A great horse… for the RIGHT RIDER.
Chase is an eight year old Percheron Cross Gelding, who stands at 16 hands. Chase came to us from New Holland, where he was purchased as a lead through. He was pretty, sound, and a nice mover; but without a rider up he didn’t attract much attention from the crowd. A cheap bid and he was coming home.
Chase is advertised as requiring an Advanced Rider. Chase has, at some point in his life, developed a significant fear of being mounted. He arrived to us this way. Chase has been through nearly six months of professional training, and the problem is much better, but it’s still an everyday issue. And it’s a significant issue. The rider must mount with Chase’s eye turned in to see the rider, as well as to force him to circle when mounted rather than bolt away, which would be Chase’s preference. The rider must mount in one smooth motion with no bounce, and they can not touch or hit him in the flank or rump, which will also result in sudden bolting. You can mount from either side from the ground or a block, but you must always use this method. You don’t have to be a perfect rider, but you must be calm and consistent, and be able to sit and relax and wait for him to come down on his own when he gets nervous. (And yes, before anyone asks, of course he has been thoroughly vet checked top to bottom and this is not physical in origin.) His ground manners are otherwise exceptional.
Once the rider is up, Chase rides well. In fact, Chase really enjoys working and likes to ride. He even likes to come in and work lunging. This horse is not lazy. He is currently learning bending and some lateral work, and he shows a real natural talent for Dressage. He always tries to please and he is a very quick learner. He trails ride nervously but OK. All of this is openly disclosed in his description. He’s a cute deep black with a fancy blaze….
For the rest of the post and pics - snarkyrider.com :)
