# Dun Gelding I'm going to look at



## horseluver50 (Mar 19, 2009)

I found my dream horse!
Here is his information:
Age= 6 
Height= 16hh
Color= Dun
Breed= 3/4 QH 1/4 TB
Uses= Little bit of reining, TONS of trails

Has been used for Beginner lessons horse for 5-10 yr olds. Crosses water like a pro, trailers like a pro, has the temperment of a 20+ yr old ranch horse. Well built and has tons of muscle. Knows leg and rein aids, but can be a bit lazy.

The only problem is that he has foundered in the past... the owners say he has healed 100%.

I was just wondering, is it alot easier for him to founder again, since he's already foundered? And, how would I know if he is 100% sound again?


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## horseluver50 (Mar 19, 2009)

Oh, also, his foundering was caused from being overweight. If that helps


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## eventerdrew (Mar 13, 2009)

for me, absolutely not! he is only 6 first of all and no matter what his personality is like, he still has the potential to act as young as he is. and foundering at 6? NO WAY! that is an absolute deal breaker. i would move on. this horse does not sound appropriate for you at all.


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## reining girl (Jan 30, 2009)

well, now i have seen some very mature 6 year olds, that little 5 year olds ride at rodeo's, how well can you ride horseluva? Since he has foundered it would be very easy for him to founder again, and there are also potential hoof problems. Being that age you might have to deal wiht some young-ness but he sounds pretty nice. But the founder thing might be a problem, i would pass, he might be sound now, but in the future could go down hill. My barrel trainer always told me to never buy a horse that has foundered, so i stick with what she told me. Sorry girl, keep looking you will find your horse.... trust me i know how ya feel, not sure if you know any of my horse tryings lol... ugh


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## horseluver50 (Mar 19, 2009)

I have been riding for 5 years... I really like him, he sounds like my DREAM HORSE!  I am looking at him tommorow...

I found on the internet, this powder stuff that you put in horses feed, that protects horses that hae foundered in past against getting it again...

I could also get a vet to look at it...


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## Sophie19 (Apr 13, 2009)

I would defiantly get a vet check by a vet you trust.


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

Get a vet check. There are a lot of six year old horses out there with good solid foundations on them and good minds. So I wouldn't discount his age until you see him in person. The founder part could be a problem but during the vet check the vet will be able to give you more information.


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## boxer (Feb 20, 2009)

make sure you get a hoof xray if they don't have them available to see how much rotation of the bone occurred.


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## Jessabel (Mar 19, 2009)

I don't think that owner knows what he/she's talking about if they said the horse healed 100%. Once a horse has laminitis, he will always have laminitis. There is no cure for it, and they'll always be at risk for foundering. Just because he's sound right now doesn't mean he'll be sound tomorrow. And you couldn't do any serious riding with him, and certainly not on rough or rocky trails or anything like that. Unless you plan on extra farrier bills and a horse that might not even be usable five years from now, I'd reconsider.


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## vivache (Jun 14, 2009)

I'd be very wary of this horse. If he founders at 6, what else could be wrong with him? You don't want to have to worry about permanent lameness, rotation of the coffin bone, extremely expensive shoes.. etc. I would take a vet with you to go look at him. As Jessabel said, you may not have a horse in a few years, and it's not wise to do heavy riding on a horse who has foundered in the past.


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## westonsma (May 19, 2009)

I definitely agree with the posters above. If he's only 6 and foundered, supposed to be 100% healed, he foundered a LOOONG time ago. It's silly of course to think that the horse is healed because he cannot be, and you'll have to examine his hooves yourself. If they don't look out of the norm, it's definitely been a long time, as it takes a long time not just to correct the problem to grow back correctly, but to grow the hooves out enough to where you can't tell. Why was this horse so overweight at such a young age? It doesn't sound good to me, maybe the people that had him overfed him? Which means that he may be a hoarder and you'll have to watch what he eats... which may also in turn mean that you can't leave him out on pasture or on a bale of hay. If you have other horses in the same pen, one which may be a hard keeper, you won't be able to keep them together because of their different nutritional needs. And believe me, having only one acre for 2 horses that need fed different things is difficult, I have to pull them apart and tie them up to feed them so they don't eat the other's grain. 

I would highly reconsider your options, and if I may make a suggestion as to where else to look, I'd call around to some dude ranches (been making calls myself) and see if they have any horses for sale. These horses will be dead broke too, and kid safe. A lot of dude ranches have websites that link directly to a page where there are horses offered for sale!

GL, and think, think, think! The expense is HIGH, the risk is HIGH, and the hopes of him getting over it completely are higher than the likeness of it.


