Emma Mason helps you answer the question…
Some of us are lucky enough to begin our eventing career in the hands (hooves?) of an older, seasoned campaigner, affectionately referred to as the ‘schoolmaster’. This horse may not trot like Totilas, and he may knock a rail or four in the showjumping, but he knows that the red flag is on his right and the white on his left, and could canter around the Werribee cross-country track without his rider.
Yet there may come a time when you feel ready to be the teacher, the expounder of knowledge. And so the ‘young horse’ journey begins…
It’s an experience that can be incredibly rewarding – but has the potential for disaster. So, with the help (and I use that term loosely) of my cheeky five year old gelding, Poker Face aka Harley (Wirragulla Hamlet/xx) this series of articles will attempt to minimise the potential for disaster and subsequent feelings of despair that can accompany the training of a young horse.
We’ll look at a schooling session in dressage, showjumping and cross country, followed by a ‘guide’ to the young horse at his first competition – if there can be such a thing! But this month we’ll address the very beginning: The selection of the horse, the vet check, the need to correctly fit the saddle and, importantly, whether taking on a young horse is the right path for you to venture down.
The Decision
As familiar to the horse community as the story of Cinderella, is the fairytale of Wendy Schaeffer taking young Sunburst from $600 Thoroughbred to gold at the Olympic Games. But it is important to recognise that this ‘happy ending’ was largely the result of Wendy’s experience, dedication and hard work. So be honest with yourself – do you, as a rider, have an adequate level of knowledge to pass on to a young horse? Is your balance and seat established enough to sit through a green horse’s games and / or mistakes? (A youngster will likely be far less tolerant than his older counterpart of having his teeth re-arranged if you get left behind over a fence). And do you have the time and patience required to take on a baby horse? An older horse may be able to be ridden once or twice a week and then taken to a show, whereas the young horse needs consistent work in order to learn.
In many cases, the young horse is not unlike a toddler: They don’t know how to share, they love to play in the dirt and everything goes in their mouth regardless of culinary value (only to be unceremoniously dropped to the floor). Harley, for instance, takes great pleasure in ripping the fly masks off every horse in reach. Said fly mask usually ends up in one of the minefield of holes that Harley has dug, having diligently copied the antics of the resident German shepherd. His childlike behaviour is a reliable constant; even the distraction of a show fails to curtail his usual transgressions. You can almost hear the groan of the unfortunate horse that scores the yard next to Harley at a show. He or she can expect to have their rugs twisted and pulled, their feed bins flung high into the air and their water sent splashing over the ground.
The Right Horse
One of the first questions you should ask yourself (presumably just after “Am I prepared to neglect my children/partner/other animals in taking on this young horse?” and “Is my ambulance cover up to date?”) is “What is my aim with this young horse?” If the answer is Olympic selection, the quality of the horse’s paces should be a key consideration: A walk that displays a good “over track” (ie the horse’s hind hoof print lands at least in, if not ahead of, the place of his front hoof print), and a good canter (ie has a clear ‘three-beat’ rhythm and an uphill tendency) are important, as there is not much room to vastly ‘improve’ the horse’s natural way of going in these gaits. The trot, on the other hand, can often be developed as the horse becomes stronger and more engaged. Having said that, if your horse possesses a ‘sewing machine’ trot, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle right from the start.
The jumping ability of the young horse can be tricky to assess: At times, the horse you go to inspect may not have seen a jump before, so you clearly can’t pop him over a 1.30 m fence to test his scope. When I’m trying out a green horse, I’m interested in whether the horse wants to be careful – does he have a ‘conscience’ and try harder to clear a fence after he’s knocked it? I’m also keen to see whether the horse has a good ‘back end’ – that he lets go behind over a fence. I’m more concerned with this than his front legs – if he’s a little ‘dangly’ in front to begin with, this can generally be improved, whereas teaching a horse to be loose and free behind is much more difficult.
However, wearing the green and gold is not everyone’s ambition. You may wish to take on a young horse as a “project”, with the goal being either financial (if you plan to eventually sell him for a tidy profit) or perhaps emotional (the satisfaction of successfully piloting a green horse through the grades). In this case, the horse’s temperament is a pivotal factor: Ideally, he should be quiet, and not easily spooked or rattled. His willingness to learn, to try new obstacles and exercises, is more important than jaw-dropping movement and a pretty face. Be wary, also, of thinking that you’ll “change” a horse: Certainly, with consistent work, he’ll become stronger and learn new skills, but if he’s “fizzy” or “stressy”, he’ll probably always be a bit that way inclined.
