[Auventera Two]

Thanks for that assessment raine, I appreciate it! Here is a conformation photo of him. Sorry it's so big. That is the fattest he has ever been and he is at a much better weight now. I intend to keep him at this better weight. And here's a walking photo. You are right, he is a bit over at the knee. You know, I didn't even look at him that close until you mentioned it. When I bought him, I didn't intend him to be a riding horse. Only wanted the color and breed :-/ Terrible I know.

He does trot ocassionally and he does switch up from Corto to trot. So it sounds like that might be a good thing, based on the link that Leather posted. I think he seems more comfortable and happy to Corto though. When he breaks to trot, it seems to stress him out and worry him a bit.

[rainechyldes]

the confo pics help


1. he's not to small for you.
2. he's fairly well built, with a pretty typey look for his breed. and yes, lovely color

If I was looking at this horse as a prospect. (not being mean - he's definitely a cutey, but I get critical when looking at prospects- given the amount of time we need to invest in them)

His good points

Nice back/loin as I said earlier.
good head size, ( I like big nostrils, his are fairly decent) and his neck ties in nicely enough.
Adequate bone on his legs to stand up to wear and tear.
nicer shoulder angles, I've seen a ton of pasos who were way more upright.

less desirable points

His butt yes his butt. I work on a lot of pasos as we have a big breeding farm nearby. I find that 'scoot under look' he has is something I'd keep an eye on, I deal with some tie-ups, and muscle issues right around the tail base, at the farm I mentioned with those who have this very round, standing under themselves hiney. You'll have to be strigent in warming him up slowly, and keeping his back end warm during vet checks etc.

and the over at the knee - but it's not huge, just.. it's something you'll have to live with and be aware of.

To me, I'd think- nice little LD horse- and leave it at that, but given enough time and proper conditioning, he might go farther. This horse, I'd be tempted to break him into LDs for a season rather then going 50 straight out the gate.


I wouldn't say no to him - but if I were legging him up, I'd be going slow with it, and taking some extra time to monitor closely any heat buildup issues he 'might' have - he may have none, hard to say so early. I'd probably also let him use whichever gaits he prefers, until I have a good handle on what is actually more efficient for him. If his trot wears him out like nobodies business, then there's no point fighting against it, move him to a different gait, etc etc.

My main horse has an 15mph extended trot - yet.. he tires faster then if he canters/gallops - so we canter, and his extended trot is his break. He'd rather canter then trot given the choice, so right off the bat when I was bringing him up, we figured that out fairly quickly.

[Auventera Two]

Excellent advice, thanks for that!! I will definitely heed your warning when working him. I am a huge believer in rump rugs and slow warmups because my mare can be very tight backed and stiff. I always keep her blanketed overnight at rides (even casual camping trips) because the temp just dropping to the 50s is enough to really tighten her up. I am very careful to leave the blanket on her butt while grooming and tacking and replace it with a rump rug, then only roll it up once she's gone a few miles down the trail.

I did a ride this spring and it was very cold and rainy all day. At the first vet stop I took my coat off and put it over her butt in addition to her rump rug because she just looked cold. My friend was yelling at me - you'll get sick, put your coat back on! LOL. Well, I did get sick actually. Came down with a horrible flu 2 days after the ride but at least the horse's butt stayed warm So I am well acquainted with tight hindquarters and keeping them warm and stretched.

Yeah I sure wouldn't have sought him out as an endurance prospect necessarily, but since I'm getting him back and I don't know what else to do with him.......I figured maybe we could give it a whirl.

[didgery]

He's gorgeous and you're nowhere near too big! My mule is 14 hands and nearly an inch—I am 5'11ish. We make do.

[ptownevt]

Oh, my word, he is the cutest thing! Clearly he wanted to come back to you, so go for it. Just make sure we get pictures.

[MissRosie]

I did some pretty intense trail rides on a friends 24 year old 14.2 800 lb Arab mare was fine. Keep in mind I'm almost 5'9 and at the time was 20 lbs heavier then (I'm not fat, just fitter then I was then) and she was fine. I think it matters more that you are a fit and balanced rider then how small. From the photo you posted you look fine on him. I'd say give it a shot, see what happens and go from there.

[Auventera Two]

LOL yeah he is pretty cute! It was love at first sight when I saw his equine.com ad. I don't really know why he's been such a poop for my friend, but the best we can tell, he's just plain afraid of/doesn't like men. I just hope he hasn't developed any really awful habits while he was gone.

