I may sound thick to some, but would like to know what the following means:

Gelding (is this a mixed breed horse?
Colt  [t
If there are any other phrases that you know of to describe a horse sex, breed etc would you mind sharing with me!
I only ask as one day in the very long future I wish to have a horse of my own and will be studying the horse in more depth but would like to just know a few things now thank you!

A gelding is a castrated male horse, and a colt is a young male horse. A stallion is an uncastrated male horse. A filly is a young female horse, and a mare is an adult female horse.

A gelding is a castrated (or cut) male horse
A colt is a entire male horse under the age of 4
A Stallion is an entire male horse over the age of 4

Horses can be a breed: Thoroughbred, Irish Draught, Arab, Welsh etc
Horses can also be crossbred - Thoroughbred x Irish Draught, Arab x Thoroughbred (Anglo Arab), Arab x (Part Bred Arab) and are just as valuable, if not more - its not seen as a bad thing as in dog circles.

Don't forget all horses must now be passported.
Do you research very carefully
Don't buy without an experienced friend AND vetting if you are unsure of what you are doing

Enjoy :D I've got 8 at the moment :D

This might be useful Book

Daisy

As you can tell from my thread a few weeks ago, I am not an experienced horsey person but am trying to learn!!!

I have just had a phone call from a family member who has bought a horse!  I think it was a wrong decision to make personally but anyway.
Could you help me out with some advice and opinions please.
The family member has not much if at all experience with horses and I am so worried.
Here goes:  The horse cost her £450!
It is (what she has been told anyway) a Cobb, 13h, 2 year old, not broken in, stays in the field all summer.  Does not like its back end being touched and will barge past you if you are in its way!

She is so excited about owning this horse but I feel she has not thought it out properly.

Would you horsey CD please just give me an idea of how big this horse may grow to, if at all and what sort of horse it is and would it suit an adult?
Thank you xx

All I can say is Oh Dear!!! I have been riding(although not lately) for the last 30 odd years and even I would balk at buying an untrained norty youngster!

Erk.

An unhandled baby.... at 2 hes a good year or 2 years away from being backed/broken and make that more like 3/4 years away from doing any 'real' work (needs time to mature and no horse is actually mature before around 10 years old, but cobs are slow to mature so you dont want them doing hard work before 5).

Being left in the field all summer is not particularly unusual, babies like this do no real work until at least 3 years old and then its learning about wearing saddle, bridle, carrying weight and balancing themselves and controlling their speed at walk and trot.

Being completely unhandled is not good though (although not uncommon), good horse breeders handle their youngstock and have them halter broken, so they will lead, teach them to pick up feet and be groomed and touched all over.

As an example to compare...

My friends rising 3 irish draught filly is leading in hand, leading from another horse, picks up all feet, is groomed all over, will wear saddle and bridle, long reins (being driven as if pulling a carriage but no carriage just 'driver' behind horse   walking), loads onto horsebox or trailer, stables, can be turned out alone or in company, can be lead out alone or in company whether from the ground or mounted, stands for the vet or the farrier for her hoof trims, is fine with traffic, dogs, strange people, strange horses, weird objects.... she has been leaned over and sat on at this point but nothing more.

I would expect this cob to reach over 14hh but its very hard to say.

What i do know is she has got her work cut out, cobs have a reputation for being gentle giants but they do NOT end up this way by magic..... it takes solid hard work and without it they are just great big dangerous animals.

I hope she doesnt get bored because its going to be a good few years before she can ride it and take a lot of groundwork before she should consider backing it (even when it is old enough).

Do you know if it's a gelding or a colt??

Because if she's bought a young unhandled colt she really does have her work cut out!!

Oh dear :rolleyes:

Where are they keeping it to start off with. I presume she knows how to ride

Lucy
xx

I know Lucy...there 'aint a lot else you can say is there?? It would take a book!  :rolleyes: :D

Oh dear. Your friend has her work cut out!

The best advice I can give if she is going to take this horse on (regardless of what people say) then get her in the field with him and spending time around him. Get him used to her with a headacollar on, grooming etc and hopefully this will help with the few niggles he has about his back.

Where abouts is she based?

Tracey are you still doing your NHS Management training and if so how is it going??

