A friend of mine has just informed me that her husband's work is about to dry up and, having four children (3 of them triplets), she is afraid they may have to sell their house and little bit of land.
She has charged me with trying to sell her stallion. Here are the details I have from her...
"Coppice Blue Starr, Part-Bred Appaloosa Stallion
Born 18/10/2000
Colour: Loud Black Leopard Spot
Standing at 15.3 HH
This late season foal was kept entire and broken as a three year old. He was schooled and hacked for that year before being turned away for the winter. His breeder then brought Starr back into work as a four year old where he continued schooling and hacking as well as being introduced to jumping. He competed in some local (Wolverhampon area) in hand and ridden showing, clear round jumping, sponsored rides and hunts.
He was then used as a stallion taking outside mares (not all registered appaloosas). Despite this all the foals he produced were spotted. He is more precisely described as tri-coloured as he has a few brown spots around his muzzle, this means that genetically he has been able to throw spots on bays too, hence his 100% spot record with all the mares he has served.
I bought Starr for £5000 all told (including delivery) but I care more about the quality of his new owners and home than I do about sale price.
Since being brought to Arbroath in December 2005, determined that he should stay entire, I have struggled to bring him back into ridden work. Starr has being done much better since switching from traditional BHS methods to natural horsemanship. He can be ridden and has been softened to reign, leg and weight aids however once he begins any negative stallion like behaviour on rides it is exceptionally hard to bring him back under ridden control. It is safer to dismount and any prospective buyers need to know this and preferably have previous experience in both natural horsemanship and handling stallions. I would like Starr to go to a home where he is used as a stud but I need buyers to know that I feel it would be safest to ride and school him within the confines of a large round pen or arena.
Starr is very good at groundwork and is quick to learn new skills on a line. I love doing groundwork with him because it in doing so that we made our first break into natural horsemanship methods. If the situation was different with Luke’s work, we would not be selling Starr, and I would get out every other day as I am now and do half an hour training with him. I’ve been happy with this thinking that I’d have loads of time when the babies needed me a little less (and I was no longer breastfeeding) to do more. We never anticipated things to go so far wrong with the company where Luke works.
In general he is not a difficult horse. I just do not want to sell him to someone inexperienced. I want someone who would recognise several warning signs that he would give before acting up if he is pushed outside his comfort zone during training or riding. I do not want him to be mishandled or mistreated because he acts like a horse. Just a couple of points, he does not like to be tied up but will stand nicely for grooming and tacking up etc. Like many stallions he is very dominant over food and so I limit treats to “carrot stretches” (lateral flexion) and do not allow him to search my pockets for more food.
I want Starr to have the best of everything from day one in his new home so I'll be sending excellent quality well fitting tack and rugs with him.
Tack included in purchase:
Thorowgood T6 3D saddle with Red head plate no 700088. This saddle was fitted by Kay Hastilow, Master Saddler, on 15/02/08.
Derby House professional saddlecloth and Aerborn humane girth (42").
Requisite black leather bridle with padded flash noseband, korsteel mullen mouth eggbutt bit and plaited reins.
Derby House ProTec lightweight Neoprene bell boots
Rugs included in the purchase are as follows:
Weatherbeeta Landa Lite Combo (5' 9")
Dress Circle Double Sherpa All-in-one Hoodless (medium 5'9"-6'0"). Recommended for stable and paddock use.
We use the double sherpa as a under-rug with a lightweight weatherbeeta on top in winter, but it can also be used as a cosy stable rug.
Last but not least as it will slightly affect his sale price, Starr’s booster lapsed when I was in hospital with the triplets so he will need to start a new course of vaccinations."
I must say that my friend is not a competent, confident rider, so her comments on this horse's 'quirks' may be inacurate. He is kept at grass all year round and, in my limited experience of him, I have always found him to be quiet and safe to handle.
Topic: Spotty stallion for sale (Read 2072 times)