The only time I've had problems with him is when he's pastured with my one or both of my dominant mares. Even though they never really chased or pusued him, just another horse pinning ears at him turned him into an absolute nervous wreck. It would take 1-2 hours to catch him, and even at that, he would never give up. I would have to resort to getting help from somebody to herd him up into the barn and close the door on him, and then you'd go around and around the stall for another 20 minutes. By the time you actually got a halter on his head, you couldn't do a thing with him. He would be totally fried and freaked and it would take 3 days for him to come down off fight or flight mode. Bad bad bad deal.

But when he's pastured with lower ranking horses, and HE is #1....no catching problem at all. He comes right up to me and takes the treats and sticks his head in the halter. This poor animal has ZERO tolerance for someone dominating him. I don't know if something happened to him early in life or what. He was a stallion until 8 so who knows what was done to him. Everything truly has to be his idea or you have to be a team or just forget it.

But I have the pasturing situation figured out where he can be the dominant one of 2 others and he'll be very happy with that situation. He won't even have to share a fence with the dominant mares.

[5]

He was a stallion until 8 so who knows what was done to him.

My mind is telling me this is somehow linked with his dominance issues. (men and mares) Can you find out his history in detail?

He is cute but not stallion quality cute why wouldn't they have had him snipped earlier? Was he kept isolated because of his nads and doesn't know where he stands in the world?

[Auventera Two]

The lady I got him from said he was running loose in a big field with a lot of horses, but he was already gelded when she got him. So who knows what was done with him before he was gelded. He came from a big mass production farm apparently and all the horses were skin and bones so who knows what the idgits were thinking.

The lady did tell me that this horse was deathly terrified of that man who owned him. So I am guessing some kind of abuse happened. The horse was fine with her, and wanted to hide behind her to get away from the man.

I had really hoped he was only terrified of THAT man, and not men in general. He's been ok with my husband but he's never done anything with him other than to pet him. And the horse was ok with the lady who bought him's husband and son.

But my friend who has him right now says he cannot catch him in the pasture, and the horse tries every trick in the book to get away from him, even in the stall. He bucks and crow hops constantly and basically has zero interest in anything this guy wants to do with him. He says there is no connection there between the two of them.

I rode him bareback, or in my Bob Marshall and had no problems. He never bucked with me. This guy is riding in a big ole' western saddle. This is the kind of horse that if you hurt him or scare him, you're DONE. You might as well hang up the halter and go back in the house. So I think the saddle might be bothering him, or this guy lost his patience with him once day or something??? Who knows.

[Fillabeana]

I'd say your horse is telling you that there is something that the fellow who has him, is frightening or hurting the horse.
Given the horse's past, I'd say the fellow who has him currently, may not be abusive in the usual sense, just doing something that bothers the horse.
Could easily be saddle fit, or frustration on the rider's part, or a bit of both, and the horse is, as you say, DONE.

[mp]

Just because a horse is afraid of something/someone doesn't mean abuse.

I have a horse that's deathly afraid of getting sprayed with a hose or fly spray. I've had her since she was born, so I know with 100% certainty that she has never been abused with either one. She is simply afraid of them, and you have to be careful and take your time. And she still doesn't like it.

Maybe the ride around the world guy just wasn't careful enough. Or it wasn't a good fit to begin with.

re: Am I too big to do endurance on this horse? My rule is if you honestly have to ask, then the answer is "yes."

But in your case, I'd make an exception.

[Auventera Two]

I'd say your horse is telling you that there is something that the fellow who has him, is frightening or hurting the horse.
Given the horse's past, I'd say the fellow who has him currently, may not be abusive in the usual sense, just doing something that bothers the horse.
Could easily be saddle fit, or frustration on the rider's part, or a bit of both, and the horse is, as you say, DONE.

Yep,that's what I'm thinking. Just something relatively small, or a couple of somethings that have annoyed the horse and he's flipped the guy the middle hoof.

mp - No I'm not declaring he WAS abused. Just saying "who knows." Might have been - might not have been. The only info. I have to go on is how deathly terrified the horse was of the guy that originally owned him when the lady went to pick him up. And he was about a 2 on the BCS scale so maybe the horse somehow just equated that guy with being miserable and hungry, I don't know.

[Sithly]

Some horses are born neurotic like that. I've seen a few of them. The fact that he acts the same with other horses seems to suggest that it's something innate.

They do need more subtle handling. However, just because a past owner may have lacked subtlety doesn't mean they were abusive. Some people get painted with a bad brush for no reason. Especially men (and especially farriers!). These horses are simply intimidated by people who, for example, stand up straight, face them directly instead of obliquing, move faster and touch firmer than the horse is comfortable with.

Anyway, I don't think you are too big for him. He is short, but seems sturdy enough. I'd start fitting him up and pay attention to how he handles the workload, like any other horse.

[Huntertwo]

Size wise, I think you two look good together. Not an endurance rider, so can't comment on that. My mare is a bit smaller than your guy and we do fine together.