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## westonsma (May 19, 2009)

to add a note, i reviewed your post after my first reply, and I would think that if they were using him for 5-10yr olds, it's probably a lameness issue! You may consider the fact that his feet can't hold much more than that, let alone be used for anything more advanced. His little bit of reining could have been before he foundered, and he could be the trail horse that carries the light load... I would pass on this one, dear!


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## Jillyann (Mar 31, 2009)

I would seriously pass on this horse, and biased on your other threads horselover, I personally do NOT think you are ready for a horse.


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## horseluver50 (Mar 19, 2009)

> I would seriously pass on this horse, and biased on your other threads horselover, I personally do NOT think you are ready for a horse.


How am I NOT ready for a horse? I AM ready, I know I am, as I have been waiting forever, and I have been thinking about everything forever!


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## Jillyann (Mar 31, 2009)

As I just said, looking at your other threads, you do not seem ready to me. It just seems to me like you have a lot more to learn about riding, and should consider taking more lessons, and maybe even leasing a horse. That will tell you if you are ready. I just hate seeing so many good horses go to waste because of people being selfish and not knowing what to do, or not being as knowledgeable as they think they are. Especially these days. Not trying to say this is what is going to happen in your case, but it is just my opinion.


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## Tayz (Jan 24, 2009)

Stop fighting. Personally, I don't like the sound of this horse Sure it sounds great, excpet for the foundering. You can't hope for a miracle. I've been there. I've hoped for one. It never came and someone died! 
I am also on the look out for a horse, but every horse I have seen with a problem I don't think I could deal with if it happened, I say to myself, "there are plenty more horses out there."
So don't yell. Alright...


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## Jillyann (Mar 31, 2009)

I am not yelling, just telling my honest opinion!


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## chevaliernr (May 24, 2009)

I'm not going to partake in whatever seems to be starting up here, but Jillyan did bring up a good point. Have you considered leasing a horse? If you ride regularly at a barn, it would make looking for a suitable horse a whole lot easier. It's much easier to find a good horse if you have a barn/trainer with connections to other barns. 
Personally, I would rather lease than buy a horse, not matter how ready I am to own one. Reasons?
1) If anything unexpected ever does happen (or when the time comes to go to college), you can drop the lease, and you won't have a horse on your hands to sell to a good home.
2) Farrier bills, feed bills, etc. will all come in one tidy little package and you won't need to worry about keeping track of all of it.
3) You'll be around people with experience who can help you out at any given moment.
4) A full lease is basically the same as owning, minus the hassle. 

I know this doesn't directly relate to the topic, but just thought I'd throw this out there.


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## horseluver50 (Mar 19, 2009)

I know I am ready for a horse, as I have owned one before...

I ride regularily every week... But, not at a big riding stable... it's just a little one, so they don't have much for lease...

They say they will lease me one of the horses I like, but its only a part lease, and we can only go in the arena, so its pretty boring

I really want my own horse, and I know I'm ready,

SO, please, lets get back to the topic...

Is foundering something that I should just pass the horse, or give it a chance? Get more info about it?


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## stacieandtheboys (Jan 6, 2009)

Foundering = pass especially for what you want to do. If you wanted a lawn ornament or pasture mate that would be one thing.


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

Some horses do just fine after foundering. The gelding I had as a kid foundered young in life and was very productive until he was 17. If you are serious you *absolutely* have to have the vet come out and address the issue. If he says your likely to run into problems down the road then you need to take his advice.


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## Tayz (Jan 24, 2009)

Good, everything has settled down.  yay.
You sound very confident that you are ready for a horse. That is good. 
When are you going to see him?


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## horseluver50 (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks for everyones help! I will go see him, and check him out, and go from there.. I need to find out some more information first, and if I was serious, get a vet to check him over..

I am going to look at him early tommorow morning

I'll keep everyone posted after I check him out.. let you know how he is


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## Tayz (Jan 24, 2009)

Ok, sounds good. Good luck


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## Fire Eyes (May 13, 2009)

_Just to chuck this in, a friend of mine had a horse used for mainly trail riding, and he has awesome feet until he was 9 when he foundered, had trouble with his feet ever since supposedly. Couldn't trail as much and had to get shoes, which she really didn't want. 
I've never had a foundering horse though, so that's just my friends experience. 
Good luck. _


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## 2 Bay Geldings (Dec 21, 2008)

If I was looking I would personally stay away from this horse being that he is only 6 and has already foundered. Yes, it is true some founder horses do fine, but there is truly no way of knowing if this horse would do fine. You can have him vet checked and the vet could think he would be okay, but again that's just an opinion there is no way to truly know. Buying this horse will only give you a 50/50 chance of a sound horse. Also the fact that he is used for 5-10 years olds is a red flag to me and saying he probably can't take much more weight then that. Just my 2 cents, but good luck on whatever you choose.


