Within the past few months, I've come to realize that I will be able to afford a horse of my own in the near future. Those of you that know me well realize how important horses are in my life. Dave, my ridiculously understanding boyfriend, describes me as a full blown junkie, except my heroin is horses. My discipline of choice is dressage, though I have dabbled in eventing and show jumping in the past, and every once in awhile (thanks to my new, Oregon horse friends), I get the pleasure of riding a quick, catty cow pony.
While I am yet to come across a horse I don't like, I really want to take care in finding a horse that has suitable conformation to go far in the dressage world. Initially, I was only looking at warmbloods and Baroque breeds, but with an average price tag of 10k + for a quality untrained horse, it soon became obvious that this was an unrealistic choice for me. Over Christmas break, I was contacted by an old friend, and owner of a mustang rescue at which I use to work. Hearing from her reminded me how much I connected with the horses at her farm, and how fiercely loyal they became after they were accustomed to human contact. While working at the farm, I guess I never paid too much attention to the conformation of the horses I was working with, but revisiting the breed now it has become evident that certain herds still have a strong Iberian influence and horses from these herds are ideal for dressage. In fact, this year at Dressage at Devon, a mustang won the dressage suitability stallion class!
So now that I've decided I want to adopt a mustang, what's next?
1. Research trainers in the area that can help me with the halter breaking process.
2. Look into boarding facilities that meet my needs
- Must have daily turnout (at least in good weather)
- Reasonably priced
- Must allow outside trainers/instructors (I currently have an amazing instructor and have no interest in making a switch)
3. Buy standard items I will need when I get my horse (halters, brushes, blankets, etc...)
4. Plan a trip to the adoption center in Burns, OR (probably in the spring or summer).
I am very excited and look forward to beginning this process.
Happy trails! Hope you find your dream horse.
ReplyDeleteLove, Mom and Dad
Hey, I don't know where in Oregon you live, but if you need help with halter breaking or anything I'd recommend checking out http://oregonhorsetrainer.com/default.aspx
ReplyDeleteI took the cert course the same year as Doug, and both him and his wife are very good trainers. I'd love to adopt one as well, I was contacted years ago to compete in the Extreme Mustang Makeover, but couldn't afford to board a horse at the time. Check out their website, it's a great program that's promoting mustang adoption. Good luck!!
(this is Josh's girlfriend, he told me about your blog)
Thanks Bryn. I will be sure to check them out. I have have heard of the mustang makeover program and definitely plan on looking into it. Thanks so much for following the blog!
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