The Ammy Dilemma: Schoolmaster or Greenie?

Nothing like experience

When you're a one-horse amateur, picking the right horse is a very stressful event. Most of us don't have unlimited funds and a private farm, and unless we're very lucky, we generally have to choose between an old road warrior or a young, green thing.

I've done it both ways. 

Here are my thoughts:

Plus he had scope

1) I frequently hear ammies say that they want a horse with enough scope to save them when they make bad decisions and use that as a rationale to buy a younger, fancier horse vs an older packer. That isn't necessarily bad logic, but here are some better thought processes:

• A more athletic and younger horse is going to use more athletic and greener evasions that are by definition harder to ride. Almost no one gets bucked off an unfit old draft horse because, hello, that horse can't buck for shit. The same is not true of your young, green warmblood. I'm not advocating for unfit draft horses here, but you get my point.
• A wise old campaigner has a lot more options than scope to save you with. Instead of relying on sheer athletic ability and raw talent, the horse can make solid decisions because it understands the questions being asked both by the rider and by the obstacles. He may not really want to leap that square oxer from a standstill since you completely buried him, but he can see that you're going to bury him and adjust accordingly. Or stop, which is actually about 1000% safer for everyone involved. 

Maintain that

2) Another common objection to a schoolmaster type is that a one horse ammy is going to have a hard time affording the maintenance that comes along with some wear and tear that you'd expect to see on a more established horse. 

• First off, a horse coming down from a more vigorous career generally already has an established maintenance routine. Can I just say how much easier it is to budget for something that you know exists? 
• This seems like a no-brainer to me, but I would always always always rather pay for some corrective shoeing or hock injections or special supplements instead of training and (unfortunate reality) medical bills in the event of a mishap. Horses are going to cost you money--be smart about where you choose to spend it. 

3) The last really big objection to the older schoolmaster horse is just that a one-horse ammy isn't set up to provide a proper retirement for that eventual day when the horse needs to step down even more. Having one horse is a financial strain and no one wants to set themselves up to have that horse be unrideable. This is a really hard question and I get it, absolutely.

• Where there's a will, there's a way. I never, ever thought I'd be able to afford two horses, but last summer/fall, I found a way to make it work. Yeah, it wasn't a fancy showing situation, but everyone was having their needs met. It definitely requires creative thinking and hard work. It's totally worth it. 
• No one likes to think about this, but young horses are far from immune to career ending injuries. It raises a lot of difficult questions that we need to be willing to address if we're going to have horses in our lives. 

4) Ok, one more. Be realistic about your actual goals. If you aren't prepared with sponsors and training facilities and a thorough understanding of the upper levels, don't buy buy a horse with the talent for Rolex "just in case". No one gets to Rolex (or Grand Prix, or Tevis, or what-have-you) by mistake. If you're getting back into horses for the first time as an adult, look for an appropriate match that will give you experience and build your confidence. 

• Just because a horse is older (or less fancy) doesn't mean it can't perform perfectly well. This is especially true if you're wanting to trail ride and do dressage or compete on your local circuit or just have fun with your horse. He may not be a world beater, but he can still be your friend.
• A young horse doesn't care if it ever goes to Rolex, but that talent isn't going to be wasted. If he can jump five feet from a standstill, well, that's great for Phillip Dutton dropping in to the head of the lake, but it's going to SUCK BALLS when he does it in the dressage arena with you up. 

When I hear fellow ammies talk about buying ridiculously green and athletic horses, I cringe just a little bit. It can certainly be done successfully, but by definition, we ammies are more jack-of-all-trade types instead of qualified specialists. We have to be able to hold down a job, interact with friends, co-workers, and family (who are usually non-horsey), and function in an unrelenting world of normal people. We don't get to follow the circuit and ride 10 horses a day and develop the kind of skills that go along with it, so we absolutely need to benefit from the sort of people who do. 

If you have the resources and patience to start a greenie, by all means, go for it! It can be a fun and rewarding process. It's not for everyone and I'd say there are HUGE perks to letting yourself learn from a horse who's been around the block a few times. 

Let's face it. The only reason I can have fun with Courage right now is because of all the things that Cuna taught me when we were together. 

<3 those golden oldies.

Hakuna Matata

He will only leave the barn if I have a cookie

I haven't written about the old man much lately. He's hanging out in his field, taking his time. He likes his life and trucks around with his buddies. I fuss with his blanket and his feed a little, but mostly I'm just letting him be.

