Will my 4 year old appaloosa grow anymore?
Just like in highschool. Some kids peaked in tenth grade and some you seen 5 years later and you could swear they were still growing. I don't think your going to squeeze 2" out of him tho. Even shod. Generally speaking years 1 and 2 they grow up And 3 and 4 they grow out with a little up. Smaller horses usually top out younger than larger horses.
What do you think about Parelli natural horsemanship?
Watch Parelli ride. That will convince anyone that knows how to judge riding. I keep telling people this. He bounces around on the saddle like he is only learned to ride yesterday. The first time I saw him ride my response was, "What?!?!??!?? Somebody get that man a stick horse!" Seriously, that is what I told my wife before we turned him off. He is a poor rider, a worse trainer, and teaches people how to be poor riders and poor trainers. There is a reason why no show trainers use his techniques. It is because they do not get good results. They never have and they never will. He spends far too much time pushing silly games that the horses may learn but which teach the horses very little. It doesn't matter if the horse quits backing up at the sight of a big green ball. The ball has become familiar to them. What matters is that they don't freak out when a full grown turkey flies up from right under their feet, or when a squirrel runs under their hooves. That silly ball doesn't teach them that. Lots of riding under a wide variety of conditions teaches them that. Good training teaches them that. Playing games with big green balls teaches them not to be afraid of big green balls. And why in the world would you spend that kind of money on a so called carrot stick? Go to MFA and buy the same damn thing for $10. It is a cattle prod and that is all it is. Check out his line of saddles. Then look at the prices. He is trying to get $4129 off of a saddle worth $900 to $1000. Don't believe me? Google Parelli saddles. They are simply Wade A fork saddles. Understand that I bash Parelli for three reasons. One I have seen him ride and have critiqued his training techniques. Two, I know too many horses that his techniques have screwed up. and Three, every person I have seen so far that has liked him and his techniques were people who knew very little about horses and produced some dangerous horses, that they could handle but no one else could safely. And the only reason they could handle them is that they let the horse do what ever it wanted, so it never had a reason to get mad at them.
How do you deal with the temperament of an Appaloosa?
You could consider it an entry point for mule training. Mules are like Appys but more so. Smart, crafty, not ones to suffer fools lightly, loyal, jealous, slow to trust, testers of your ability. But once you have gained a mule’s trust they will look out for you like no other mount.At least an Appy has a personality, not like some breeds. If he likes you and does not consider you a fool he will keep you out of trouble and quit testing you once he has taken your measure. My aunts Appy would take little kids for the softest most gentle ride in the world, give a good rider a ribbon winning performance and go under a low tree for the timid mediocre adult rider.You had to have a will as strong as his to get his best but his best was incredible. You had to be firm and fair and never mean or capricious. You could never ask for more than he could do and never settle for less. He liked gratitude for performance and expected a scolding for brattiness, wanted respect for his knowledge and awareness, and expected you to pay attention also. My aunt loved and cared for him till he died at 47 years old, babying him the last few years and crying inconsolably when he passed.
Can you show me a picture of you with your horse?
Ah, if there were only 1. After 35+ years and now a small horse farm of our own, I've been blessed with a number of horses. I'll show you the ones I have electronic pictures of and tell you a little about each (ask and you shall receive).“"Old Nik” - not my first horse, but one that really got me thinking about my relationship with horses. The singular most talented horse I've ever owned. He was deep down a very troubled horse. On a good day pretty much unbeatable, on a bad day, just put him back in the pasture. He because my husband's first trail horse and loved that job!Auggie - another one of the interesting horses that came my way. Adorable but as hot as he could be (Haflingers are supposed to be laid back, not Auggie). He was a very successful therapeutic riding horse until he offloaded an instructor, he never took a bad step with any of the disabled clients. He's currently doing well in a structured lesson program with people who love and understand his “go” button.“New” Nick - after “Old” Nik was put down I purchased New Nick - perhaps the most gorgeous horse I'd ever seen. Unfortunately also the most terrified horse I've ever met. He's a classic case study of what can happen to a sensitive horse who gets started by people who only understand force as way to break horses. After 4 years of trying to turn him into a Dressage horse, he's decided that trail riding is really his true calling in life.He's a hill climbing machine and seems to love it!Willow - my most recent mount. Love her! Smart, smart, smart girl!! She is an overachiever, who seems to enjoy being my teacher. Always willing to try when I ask, and then doesn't seem to get too frustrated if she gets asked again and again. Looking forward to growing our partnership sine we've only been together since April.
