All horse lovers - please come meet mine!

[hoofbeats95]

I finally have time to get out of Rocky Talk and get to know all the great people on here! I did a quick search and see that there are quite a few horse people here. I wondered about that. However, I was unable to reply to any of those posts. Not sure why. So I hope it’s ok to post a new topic.

I’d like to introduce you to Eli (Elijah). He is a 14 year old Thoroughbred ex-racehorse. I bought him when he was 7 and he is my first horse. I started riding in college as my P.E. class after loving horses my whole life. I ride dressage and play with some jumping. Eli had some issues the first year I bought him that makes jumping as his career not possible. So we play with it when we have time, but ultimately, much to his dismay we are do dressage as our primary discipline. We have won local GMO awards including Horse of the Year at Intro and Training levels. In 07 we successfully qualified for Regionals at training level. We didn’t do so well in the competition though. I still haven’t figured out how to breathe when showing. Since then we’ve been trying to become solid first level citizens and got kind of stuck. So Eli is training right now. I miss him, but I get to see him on Saturdays when I go take lessons to stay caught up with him. Hopefully we will be hitting the show scene again this year, but saving money for a wedding might make that take a back burner unfortunately. As those of you with horses know, it’s an expensive hobby. And now I’d like you to meet Eli.

 

[hoofbeats95]

You can''t ever post just one picture of your horse right?

 

[hoofbeats95]

Another. . .

 

[hoofbeats95]

My fav. head shot.

 

[hoofbeats95]

The last one - jumping! He wishes he was a jumper for sure!

 

[Lorelei]

Oh he is GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a TB also!!!

 

[coatimundi_org]

He is beautiful!

 

[elrohwen]

He's beautiful! I've ridden for years but never owned one

so I love to read about people lucky enough to finally get one of their own! Hopefully someday I can join all of you horse owners.

But back to your horse, he's so lovely. That head shot is to die for! And I love his name too. Post more pics!

ETA: His form in that jumping picture is awesome. He keeps his legs pulled in so tight! Poor guy that he can't do more jumping. I rode a former professional show jumper who had tendon problems (permanently lame, I rode him to give him some exercise) and was only allowed to jump about 6"-1'. He jumped them like they were 3' and pulled his knees up high

He also jumped out of his pasture all the time, just for the fun of it. It's so great to know they love doing these things just as much as we do.

 

[hoofbeats95]

Did someone say to post more pics????

 

[hoofbeats95]

Our xmas picture from last year. (It was taken in August though - I don''t live in a warm environment or anything like that)!

 

[hoofbeats95]

He is so good with kids. This is my FI''s nephew.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

He is absolutely GORGEOUS!!!

He looks like he has great conformation, and those pictures are fantastic! How old was he when he retired from racing?

And please please please more pics!!!

 

[hoofbeats95]

A roll a day keeps the Dr. away!

 

[hoofbeats95]

Taken at a barn we use to board at. The front horse was my roommate''s old horse. I just love this photo!

 

[hoofbeats95]

Early morning at a show. . .

 

[hoofbeats95]

Our classes were all done at this point. . .

 

[hoofbeats95]

This was taken from video which is why his tail is cut off. He was having a blast in the pasture and I couldn''t keep the camera up with him! I told you he wanted to be a jumping horse!

 

[elrohwen]

Wow, he really is beautiful. A few of those pictures could be in a magazine or a calendar or something!

Was he successful at racing? How long did it take you to turn him from a racehorse into a riding horse?

 

[hoofbeats95]

Brown Eyed Girl - I''m not sure how old he was. 5 I think. As he was off the track for a year and a half or so when I bought him. I researched this all when I bought him, but that was so long ago I can''t remember. He was born and bred is Texas. He raced in Louisiana and then finished up here in IL at Fairmount Park. He won twice at Fairmount over longer distances. I think he preferred the longer runs. I believe he raced 22 times over three seasons. Thanks for the conformation compliment. He''s build fairly well. Ideally more built for hunters, but correct training has helped him develop to look more like a dressage horse. I could have done worse considering my lack of knowledge when I bought him!

elrohwen - yes he does have good form over the jumps!

Thanks for noticing. I know he loves it and we try to do it during the summer just to change things up. (Along with trail riding) He had front suspensory problems the first year I had him. The vet said prob a defect or a really old injury. Over time I''ve been less paranoid about aggrevating it since so much time has passed. And of course I don''t think I have the guts to do jumping full time! I don''t bounce you know!

I admire all those people that can jump anything. I don''t have the balls for it so to speak!

