who would buy this horse?

[Jem]

Hey all,
me and my mum have come to the desision that as much as we love barney, he is going to have to go. He has become very bulshy, and we are concernd for our safety, as we are not confident with the way he is being.
Let me tell you a bit about barney then.
He is a 15hh, 7 year old typical gypsy cob. He has beautiful markings, and quite stunning if i must say so myself.
Barney was only broken in january, so was broken very late. He was bred from the gypsys, and then kept as a pet for most of his life, with a lady who didnt anything with him. He was then broken and sold to his last owner who we bought him off.
She did alot of work with barney, teaching him all his manners, and got him to learn to respect her space. We was warned by her that he had once been a very bargey horse, and that she had worked very hard to get him 2 the stage he was at, and we was happy with the way he was, and continued with her methods.
I fell in love with barney the first time a saw him, and i know he has so much potential, which is really frustrating cos i just dont have the confidence to deal with his ways anymore.
We took him on loan for 2 weeks, and all was fine. he was the perfect horse, and i spent alot of time grooming him, and pampering him wile he was settling down. After a week, i started to ride him, and he was a star. The horse for us! We went ahead and bought barney, but a few days later after paying for him, he started to change, as if he knew we had bought him hehe! we got alot of advice, and i read alot into kelly marks book, and we soon got back on track. Only a week or so later, when i was going to ride him, i couldnt get on him. He just kept spinning away from me as if he was scared. I left him for that day, but the next day he was even worse. We thought mayb the saddle was playing him up but every thing has been checked out and all is fine. We even got the vet out to have another look, and check every thing was ok, and so it was.
This problem has now become so bad, i cant even put the saddle on him. The vet and a few horsey people i know have said he is trying to see what he can get away with. This is what i is. The only other thing i can think of, is maybe hes had a bad experience and this is actually scaring him. It has become so bad now, he kicks out, and this has put me off completely, and y mum. So now barney is sat there doinmg nothing, and i really dont want this for him. We have offered him back to his previous owner, as she wanted 1st refusal, but she is not in the position to buy him now.
we bought barney as a life long comintment, and it will break my heart to see him go, but he is making me nervou, to the extent, i cant even pick his feet out. He is sensing my fear and being even more of a git to me!
Barney is not a nasty horse, he always has his ears forward, and i dont think he would ever mean to hurt anyone, he is just eiva very scared, or taking the mick out of me. Im scared some thing is going to happen to me or my mum, and i would rather sell him to someone who can deal with his issues and make them better. I just want him to go to a good home, but who will buy him??
I have pictures of him, but i cant post them so if anyone would put them up 4 me that would be great!
thanx all

[pipgibson]

Hi Gem,
have you thought about sending him away for schooling.

I can really recommend Grant Bazin for mounting and ridden problems. I don't know if you have seen my posts about Harlequin but since he went to Grant's and has come back he is perfect. He had a serious mounting problem and I kept getting bucked off!!!!

I can now get on & off and Harly is ace. Just a thought as you said you really don't want to sell him.

Pip.

[mags]

I would suggest getting help such as an RA out.

Whether you sell him or keep him it will be money well spend as how he is at the moment I'm afraid you wont be able to ask much money if people cant ride him to try him. Get some help to sort the problems and your likely to get your money back for him if you sell him as well as giving him a better chance of a good future

[Jem]

hey pip.
i would love to keep barney, and work through his problems with him.
i would love nothing more than to have a lovely horse at the ned of all this, and for it to be barney. He deserves the chance to shine, as i know he has it in him. Do you have and email adress or contact number fro grant bazin and where abouts is he.
we have thought about having him reschooled, but i dont think this would help at all with his bulshness. He is still very green, but a very nice ride, and my mum and i are fine to do the schoooling part ourselves its just the ay he is so bargey on the ground, and i cant get on him.
xxx thanx agen xxxx

[Jem]

hey mags, this has all been going through my mind, i wouldnt pay alot for a horse i couldnt ride, and im worried he will just get assed on from home to home, as he doesnt deserve this.xxxx

[pipgibson]

I have pm'd you Jem.

