New Horses: Environment & Circumstance Matters

A horse that is “perfect” while at one farm may change at another farm.

People like to blame it on “scam” or horses “being drugged” but the truth is: Circumstance matters.

It could be a settling in period or it could be that the new environment is just not as well adapted for them.

When buying horses be sure to ask about the old routine as much as possible if you want to keep it consistent:

• Feed
• How much turnout and when
• How often and how strenuously is the horse currently working and with what level riders
• How long have they had the horse

If it isn’t the same routine you’re going to be doing, then the horse may not be a good fit.

We teach 5000+ butts in saddles a year with rare accidents (and usually only for advanced riders doing more technical riding).

But a lot of what makes my horses safe for all of the trail adventures we do is:

• Constant Schooling
• Consistent Workload
• Staff management of the riders
• Highly monitored diet
• Regular saddle fit and changes made
• 16 hours turnout a day in large herd turnout

And many of these horses aren’t perfect, they can’t be when ridden by so many beginners day in and out and be flawless! But they are well managed and their emotional and physical needs are seen to and corrections made (to them or more often to the people working with them) to make them capable of their job.

When I sell horses that have taken thousands of riders out, people come back and say they got bucked off, or the horse bolted, etc…

Sometimes I find out they are using a cheap, badly fit saddle and stalling the horse 20 hours daily with only one other horse. It’s a totally different working environment for them!

And sometimes the difference is inexplicable but the horse is a different horse there, and when it comes home to our farm it settles right back in.

Photo of Kelsey Eliot on Tater Tot, a pushy, belligerent, former Amish Haflinger who with proper management is probably the safest beginner horse we could ever own.