 

[dragonfly411]

he is sssssoooooo handsome!!! I used to ride an older thoroughbred dressage horse who looked similar just older. They are such good horses. Did you get him directly from the track? What type of injury did he have? He looks like such a good boy! We need a horsey sharing thread so I can share mine without hijacking your thread

 

[hoofbeats95]

Date: 1/7/2009 2:57:34 PM
Author: elrohwen


How long did it take you to turn him from a racehorse into a riding horse?

Once a racehorse always a racehorse! No really he has a great mind and really didn''t like the track. Since he was off the track so long before I bought him it wasn''t an issue. Though he was just in pasture. Some guy thought his grandkids would show an interest in him and they never did. So I bought him. But he grew up in a racehorse environment. I don''t know if that ever leaves. For example he is deathly afraid of the whip. In dressage we need the whip to fine tune some movements. Just a light tap. . . It took me a LONG time to be able to ride with a whip on a daily basis. I still can''t use it and get the reaction that I need. The trainer is working on it but not making much progress. He just gets so upset. He''s a very sensitive guy. The trainer''s wife (who is also a trainer) asked me if he was abused. My trainer said "he was a racehorse - doesn''t that imply he was?" Which is really sad. But certainly at the lower tracks the horses are not handled that well. Took me a LONG time to be able to touch his ears. But scratching the inside of his ears is now one of his favorite things! It''s all about patience and being consistent with an ex-racehorse. And in warmup rings at shows, he still gets nervous when he hears a horse cantering up behind him. He thinks "certainly I should run and try to beat him right?"

So I don''t know if you ever truly get the race out of a horse. Knowing him I don''t think he liked it. But since he grew up that way I think it may always come back at times.

 

[monarch64]

Wow! Beautiful horse and great photos!!!

 

[AmberGretchen]

What a GORGEOUS boy

Thank you so much for showing his pics and story

 

[choro72]

Oh geez, I can''t tell you enough how much I love horses! I wish I had the resources to have one. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that picture of Eli running with your roommate''s horse! So free and natural!

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Hehe I love the first silly shot!!

Girl you have such a beautiful horse!! They''ve always been a love of mine but never had the money/time to get into riding like I''d love.

Also love the shot of the two running and the orange sky and fields... so natural and beautiful!! But Eli is gorgeous

 

[hoofbeats95]

Thanks! Yes horses are expensive. I can only imagine the jewelery I would have if I didn''t have the horse hobby. I love both equally but Eli has to eat. . . therefore the money goes to him

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

He's wonderful! That head shot is fantastic! Classic dressage horse, he's very dignified! I love the first pic too, he looks like he has a sense of humour!

Enjoy every minute with him.

Jen

 

[bee*]

Awww gorgeous!!!

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 1/7/2009 4:22:12 PM
Author: hoofbeats95
Thanks! Yes horses are expensive. I can only imagine the jewelery I would have if I didn''t have the horse hobby. I love both equally but Eli has to eat. . . therefore the money goes to him

Yeah, it''s that expense that keeps me from having one

But someday I will either make much more money or live somewhere much cheaper!! Haha. Or I''ll be able to convince my friend to put a barn on his property and let me board there (to get the agricultural tax benefit ... don''t ask, he''s crazy ... lol). Where do you live and how much is board there? I''ve discussed costs with Irishgrrl and it amazes me how much of a difference there is in board from region to region. I mean, feeding them and general care has to cost the barn about as much ... so are the barns by me just making a huge profit because they can? ::shrugs::

 

[hoofbeats95]

Hmm . . . I live near St Louis, but in IL. In general I have paid an average of $300-350 a month for full care board. That includes hay, grain, stall cleaning and turn out. Now there are barns that are much cheaper and much more expensive in my area. But that''s the average I would say. Across the river in MO the board can be much higher, but they also require you to have your horse in training at a lot of those barns. For example, right now my horse is in training, so the whole monthly cost is a lot more. Which is why he is probably coming home by March 1 at the latest. I may be moving to a new barn and full care board there is $400/ month. $450 if you have a stall with an attached run. But the barn is brand spanking new, so it''s a bit higher than the avg on the IL side. I''m not sure if I will go there though because the owners are just too new to horses and I don''t trust the care yet. So yes horses are expensive. The initial cost of the horse is the cheapest thing! Then you have board, tack, vet, farrier (oh boy - my guy has delicate little feet and his shoeing bill is high!). . . if you wanna show it''s even more. Which is why I''m cutting back on the showing now. Besides I don''t get anything from it but a ribbon anyways (IF I do well). Too much stress for that. I will say that in general though the barn owners in my area are not swimming in profit. A lot have gone under. The barn I was at before Eli went into training was sold just over a year ago cause the owners were sick of not making ends meet and using the husbands salary to make up for it. So I don''t know. My opinion is that board does vary geographically. But in general I don''t think people make that much money from it unless the owners are trainers too and can charge for that service.