Getting your first horse or pony
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Zoey Zoey was sold- October 2, 2010 I sold zoey becasue my farrier offered me his 8 year old, chocolate chestnut, quarter horse gelding to train for barrel racing. His name is Scooter and he has major potential in the barrel world and it was an offer I could not pass up.
Zoey's Story- March 8, 2009 For the last couple months i've been searching for a new horse. A horse that I could compete at a higher level with. Jack is a great horse but his knee restricts him from bending it as much as he should, because of this at the first barrel he hesitates and slows a lot as he goes around it. I needed a horse that could have smooth turns and enough speed. It needed to be better than Jack. After looking at several horses I stumbled upon Zoey. She was living in New Jersey with a herd of ponies and a few horses. Her owner at the time sold horses for a living. The man said that he had this red horse (going by her color) that he thought would be perfect for what we were looking for. When I saw Zoey her right front hoof was pidgin toed, it grow out to the side, and she tended to drag it a tiny bit when she walked. I decided to see how she ride first before I judged her on that. My instructor came with me and she rode Zoey, who at the time had no name (she was registered but the guy wasn't calling her by her registered name which was Identifiable Zippo she was just the "red" horse), around the ring first. She was very head shy and jumpy. When it was my turn to ride her my instructor was hesitant about whether I should get on because she was so jumpy since she hadn't been ridden in 3 months. but I had to try her to see if I liked her. I wasn't sure if she would be a good horse, my instructor told me to trot her around to calm her down and see how she is after a nice workout. To my surprise she was excellent and I was able to canter her around the ring with no problem. I even let her go into a small gallop, keeping her under control of course. I took Zoey though some Figure eights and she had great flying lead changes! My instructor and I both new that we probably would not find a better horse than this. My mom agreed and we talked to the seller about prices. We signed an agreement that we would have 1 week to return her if we were having any problems no questions asked. The very next day we went back to the barn to pick her up and take her home! I couldn't wait! When we brought her home and she was a nervous at first but in about 30 minutes she was so calm it was like she had been living here for months! What about Jack and Jazzmine you ask? well, My instructor rode jack and I got on Zoey and we went for a short trail leaving Jazzmine in the field with the goats. This way Jack would become friends with Zoey. Jack and Zoey immediately liked each other and we were able to trot them next to one another. We later put Jack in the field with just Zoey so they could get used to each other. They were fine. As for Jazzmine, well lets just say she never liked other horses. When we put Jazzmine in the field later she chased after Zoey, but to our surprise Jack got in between then and cut Jazzmine off as if he was keeping Jazzmine away from Zoey so she wouldn't get hurt. Zoey was so passive that she just ran away from Jazz not even fighting back. Jack took over and kept the two on either side of him. Zoey will most likely be the out cast for a few months until Jazz warms up to her. Just like when we first got Jack, Jazz hated him. It shouldn't be long till they all like each other. In the picture to the left if you look closely you can see Jack and Jazzmine far up in the right corner of the field.
Zoey Almost Left!- March 15, 2009 We had our farrier come out right away when we got her and he didn't think that her right front hoof would ever be normal again. My mom told him to trim it down and take the shoes that she had on off. He warned us that her hoof could be totally bad or it might be okay. He also said that the seller might give us a hard time about it if she comes up lame. My mom and I decided that we will take that risk. Zeoy Had a misshaped hoof. As our farrier took her shoes off and trimmed her down, My mom, my instructor and I were all anxiously waiting to see if she would be okay. It felt like forever! Then finally she was all don't and our farrier had me walk her up and down the drive way to see how she walked. There was noticeable difference in the way she was walking! A good difference, although it still wasn't totally the right shape Zoey wasn't dragging her hoof anymore! Problem solved, or so we thought... On Friday March 13th, our vet came out to do an exam of her to make sure she was healthy. The first thing he noticed was her right front hoof. Zoey had a misshaped hoof. He said, just like the farrier said, that it could be an under lining problem and it may be fine now but who knows in a week she could go lame. He was explaining the different things that could happen to her hoof and how she could end up being lame or she could turn out to be a great barrel horse. You just don't know till later and since my dad had said I could get ONE horse and I had to pay for it with my own money I wanted to get one with no under lining issue. I finally told my mom that I wanted to take her back and look for a different horse. The vet and her both agreed and it was set we were going to call the seller later and tell him that we were going to return her. I didn't really want her to go but if I could only get one horse I wanted one that had healthy hooves. Since I already have Jack and his hoof problem, plus his calcium deposit. My mom talked to the seller and we were going to take her back sunday morning. It was still Friday afternoon and we were set for sunday. My dad came home from work around 5:30- 6pm He had already heard that we were going to take her back and he was going to come. When he got home I asked if we could start building a fort in the woods like he had planned earlier that day. We got on the golf cart and went to look for a good spot. Once we found a nice area we started clearing the sticks and tree branches. We built a fire and burnt the branches. When it was getting dark my mom came out and brought us some food. We started walking back to the house and Zoey came up. My dad then said why don't you just keep the horse, and if she ends up not being good we can get another one. My mom and I both smiled. We talked about it for a few more minutes and since we had enough shelter in the field and enough stalls it was settled that Zoey is staying! I still had to pay for her but my dad said if she turns out bad then they would help me buy the other one. We are going to give Zoey about a year until we get another horse. Whether Zoey is good or not I think we are going to get a fourth horse that way if I take 2 of them to a show there will still be 2 at home in the field instead of one. Everyone is happy that Zoey is staying for good! *Update- March 28, 2010 Zoey is okay to ride! there is know need for a 4th horse! Her weird hoof is looking normal and I am training her to barrel race! I am very glad that everything worked out with Zoey, she is a great horse!* _______________________
Zoey Goes to Cloverleaf Stables- May 22, 2009 Zoey Goes to Cloverleaf Stables- September 4th, 2009
My Horses | Horseback Riding History | Rodeos | Horseback Riding Styles | Cloverleaf Stables
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