# 9 yr old gelding- what do you think?



## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

His name is "Buck" right now, but I'll probably call him Buckshot.

And yes I know these are terrible confo pics- I snapped a few quickly before loading him up and getting him out of the junkyard he was living in.

9 yr old gelding, strawberry roan, Spanish Mustang/QH cross. He was used in Montana for packing elk back to camps. Came over here after the hunting lodge was sold. Sold on Craigslist to a lady who wanted a horse for her kids to play with. She and her husband run a junkyard. Horse lives loose in the junk, is covered with cuts and sores from the crap they have all over. Neighbor called me concerned that horse wasn't getting the care he needs. I offered to take him- she wanted him gone because she couldn't afford to have his hooves trimmed or to feed him. Finally settled on giving her an old car we had that was going to the salvage yard, and I get the horse.

Got him home yesterday. She said he was rude and no respect, couldn't handle him. Took him out, he rides perfect in a snaffle, very light in the mouth, neck reins, backs, turns, sidepasses, rolls back on his hindquarters. On a whim I unbridled him and rode him around the yard and driveway bridleless. He is very responsive to leg and seat.

He is SMALL. I would say he is about 13.2 hands. He has good tough feet, hard as rocks. 

He has been a single horse for the last 4 years and is rammy with the mares. Belle cleaned his clock and he settled down, but he definitely is a little studmuffin and was chasing tail quite a lot today. I am sure once he gets it out of his system he'll be fine. He IS gelded- I checked. 

I will get more photos tomorrow, my stupid camera battery died after I took these at the lady's house.


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## Eliz (Jun 16, 2010)

Nice find! He's super cute! At least he's not skin and bones, and its amazing that he works off your seat & legs so well. Lucky >_<

He doesn't look like he's going to fall apart too soon, he's a sturdy-looking little guy.
Well, good luck and keep up updated!


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

Yes I was very happy to see he wasn't a rack of bones! He has been running loose through the junkyard, eating whatever he liked. He is a little small for me, but when my niece comes up next I am going to throw her on and see how he does. She has been looking for a 4H horse for a year now and if they get along he might work for her.


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## MissPhoebe (Jul 13, 2010)

Thank goodness you rescued him from that disaster. Those pics looked like such a dangerous place for a horse to being roaming around in. He must be a pretty hardy horse because he looks good despite those living conditions. Hope he works out for you, and bless you for taking him out of there.


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## RadHenry09 (Mar 22, 2009)

I love his coloring , cute horse : )


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## westerncowgurl (Jul 14, 2010)

wow he's really pretty! i love his colour good thing you found him


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## CharliGirl (Nov 16, 2009)

Wow, he is one good looking horse!


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## Pidge (Sep 5, 2009)

I love his build and color...reminds me of the POA ponies at work.

Good find and im glad you got a hold of him before things went down hill!


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## Hukassa (Jun 10, 2010)

Its a wonder he didn't get hurt if they just let him loose in a junk yard! In the pictures theirs a stove and a ladder.....wow really people? But he is a cute little horse, love his coloring and its awesome how well he works off leg and seat cues .


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

The ladder thing I think is a deer stand.

Yep he is cut up all over. Scars over scars- its hard to see them in pictures. You can tell he has never had affection in his life- he listens, but its not because he *wants* to, its because he *has* to. I doubt anyone has ever taken the time to give him a good scratch on the forehead or rub down. Kind of makes me sad.

Things are settling down with the girls. They have both taken time to give him some good whallops and he's now being much more respectful. I took him out again today for a ride and he's awesome. He has a really nice floating trot- he tucks his chin nearly to his chest when he trots.


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## RogueMare (Feb 17, 2010)

Awe!!! He's so cute!! lol He looks great for where he was living, I'm very impressed. I bet he's an easy keeper once you get him some TLC and good scritches!


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

I have been having some problems with him. I think he may be proud cut, and I am going to have my vet run a testosterone profile on him. He acts VERY studdy around the mares, and if he is separated from them he freaks. Once they are out of sight he is ok. He tried to get fresh with another gelding who kicked the stuffing out of him. He was biting at his neck and rearing up on him. 

I took him out and tied him to the snubbing post- he spent most of an hour pawing frantically because he was angry he was tied up. 

Sigh. I wish I could find a well behaved, well trained, healthy horse. Nevermind- I have a whole collection of them- they are all named Breyer.


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## corinowalk (Apr 26, 2010)

First off, he is adorable. If you were closer, I would have my check book out. He is too small for me anyways but wow, what a looker. 

