I finally got a chance to test drive the new horse last night. We have been in the process of building new pens for our feeder calves through the summer, and all of the portable panels for my round pen were being used to complete the half-finished pen. So last weekend we finished up that project, which allowed me to set up my round pen and try riding the new buckskin mare for the first time. I was anxious to see if our craigslist purchase was a good find or a big mistake.
We have owned her for a month now, and she has been very quiet and easygoing to work around. She and her foal are kept separate from our other horses, but allowed out to graze the yard with them when we’re working out around the farm. So I have been observing her and making mental notes of her actions and reactions, trying to get a better feel for her, and get some idea of what the past seven years of her life has been like.
This mare wears a Circle P freeze brand on her left hip, and two owners ago she belonged to Circle P Quarter Horses, where she was bred by their reining stallion, Cooked To Par. I’m not sure how long they owned her, or if they trained her to ride when she was younger, but I believe she was foaled in Texas and moved up to Iowa somewhere along the line. The girl we purchased her from said she had intended to ride her, and climbed on bareback one day, and rode her around with just a halter. She seemed to think she would be easy to train, and might be able to fall back on some training she had had previously. But there were no guarantees, and she hadn’t been ridden since then, as the girl was expecting a baby and didn’t want to take any chances riding horseback while pregnant.
So I didn’t have a whole lot to go on to know how safe this mare was, other than she has been a perfect lady ever since we’ve owned her. I can lead her in from grazing with just an arm under her neck. She is respectful of my space, and moves away from pressure. She leads and ties without a fuss, and let me trim her hooves with minimal complaints. She allows us to work with her foal with no hint of suspicion or protective aggression towards us. So my gut instinct says that someone has done some work with this mare, whether it was five years ago or just recently. She has impeccable ground manners, and I was excited to see her reaction under saddle.
So I set up the round pen and put her and the baby in it. I approached her with the saddle pad, as she grazed freely in the circle, and while she moved away a step at first, after I let her smell it, she didn’t object at all when I lifted it onto her back. Then I got my saddle, which is kind of heavy and cumbersome (I would love to trade for a lighter one!), and she didn’t even look up when I set it on her back. I tightened the cinch and stepped back to let her do whatever she wanted to, which was nothing but continue to graze. Then I asked her to lunge at a trot, and she passed that test with flying colors. My husband, observing, said, “I think she’s done this before.”
I am usually of the opinion that if a horse doesn’t buck within the first couple steps of a good trot with an unfamiliar saddle and the flapping stirrups, there’s a pretty good chance that it won’t buck with a knowledgeable rider. So it gave me confidence to see her willingly carrying the saddle with no sign of nervousness, rushing, spooking, or bucking as she circled the pen.
When I put the bridle on her, she didn’t resist or raise her head, but she did start mouthing the bit immediately. So I knew from that sign that she wasn’t used to carrying a bit, and if she had been trained under saddle as a filly, she probably was not ridden long, and certainly had not been ridden recently. She didn’t appear to have tooth problems, they were all well out of the way of the snaffle bit, so I think it just shows that she needs more time to adjust to wearing something in her mouth, and I plan to get her used to that gradually.
So I climbed aboard, while she stood stock still and waited patiently as I leaned on the saddle, patted her other side, and eventually swung my leg over and sat upright. She walked out calmly in a circle, with again no sign of nervousness or even a look backwards like “this is new!” I let her walk a couple of circles before asking her to turn and reverse direction. She seemed uncertain at the rein pressure, but not unwilling, and was easy to direct. She wanted to resume grazing, but after some hesitation and leg squeezing, she walked on. I didn’t know until afterwards that my husband had caught it on video:
That shows her first couple of steps around the round pen. She whinnies at the end, probably because it is around feeding time and she hears the other horses and thinks they’re getting their grain without her. She did great for a beginner!
You can see how relaxed she is in this photo.
So then my husband haltered the foal and opened up the round pen and we went out and down the road through the cornfield towards the river. At first, the mare was in a big hurry (again, I think she believed it was time for grain and she needed to get back to her corral), but as I pointed her towards the cornfield, she settled down into a nice walk. The little guy led incredibly well, as it was just his fourth time having a halter on, and we were all happy and excited to be enjoying a really great fall afternoon with the horses behaving as well as they were.
My husband was behind the camera, but I wish I had gotten a few photos of the colt leading, because he is coming along so nicely! This was one of those days that you just can’t keep from smiling, because everything you’ve been worrying about turns out perfectly fine. I was so happy!
I think this mare is a keeper, and I feel like a kid again with my very first horse. A new horse is a new adventure, and every day provides new challenges and opportunities for success. I hope you’re enjoying your horses this fall, too. Happy Trails!