Pip.xx

[natalia]

Hi, I know how frustrating it is having a bargy horse who tries to walk all over you at every opotunity. You really need to get a bit tougher with him and tell him firmly but fairly where he stands. I would strongly recomend getting an RA or instructor out to help you, just having lessons in groundwork with him will give you confidence, and will help him also. He sounds like he's just got away with getting out of his ridden work and has stumbled on a formula that he knows will work! I'm sure if you perservered when trying to tack up and simply ignored his bad behavior (i know this is a frightning thought!) he would soon get the message. Of course take sensible precautions such as making sure he's tied up short. If you send him away I can tell you that most places will do little more than this. Mounting wise a trick we use with all our horses is to have a competant handler on the ground, normally with a really tricky one they have a scoop of nuts a the front end and hold the rein at the sime time, that way with the other arm they can quickly leg you up but still have hold of the horse. If your worried about him doing anything while your on him they can still keep hold of him and walk him forwards and round till he settles. You do need help though as all this requires confident handling, deff get someone out to give you a hand. Your main problem is that to sell him most private homes will want to see him ridden, and unless you send him to a proffesional yard for sale they simply can't! If you sell him as he is out the field you shouldn't expect much more than £1000 for him, which he sounds like he's worth considerably more. A dealer would prob give you even less.

[bumblesmum]

I have PM'd you.

[varkie]

Definitely agree with the others - you do sound like you'd really like to keep him, so I think your first step should be to get an RA out. You can get their details & those of Grant Bazin on the RA list on the main site, under Horse Help.

In the event that you do have to sell him, I would think you would easily sell a horse like him - the problems you describe are not insurmountable. Have a look on www.projecthorses.co.uk and you will see horses with far worse problems than his - and they go on to new homes.

[gordo]

Hi Jem, so sorry to hear things aren't improving with Barney. My skewbald cob, Charlie Brown, I bought in very similar circumstances: lost last horse and bought on rebound falling in love with this wild looking, young gypsy cob. All started well until, one day, he bucked and it went down hill from there. After trying EVERYTHING, I had no choice but to sell him. He is doing well somewhere in Wiltshire I am led to believe but I still grieve the end of our relationship. He sensed the fear in me and gave it back. We were a lethal combination. Just a thought, but someone suggested that I offered Charlie to a local riding school to be brought whilst obtaining valuable 'miles on the clock'. It made sense for him to be ridden by different, capable riders and get used to being a ridden, working horse. It would have cost me about £30 a week sadly a sum I couldn't meet so it never happened. Just a thought!

[roo]

Grant or Dan could help you with him Jem......any of the RAs will help. If youre in Devon Tom Widdecombe is also down your way. Get an RA out though for sure. I had a very similar problem with our coloured cob four years ago and got Adam Goodfellow out. In one day the main problems were sorted and very simply. Look on www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk under horse help on the left and get in touch with whoever you like on the list....I am sure they can help you and Barney

[Jem]

roo, i bought barney from tom widdecombes yard. he did alot of work with barney, and i have actually emailed him 2night for sum advice. I cannot afford to call him out as he charges £75 each time and then however much for fuel! Its like a bottomless pit the hole time lol.
Thanx anyway, i shall visit that site xxx

[mandal]

If you want to keep him I would get an RA out too,at least for an assement of his probs and then you can make a plan.
As others have said if you sell him as is he may get passed on and on and his probs may become worse.
Or you could sell him as a project (to IH minded people)at a lower price.

[KimT]

i agree with the others. get an RA or someone you know you can trust. it may sound mad (thats just me) but if i had the money id take him on. my old horse was bargy mare with a nice temperament but lots of problems. it took me 3 years to help her. good luck with him.

[Sutton]

I would get someone out rather than send him away for schooling because although he may be reschooled he could revert back to type if you still show fear or concern. An RA will work WITH you and the horse so that you both get confidence together with each other.