05/07/2024
This all rings true for barrel horses as well!
Ok friends, let’s be real… We’ve all seen some ISO ads lately that would make any true horseman stop in their tracks…
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ISO Unicorn
Absolutely no spook, quirks, vices, maintenance, special needs. 100% safe.
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Thank goodness they are shopping for unicorns and not horses, because a good horseman knows that is absolutely impossible from a horse.
Personally I spooked at a squirrel yesterday, and I have better vision than a horse and am not a prey animal.
No one can guarantee any activity in your life is safe—-not soccer, not baseball, not tennis, nothing. Those are the choices you make and the risks you voluntarily take on to participate in the activity you’ve chosen and to live your life. We all try to make the best choices we can of course, but any seller that promises any facet of your life is guaranteed safe is selling snake oil.
As for the horse’s quirks and special needs? I’ve owned hundreds of horses in my career and worked with many hundreds more. The five best horses of my career were as follows:
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Horse #5. Vices: Cannot pull mane or body clip without heavy sedation. Must be in front when hacking in group. Why it’s worth it: Horse of a lifetime for his rider.
Horse #4. Vices: Free because he failed his PPE so badly at 5yo. Needs $800 shoes from a top farrier every 6 weeks. Why it’s worth it: Competed at the upper levels of eventing very successfully and reliably for 11 years.
Horse #3. Vices: Poor mover in the trot, extremely hot, needs a very kind rider. Why it’s worth it: Evented through advanced level, national champion at intermediate.
Horse #2. Vices: May rear and buck. Kicks and bites on ground. Will not go in any wash stall. Why it’s worth it: Never once dropped his rider. Evented through advanced level.
Horse #1. Vices: Incredibly spooky, poor mover in trot, chip on X-rays. Why it’s worth it: Successful and prolific advanced horse, sold and exported to a European Olympic team.
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Our horse shopping advice to you? Be a good horseman.
If the horse makes you smile every day, who cares if it’s tough to pull its mane?
If the horse takes the best care of you, who cares if it flinches trotting past a trash can? Use your inside leg.
If the horse does the job you need it to do, who cares if it needs a good farrier? They should ALL have good farriers.
If the horse saves your behind every time you don’t see a distance, who cares if it cribs on a feed tub?
Good luck, happy shopping, and for the love of unicorns, stop seeking things that don’t exist or you’ll never find it.
—Megan Moore, Verona Equestrian
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