hocked"?

fascinating. a horse is nowhere on my horizon, but this is cool. very cool


I have always wanted a pet donkey.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by craigster59

Actually, Cash looks a bit like America's Next Top Gun.....

https://oswoodstallionstation.com/americasnexttopgun/

Cool looking horse!

[greglepore]

Originally Posted by vash

^^^ what is "Cow Hocked"?

fascinating. a horse is nowhere on my horizon, but this is cool. very cool


I have always wanted a pet donkey.

Feet pointing a little outward when viewed from behind. Not necessarily a bad thing, some cowboy types actually prefer them for certain types of work.

[rockfan4]

Originally Posted by vash

I have always wanted a pet donkey.

Me too. The wife says we can get one if we get a place with enough land for her horse.



Made it home with no issues. Cash trailers really well. It was about a 5 hour trip, we stretched it to 6 with three stops so that he could take a break from trying to balance.

When we left the barn, he and another horse in the pasture were still discussing who was going to be boss. But they're both geldings, nothing mean. Just some biting and some half hearted kicks at each other. The other horse is at least a hand taller and probably 200-300lbs heavier, but that doesn't seem to matter. There's only 3 geldings in this pasture so the sorting goes pretty fast. When he first went in, the current boss went galloping at the gate as fast as he could, kicking up his rear legs. Then he hit a patch of mud and almost wiped out. I don't know if horses get embarrassed, but he should have there.

There was some drama at the water, since it is shared with an adjacent pasture. Cash on one side, and 4 horses all trying to stick their nose in the water on the other side. Lots of drama, but nothing they can do, there's an electric fence between them.

The wife wants to head back right away in the morning. We still need to finish cleaning the trailer. She also now has to start saddle hunting. Couldn't buy one before, it has to fit the horse's back.