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## Joshie (Aug 26, 2008)

2 Bay Geldings said:


> If I was looking I would personally stay away from this horse being that he is only 6 and has already foundered. Yes, it is true some founder horses do fine, but there is truly no way of knowing if this horse would do fine.


I'm with you on this one. There are so many good, healthy horses out there that are free or being sold for next to nothing. Why take a chance when you don't have to?


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## horseluver50 (Mar 19, 2009)

So.. I went to look at him.. he is a definite no!

As we walked over towards his pasture, we could already see that he was way underweight, as we could see his ribs. 
Then I caught him, and walked him over, he kept trying to eat grass, and shook his head roughly when I didn't let him eat. 
As we tied him up, he kept pulling and shaking his head, he got out of the tie a few times... We brushed him over, and noticed a lump on his inside front right leg.
The owner said it was from him foundering, and that that was his worst foot.. but foundering only affects the hoof, not the knee...
Then she tacked him up, and she was going to ride him first...

As she walked him around, we noticed that the knee with the lump, kept shaking, and falling, almost like it were to snap in any minute...

As she trotted him, his leg was falling, and his ankle was hitting the ground as his hoof hit the ground..

We told the lady that we were not interested, and we left.

SO ya.. We definetly DO NOT like him


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## vivache (Jun 14, 2009)

I'm glad to hear that you didn't go for him-- but sad that you haven't found a horse that suits you yet.

I would not get your hopes up on any horse until you see them in person-- duns/apps/paints/palominos/etc. may be pretty, and they may SOUND like the perfect horse-- but you never know until you go see them in person. We thought we got a REALLY good POA gelding.. but we didn't look him over well enough.. got him home, he was lame as all get-out the next morning. Turns out he had ringbone and they had buted him.. and the other horse we got with him rears and bucks-- she was Ace'd.

Good luck and be careful on your search!


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## Cayuse (May 28, 2009)

Im glad you passed on this horse. If you will allow me, I am a certified farrier and I hear this alot, "he WAS foundered but now he is ok" Well I hate to bust anyones bubble but LAMINITIS or Founder is caused when the laminae separates and tears away from the hoof wall allowing the coffin bone to rotate downwards. Now this can not be fixed. The bone will never pull back up. What it can be is managed. A horse can be made sound through shoeing and trimming but the damage is done, will always be done, and is more prone to happen again.


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## zurmdahl (Feb 25, 2009)

I'm glad you made the decision not to get him, hopefully you can find a horse that's right for you soon! And I agree with what vivache said, look at the horse and it's personality before you look at color. I was so stuck on geting a certain color for the longest time and I found nothing, and then when I finally started to look at other horses I found my mare, and I love her. I looked at tons of horses before I got my first horse. Try looking up barns in your area, they might have a sales page. Good luck!


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## horseluver50 (Mar 19, 2009)

Actually, it wasn't the color that caught my attention, it was everything about him.. 
But, in person, he didnt turn out to be perfect...

I will check around at barns


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## kumquat27 (Jun 3, 2009)

im glad u passed to. the first horse i looked at ws a dun and i was in love w/ duns then, and of course u always fall in love w/ the first one u see. he ended up being crazy so we passed. im sorry u havnt found the one for u yet but dont give up ur hopes. the one i got, i was going to pass on the add but my family forced me into seeing him and he was great!


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## harryhoudini (Jun 6, 2009)

Glad you ended up not buying this horse - even if he had been in excellent condition - once foundered, will founder. That's my rule of thumb. Since you are only 13, when you are looking at ANY horse, you really shouldn't buy one that needs any kind of special care at this time - you are going to have a hard enough time keeping up with the costs of a horse, and you are already asking your parents to take on a huge financial responsibility - don't make it worse by asking them to support an (ALREADY EXPENSIVE) animal that will need extra care for the rest of its life (and still may end up unsuitable for riding). Good luck in your search!


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## Sophia (Jun 30, 2009)

If he has foundered this young already he may be sound now but if you ride him/work him, especially a trail horse it is very certain he will founder again. Even if you use this powder it would be a lot wiser to keep looking. Sorry, but getting a horse that has foundered isn't the best idea. A horse can not heal 100% from founder either since the bone in the hoof has rotated. If you are really set on getting him make sure a vet checks him and that they x-ray his hoof to see just how damaged it is. Good luck with finding a horse!


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