Secondly, my QH was suspected to be proud cut (or crypto) and turns out he is neither. He was just a late geld which left him with lots of studdy behavior patterns and no real reason to back them up. We keep him seperated with one other horse, a mare who will kick the tar out of him if he tries anything. He is the good boy that we knew he could be. If your willing to put up a bit of extra fence, I bet your boy would come around. 
The trouble with the proud cut thing is...the piece of testicle that is causing trouble could be as small as a quarter (per my vet). There is nothing they can do about it. The plan is still the same. Keep him away from the mares (and maybe even the geldings) and things should be hunky-dory. 
If he is a cryptorchid, they can remove the retained testicle but if he is already older than 10, you can remove the testosterone with surgery...the behavior, as you know, takes longer. 

Sorry if this comes off preachy. I know you know what you are doing. I just have first hand knowledge of studdy geldings and share it every time it pops up!


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

Thanks Corino. We see a lot of proud cut horses in our area, mainly I think because they geld them the ol' cowboy way of tying the horse down and just hacking his nuts out rather than have a vet sedate and emasculate the cords after the nuts are gone. Very frustrating.

It is possible he was gelded late. I just don't know. 

The funny thing is once he is saddled and bridled, he is all business. No fussing around with anything. 

As for extra fencing- I have our property divided into 6 different pastures, so I can move them around. The bad thing is that in summer its fine, but I only have one shelter so in winter they have to cohabitate to share it.


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## corinowalk (Apr 26, 2010)

We have lots of proud and cryptorchids around here because the vet charges 200 to geld and the amish charge 75. They do things the old fashioned way too. The old saying 'you get what you pay for' definantly works in this situation!

Mine is all business when saddled too! Actually, once he is tied you could put a mare in heat right in front of him and he wont flinch. He rides with mostly mares and is usually bringing up the rear and has never tried anything. He will mount if put in a pasture with mares though. He turns into a wild stally when those mares are after him!

Maybe work him out a few weeks and move him along? I know the feeling about the one shelter thing. We have a similar situation. Our horses all have one shelter that is divided into stalls. In the winter though, they all have to share those stalls. Were not sure what were gonna do with my boy come winter time but I am trying to sell him now anyways. 

Either way, good luck with your boy. If he is that good under saddle, and im sure he is, you should have no problem moving him. He is a lovely looker and if a lil bit of studdish behavior should turn someone off...they need to have their priorities checked!


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

He hasn't offered to mount the mares, at least not that I've seen. He runs and squeals and plays "Spirit, Stallion of the Cimmaron" and just makes a nusiance of himself. The more I think about it, I am thinking this behavior isn't necessarily studdy. I am thinking because he was an alone horse for so long that he has lost some of his "social skills" and is trying to figure out how to react. My horses will pummel him if he doesn't behave, they will tolerate his stupidity for only so long. I am just going to let him run, buck, fart and snort for a few weeks to hopefully get it out of his system. Then its back to work.

I really really like this little guy- he is so well trained and easy to ride. I am seriously thinking of leasing out my draft to a girl down the road, and then keeping hold of this little mustang for myself. Who knows, eh? If he doesn't work out, down the road he goes and it opens a spot for another horse that needs help.


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## Curly_Horse_CMT (Jun 8, 2008)

He looks very sturdy  To me he doesn't even look around 13 hands. I love his coloring too, its so nice and soft.


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

Got a few nice pictures of him today.

I really like him. He is starting to soften up a bit- I think he was so starved for equine companionship his little brain just lost control when he finally saw... GIRLS! LOL. He is doing MUCH better. I also think he was never afforded any type of affection at all- and he is now soaking up the hugs and kisses. My 9 yr old niece loped him around the pasture this afternoon with just a halter and leadrope. He is so responsive and reactive, it is a nice change from some of the dead heads we get here. I am also happy to report that he now gets along with Dagwood, my llama stud. For a couple days they fought over the fenceline, now they have an acceptance of each other- which is great because I like to run the llamas with the horses.


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## Jessabel (Mar 19, 2009)

Thank goodness you got him out of that dump. 
He's a really cute little guy, and I love his color. I bet he'll make a real nice little riding horse. 

Edit: He looks REALLY nice in the new pics. He's got good solid legs and a beautiful shoulder. He has a gentle face, too. A diamond in the rough, I'd say.


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## Clementine (Sep 24, 2009)

That guy is adorable! Nice short back, strong hind end, lovely long neck set perfectly on his body, nice shoulder & pastern angles, short cannon bones, nice angle in the hock, tight underline, and nice sturdy looking legs. To top it off, a lovely face, with big, kind eyes. And of course I adore his color. And he's really that nice to ride too? And you got him from a JUNK YARD? Not fair! LOL! Thank goodness you got him out of there though, you're an angel.  Have fun with him, he looks wonderful!


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