Which author have you lost respect for, whose works you once enjoyed reading?
Peter Thiel, author of Zero to One: Note On StartupsWhen I was studying in Newcastle,UK back in 2014, I heard that he was giving a lecture in LSE, London along with launching his book. I immediately booked my travel because I couldn’t miss the chance to meet him in person. I got the book personally signed from him. I kept that book as a prized possession! I adored Thiel to the point of worshipping him. This was the guy who revolutionised online payments, created a Fund dedicated to progressing non-tech startups & actively encouraged the entire startup ecosystem to think beyond improving stuff and to actually create things that will benefit humanity.And then I saw him speaking at the RNC, supporting Trump, and I immediately lost all respect. Thiel, a self-proclaimed libertarian, supporting the living embodiment of anti-libertarianism was something that I could not process mentally. Thiel, a gay immigrant, supporting the personification of anti-immigrants was beyond common sense.Thiel is/was a role model for the entire Silicon Valley, and startups across the world. For him to go against his core beliefs and supporting Trump for presidency was a shattering & devastating revelation. Founders believed in him for his progressive nature against all odds, and for him to support such a regressive candidate will most definitely dismay more than a few people around the globe.I still can’t seem to understand his rationale for doing so, nor do I think I ever will. Perhaps it stems from his contrarian philosophy, perhaps not. But I for one am not willing to go down this rabbit hole any further. I still like the views he expressed in his book, they’re quite revolutionary. He, on the other hand, has fallen flat on his own promises, and I’ve lost my respect for him.
Conformation in quarter horses and appendix's?
It is really just a combination of "popular" stallions that have pretty crummy conformation. I just got back from judging at the World Show for the collegiate division. There are still many old school breeders that want huge horses but sacrifice structural integrity. There are some people moving away from this massive bulky look to keep good legs (ie, "modern profile") but the judges are so old school and narrow minded that they won't do the right thing and place these horses higher in classes. It's a shame. Yes, it might be wrong to be on the breeding end of poor legged halter horses, but the judges are picking these horses as winners! So the cycle continues. I didn't see as much bench kneed horses this go around, but this one poor mare was so huge and over at the knee I was surprised she could move at all. But she won her class because of politics, and her trainer just so happened to be a big shot. Now on the other spectrum, the TB influence in the AQHA world has done some good. I have an appendix with dang near perfect conformation, his only downfall is that he is a bit ribby because he is in an awkward growthy stage :) Sometimes they want a cow hocked horse for reining or cow events, because they can stop harder and better on their hocks. Now I don't agree with some of the crap the AQHA produces, but a lot of the responsibility falls onto judges and politics. If a person walks into a pen with a great, but not as muscled horse, and they are not a well known trainer, there is little chance they will place in the class. So we need to change the politics and judges to change the industry. Phew. Rant done. Still don't think the AQHA is as bad as the scoring and chains of TWH's and Morgans.
Teeth worn down to nubs? is this common?
I have an 18 year old OTTB that I have had for about 10-12 years now, he has always been a hard keeper with a fast metabolism, but recently it was harder than usual to keep weight on him so I called the vet. the vet said that he has worn his teeth down to nubs and that they are not going to grow anymore. they said that I could continue to feed him hay but it would just be for "recreation" since he isn't getting nutrition from it anymore, and that I need to have his food intake be mainly beet pulp/pellets. when the vet is out (when something has gone wrong with or an injury with one of the horses) I get very stressed and usually forget to ask questions... - is this common with OTTBs? or with Thoroughbreds in general? - is this just an old horse thing? I have to mares both in their mid/late 20s and they both have great teeth... - any suggestions? (I am calling the vet back tomorrow! don't worry, I am not relying on the YA) thanks!