Seeking the help of your instructor or a knowledgeable friend when selecting the horse is strongly advised – this person will know whether your level of riding matches the needs of a particular horse, and will be able to assess the horse without the rose-coloured glasses that often distort the judgment of the avid buyer.
Finding the horse
There is certainly no shortage of horses for sale in the 3 – 7 year old age group, and your local paper, trading post, Horse Deals magazine and a growing number of horse sales websites will attest to this. Each horse will, as a general rule, sound like the most perfect animal ever to grace the Earth in its advertisement. It is important to prepare additional questions to ask the vendor over the telephone in an attempt to uncover any transgressions that this advert happens to skim over. Your questions will be influenced by your ambitions for the horse, but I tend to ask, among other things: Why is the horse for sale? Does he have any vices? and Does he have any blemishes/scars/soundness issues?
If the horse sounds promising, and you decide to go and ride him, always insist that the vendor (or someone on the vendor’s behalf) ride the horse first, no matter how quiet the horse is alleged to be. Take your instructor along on either this or a subsequent inspection, and get their honest opinion – what do they think of the horse? Do they, as your trainer, believe you have the experience necessary to bring on this particular youngster? If the horse is from the racetrack, make an effort to contact his strapper or track work rider to find out what his attitude is like, and if he is ‘cold-backed’ or has any other undesirable qualities.
Above all, trust your own instincts. Almost immediately after you begin riding the horse, you’ll get a ‘feeling’, an indication as to whether he’s the one for you. Don’t be afraid to let this guide your decision. If the horse makes you at all fearful or uneasy, he’s probably not suitable, even if your instructor enjoyed riding him.
The Vet Check
If the young horse has ticked all the right boxes, and you’ve decided, much to the chagrin of your bank account, that you’d like to go ahead and purchase him, the final step is to arrange for the vet inspection. This is highly recommended, even if the vendor has assured you, as they invariably will, that the horse “has never had a lame day”. While this vet exam won’t provide you with a warranty, it should minimise the risk of discovering a problem later down the track.
Along with many other horse owners on the NSW Central Coast, my vet is the personable Dr. Brett Jones, who is almost as famous for his bagpipe skills and pursuits on the Oztag field as for his proficiency as a horse veterinarian. Brett kindly let me interrupt him on a Sunday afternoon (as he nailed ladders to his shed wall in true handyman fashion) to ask some questions about the pre-purchase vet inspection:
1. What sort of general information does the inspection reveal?
It’s probably best to answer this by outlining what is involved in a pre purchase examination: While the precise nature of the examination will vary between vets and the circumstances of the day, Equine Veterinarians Australia have a general “order of proceedings” that would be followed by a vet doing a pre purchase exam.
A full five stage examination involves:
1. The Preliminary Examination. (Clinical exam at rest).
2. Examination during walking, trotting, turning & backing. (Probably including flexion tests)
3. Examination during & immediately after exercise. (Watching the horse being lunged or ridden)
4. Examination in period after exercise. (As the horse cools down/recovers from exercise)
5. The final examination during walking, trotting, turning & backing. (Generally a repeat or abbreviated repeat of stage 2)
Logistics may dictate that it might not be possible to perform all five stages on every pre purchase exam. There is also the option of further investigation with X-rays, airway endoscopy (scoping), ultrasound, blood testing for medications etc etc.
2. Does your approach to vetting a young horse differ from, say, an older, seasoned campaigner?
The actual examination might not vary much – but the interpretation of the results may be shaped by the horse’s age and previous workload, the intended future workload and ambitions of the buyer.
People buying young horses are naturally looking for them to have a long performance career. How long it performs for, and how far the horse makes it up the performance ladder is determined by many things, such as its (and the rider’s) natural athletic ability and temperament, how well the horse and rider are coached, how well the horse is ridden, how well it is looked after in relation to feeding, husbandry etc, and, amongst other things – whether or not it stays sound.
You would prefer a young horse to start with a clean slate, and not have to make predictions about whether a blemish in conformation, way of going, or on x-rays etc is going to affect the goals of the purchaser. Of course not every imperfection that is discovered is going to add significant risk, and opinions on the same blemish will vary between vets.