I completed the course but management jobs in this hospital are scarce. I have moved across so that I now work for just 1 Consultant (a Dermatologist) and my manager has 'high hopes' for me so will just have to wait for my PDA to see what they are! :)

Well you have to let me know 'cos I have a senior manager friend at Birmingham Heartlands...he doesn't know what training you've done because they run full time in house (with the Institute of Managers modules) courses, he would like to know though, as an option they might adopt! So, if you tell me I'll have a word and see if there's anything going there? They also have good links with Wolverhampton Hospital(mainly someone he knows within Maternity and Post Natal care?? I think?? can't remember properly?? lol) All the best, Dawn

Oh it only gets worse
Spoke to her this morning, she can ride but real basic stuff on a trained horse, she does not know what I am talking about when I asked her if he was a gelding or a Colt, she did not know what I meant when I asked her if the farm he is staying at do full livery as she works full time!
She said the lady that she is buying it from has been trying to break him in letting her 11 year old child try and ride him!!
I am so as I know she will lose interest with the horse, I can see I am going to have to keep a close eye on her and although I don't know much about horses, will have to try and guide her (if she will listen!)

Yes I really do think she has got her work cut out, and it doesn't sound as if the person she is buying from is a lot more knowledgable. I don't think I would want to try to back a 2yo horse by letting an 11yo girl on it!!!

Youngsters can be great fun and very rewarding in experienced hands, but even so are still much more work than an already mature and trained horse. The best advice I could give your friend if she would listen would be not to take this pony at all, but if she already has, then she really should look at getting some very experienced help with it - I'd had years of experience and found my first youngster a steep lerning curve, they certainly aren't for the faint hearted, or those who give up easily!!!

Claire

:)

Oh dear, On dear,  she has realy got her work cut out for her has `nt she.

I dont suppose she has any idea , "if " this cob is a "breed"  does she, if "it" is 13 hh  now at 2 , it may well reach up to 15 hh  , but i would guess around 14 hhs........  that is a lot of untrained horse to deal with Cobs are one of the most stubben of al breeds,  they have minds of their own.  I would guess he is a Section D  or a  S D X.

The good thing about a cob, is he/she will live out in all weathers, as long as there is some field shelter, to get out of the rain.

What I would suggest , is for her to go to "the pony club" web site (or e.bay)...on there she will be able to get a copy of "The Manual of Horsemanship" (this book is the bible  for novice owners)     they will also have many other books on there,  I.E  field care, feeding, showing, health , grooming, anything she  needs to know....some of these books are aimed at 7yr old upwards, so will explain in plain English how to care for a horse.

She needs to forget about breaking him/her in,  (to young anyway) but what she can do, is gradually get him/her used to her being round him/her,  working up to putting a head collar on ,   grooming him,  leading him, picking feet up and so on....with time and paitience it can be done, if she has a stable for him,  bring him in  at night,  then get him used to having rugs  put on, (start with a towel on his back),  the feel of something on his back,  all this will make the breaking in  so much easyer.....but all this will done correctly will take over 12 moths.

Then when he is broken in, the hard work starts.

^^^^^^^

Very good advice! I would print that off and show her!

I don't know if the horse has had a head collar on before, but when my colt was born, we were always around him (I owned his Mum) as he got a little older, I'd place a lead rope round his neck, and walk, he'd follow me.  After a while I'd put the rope further and further up his neck, and walk.....I don't know whether this helped with putting a headcollar on my boy, but he accepted it without any problems in no time at all.

Mind you, this was within the first couple of months of him being born.   

Oh it only gets worse
Spoke to her this morning, she can ride but real basic stuff on a trained horse, she does not know what I am talking about when I asked her if he was a gelding or a Colt, she did not know what I meant when I asked her if the farm he is staying at do full livery as she works full time!
She said the lady that she is buying it from has been trying to break him in letting her 11 year old child try and ride him!!
I am so  as I know she will lose interest with the horse, I can see I am going to have to keep a close eye on her and although I don't know much about horses, will have to try and guide her (if she will listen!)

Oh, just read this.  Real basic stuff on a trained horse.....thats a worry.  What's real basic?  And Gelding or colt, she should know this.  Keep asking her questions, and if you don't know the answers, ask on here.  You say 'buying'  is it not a sealed deal?  If I was inexeperienced (I wouldn't buy a horse!!) but if I were to buy one, as an inexperienced owner/rider, I'd buy something over 10 years old, and it would cost a lot more than this person bought the horse for. 
I'd also make sure I had experience of stable management.  
There's so much about horse ownership, than just owning the actual horse.  It's hard work.

Again good advice. She needs to contact a livery yard or something where there are experienced people around to help her if she gets in to trouble. Youngsters can be bargy little things and if its not dealt with at an early age things may get out of hand.

I cant help feeling that the pony is the one thats gonna get the brunt of all this in the end! :(