Wednesday, his farrier came out for a trim. I was doing my usual "hold the end of the lead rope so I can watch exactly what he's doing and ask annoying questions". My farrier is used to be my now, so if it bothers him, he doesn't let on too much. As he worked away at Cuna's left front, I pointed to a slightly discolored spot in the sole. "Is that a bad thing?" I asked.

"No," he says. But then he points to the white line. "This is bad, though."

As he trims away the excess toe, he leaves behind a white line like I've never seen it before. It's almost an inch wide with blood in places. "You need to call your vet." As he and later the vet explained, the white line gets wider as the internal structures of the hoof start to pull away from the wall.

No more is it/isn't it flirting with laminitis. We're staring at it.

Cuna's been bilaterally uncomfortable up front. The next evening, I took him out to the arena/drylot area at the barn on the lunge line. His walk hasn't looked great to me, but maybe I'm just imagining things.

Nope. The old man was non-trotting. 

I patted his nose and told him the vet would be out tomorrow.

And then I pretty much fell apart. He's happy where he's at for the first time in ages. He likes his life. That means a lot to me. I've seen horses live in chronic pain and I absolutely refuse to do that to him. I love him too much to hang on to him when every day hurts.

Waiting for the vet

I got to the barn about a half hour before the vet. Cuna was even more uncomfortable than the day before. I curried and brushed him all over and combed through his mane and tail. I fed him cookies every time he looked at me and just appreciated what a giant red gentleman he is.

As much as I hate to be overly dramatic about emotions and life, I felt like everything inside me crunched when the vet's truck came around the corner.

He was as friendly as could be, and I explained the process Cuna and I are working through, from the weird stuff this spring to the horrid stuff in May to our current situation. He listened, watched, and dug around in Cuna's feet. I didn't have to tell him why the farrier said to call as he poked around at the white line in both fronts and dug an old abscess out of his sole.


We talked about our options. His first thought was to put shoes on Cuna, but the red man and shoes don't stay together long enough for that to make a difference. There's a reason he's barefoot now. Fortunately, that didn't phase him. He moved right along and told me to get Cuna some hoof boots, keep them as clean and dry as possible, put him on bute for the next week to get him more comfortable, and wait.

Trying hoof boots on for size

In his opinion, it looks like Cuna is growing out a lot of the crap we went through in May and we're just still dealing with the residual suck. The event line is pretty obvious on his hoof. He wants Cuna's trimming schedule to be a much shorter cycle, but just said that these things take time and we won't even know how far Cuna's going to come back until at minimum another six months.

We're not in the clear yet. I have to order the boots, since apparently no one stocks size 3s. Not even kidding. The old man horse has big feet.

Cuna hasn't given up and until he does, I'm on board. I've never willingly purchased or used hoof boots in my entire life, but I just ordered some with priority shipping and I can't wait for them to get here.

So... hoof boots anyone? Tell me it's unicorns and rainbows from here on out. 

PS I really want to win some cool saddle soap that I can't afford to buy after getting Cuna's hoof boots. Enter Amy's contest for it here!

One Year and One Day

2/6/12 - Our first day together

Febuary 6, 2012 an old red horse waltzed into my life and stole my heart. He's kind and grumpy, forward and lazy, smart and goofy, handsome and adorable. He took me so far so fast that looking back doesn't even seem real any more. I'm not the rider I was, I'm not the person I was before I met him.

May 2012

For me, he is the right horse at the right time. Buying him was a risk--he was 17 and had been in inconsistent work the past couple of years. I couldn't seem to keep him sound the first few months as he decided he needed new boots, a more expensive farrier, and some solid ($$$) hock maintenance, but he made it worth every penny as he taught me cool new skills and made every day a fun learning experience.

July 2012

We conquered cross country together--he took me from my panic-stricken first ride back since the wreck to learning how to appreciate a horse who loves his job in one of the best sports in the world. He did in a couple of days what I thought would take years to change--he let me enjoy the ride.

August 2012

Once he brought me back to being a functioning member of the team, we were able to compete in a horse trials and show some of the potential that a been-there-done-that rocking event horse and his favorite person are capable of. We surprised even ourselves with an accurate test and he brought me through some show nerves to a clean stadium round and the best XC trip of my life to date.

Winter 2012

Through it all, he's been an absolute joy. I love his silly grumpy face, his "I'm a bastard" attitude, and his silly, kind personality. He's learned to pose for pictures and milk photo sessions for all the peppermints I own. I've learned that I can do absolutely anything with this horse, and there's no reason to be afraid.

Winter 2012

Together we've reached new heights of competence and confidence, and he's turned me into a "happy horse evangelist". There's no prize for sticking it out the longest, folks--if you're scared or not having a good time, just move on. Life is too short to be having anything other than the time of your life 9 rides out of 10.