With, say, an older horse with a consistent competition record, you do tend to be more forgiving of some conditions that are obviously stable and long standing, especially if the work level is likely to be less than what the horse has been doing.
It can be tricky. Obviously the idea of a vet check is to hopefully highlight issues that could be of added risk to the horse’s future suitability, but it can sometimes be too easy to can a horse on the first abnormality found and then walk away.
For me it is a balance. You want to try to highlight potential risks, thereby helping someone avoid future grief, while at the same time I would feel I had done a buyer a disservice if they walked away from an otherwise perfectly suitable horse because of an insignificant finding. A crystal ball would be handy…
3. What’s your take on the necessity of X-rays?
I knew you were going to ask that. You could add to this scoping, ultrasounding, blood testing and the like.
The more information that can be gathered on a horse, the better – if it allows the buyer to make a rational decision that they are comfortable with.
All these things cost extra money. It becomes a question of budget, how much information the buyer wants, and what risks they are willing to take.
It should be noted that the absence of changes in an x-ray does not guarantee soundness. Conversely, the presence of x-ray changes need not necessarily mean that you walk away. Nonetheless, they can convey useful information about potential risks if there are changes, and perhaps just as importantly add peace of mind to a buyer if there are no changes.
X-rays can also be useful as a benchmark for future reference. If a blemish is noted in, say, a 4 year old and is still there unchanged as a 9 year old when the horse is being sold for big bickies, it may be viewed more kindly, assuming the horse has stayed sound.
4. Does your role as a veterinarian extend to commenting on issues that aren’t strictly “veterinary”, such as the horse’s type & temperament?
I am not a riding instructor, and feel that my opinions are best kept to those veterinary, but rightly or wrongly, it sort of does.
Generally I would try to limit my judgments to veterinary issues as I find “type” can be a bit subjective and hard to define in terms of certificate talk.
Temperament can be a tricky thing to judge from a vet check perspective. Often, once a price has been agreed, the seller will stop riding the horse, and the horse stands in a box or yard for a couple of days before the vet check. He’s then taken out of the box for the vet check and trotted on a loose lead in an open area. You can’t really blame the horse for thinking “Yippee”.
Also, a horse’s temperament on the ground could be quite different from the way it behaves and responds to being ridden, or the way it interacts with other horses.
That being said, if I feel that the horse presents a danger, especially to an inexperienced buyer, I would have a good talk them.
Nonetheless, if the horse is lovely and quiet then why not make the buyer feel proud of their new purchase!
Fitting the saddle and other considerations
The responsibilities of a prudent horse owner do not end with the horse’s arrival home. As soon as possible, it is essential that the saddle – be it new or old – is correctly fitted to your horse. I was fortunate to be able to chat to the master of all things saddles, Mr Tony Flynn of Brighton Saddleworld, who shared some wisdom on this important issue:
Having the correctly fitting saddle is just as important as you and I having correctly fitting shoes. We all know how uncomfortable a pair of shoes just a half size too small can be. In the case of a saddle, the rider’s entire weight is transmitted through the stirrup bar when the rider rises to the trot. If the gullet is too narrow then the projection of the rider’s weight will cause significant pinching in the muscle area below the wither. This will usually cause the horse to hollow out, and will fail to round up in the desired manner. To offset this hollowing the horse will usually have a raised neck and head carriage.
Different rider shapes, height, weight and widths, means that no one saddle is usually suited to each and every rider. It is important when considering purchase of a saddle that the prospective purchaser should try a number of demonstrator saddles before purchasing. First ensure that the demo saddle fits the horse. When a saddle is too tight for the horse not only will the horse be discomforted but, the balance of the saddle will move to the back of the saddle causing poor rider position. When you sit in the back of the saddle it is the same as sitting in a lounge, your legs will pop forward and you lose the shoulder, hips and heel vertical line which should come naturally. Similarly the reverse will happen when the saddle is too wide for the horse.
When buying/trying a saddle don’t expect to experience the same sensation as one might expect with a fine dining experience where you are always aware of the flavour and texture of your favourite foods. If after trying a saddle on more than one occasion, you are not conscious of the saddle, then it is possibly right for you, but if your mind is always on the saddle then it is probably not the right saddle for you.
Happy riding,
Em
This article originally appeared in the March 2010 edition of The Horse Magazine