366 days with Cuna are just the beginning of our journey together. I don't know what this year is going to bring, but I know that whatever Cuna and I tackle together will be more fun just because he's there with me. He's carried me through some serious character building and helped me be a stronger, better person. Because of him, I've overcome obstacles I would have given up on. Because of him, I get out there and push myself, every day.

He made 2012 amazing. I don't know what I'd be without him.

A Fight and a Plan

Fancy show jumping Cuna

So I may have mentioned that Cuna and I had a fight. On a warm day last week (15f, hate it), I pulled Cuna's blanket off, brushed him, and turned him loose in the arena. He loves to run around, but he always takes care of #1, and to him, the footing was only safe to trot.

Trot he did, flicky toes and all, with his head in the air and snorting. It was absolutely hilarious except for one thing: his beautiful topline is gone. Vanished. Scary. I was so sad at the state of his neck that I put him away with no cookies.

He threw his hay on the ground and tipped over his water bucket. AND pinned his ears at me.

Grumpy faces all around for several days. I'm focusing on the fact that the weather HAS to get better and that we can build another topline. He's focusing on the giant bag of peppermints I got him, and we're on the road to reconciliation. I may even be able to get on him today, provided we don't have another bout of freezing rain.

So. Let's pretend his topline comes right back and I end up with a paying job. In that fun and magical world, here is the projected show schedule for Cuna and I:

April 27&28 - Show jumping clinic with Julie Winkle, 3' - 3'3" group

May 11 - Boise Pony Club schooling jumper show 2'9" - 3'3"

May 24-26 - XC schooling and derby at novice

? June 8-9 - H/J show in Bellevue, ID 

June 22 - Dressage at Les Bois (we can hack there!), training 3 and first 1.

June 29-30 - Unrecognized horse trial (local) at novice

August (10-11, 24-25) - both IHJA jumper shows at the Idaho Center.

September 7 - BPC schooling jumper show

We have a dressage look now

No one tell Cuna about the dressage show or we might have another fight. ;)

Pretty exciting

I think it's actually within reach. Everything is local, so at least I won't be spending tons of money on hauling. There are usually a couple of jumper shows in Hailey, ID that I'd like to go to, but they're not on the calendar yet. We'll see what happens. Honestly, this feels within reach. I'd like to hit another jumper show, but everything else is going to be far away and more expensive.

Schoolmaster at Work

Only the cutest horse ever

Due to it being miserable yesterday (like25f and windy), I put off going to the barn until the late afternoon. One of Steph's more advanced clients was there, and because she is freaking insane a nice person she offered to help Cuna and I with some jumps. I tacked him up in a hurry, threw his quarter sheet on, and did the world's shortest warm up as I slowly lost feeling in my feet.

The exercise was a crossrail with placing poles down the center of the arena, right hand rollback, single crossrail, left hand rollback, single crossrail. Pretty simple, especially at this height. My giant schoolmaster didn't even have to leave the ground for any of the "jumps".

Attempt #1: Cuna was sticky over the crossrail with poles, but I kicked on and we made it. I let him canter away from it and towards the next crossrail. He got long and flat, I got disorganized, and I think we had one straight stride headed towards it. I pushed my hands into his mane, gave him a kick, and realized that I was quickly running out of runway as my hands slid towards his ears.

The sucker stopped at a crossrail that he could have stepped over.

I couldn't be mad--after all, the approach was genuinely horrible and he just stopped square in the middle.

We circled around again. I established a quality canter. I send him forward, brought him back, kept him up, stayed in the middle, and settled to the "fence".

BRAKES!!!

Wha? Grrrr. I kicked him to tell him it was naughty, but our coach for the day had me leave the jump alone. We did some more canter work, added some transitions, and then headed back to the first crossrail. Cuna felt more alive, more ready, more forward. We cantered through the whole pattern with no problems.

Then she made the first X a grid (bounce to a one stride) and jacked all the singles up to 2'9". I made sue I had Cuna balanced and prepared. He jumped through the grid like a champ, took an excellent canter, and the singles were like clockwork.

Hacking in the snow

Oh Cuna, I <3 you. Yes, he -could- have stepped over that crossrail and let me get away with an insufficient warm up on a very cold day coupled with a bad approach. He could have, but he didn't. Because I fixed the warm up and improved the approach over crossrails, it was just perfect over jumps. What a stud.


DON'T FORGET!!!! Tomorrow at midnight is the deadline to enter our 'Tis the Season photo contest. 
Winner announced in early January!