“JT Rainman is a 9 year old registered APHA gelding, standing 15 + hands tall. (I will get an exact measurement of his height.) He had professional training in the past and knows his basic arena stuff, has done a little roping (though he isn’t really the rope horse type), and has been ridden on trails.
He would be a fantastic dressage prospect or a nice 4H mount. Intermediate to advanced rider recommended.
Asking $1250. Or interested in trading for beef cattle.”
I wonder if they know that dressage and roping are two very different disciplines? Don’t get me wrong! It can be done! And those horses that can, in fact, go from one to the other are quite versatile and athletic; not to mention worth a pretty penny to the right people. This guy, unfortunately, is not a horse made for the dressage arena.
Egad that horse is poorly trained! It’s hanging off the big dudes hands, totally on the forehand and has no idea how to move properly. In what world is that a dressage prospect? Actually, this is one of those cases where the horse’s conformation precludes it from a performing a specific discipline. Normally, if a horse moves nicely enough (and with a certain level of proper training) you can overcome a number of conformational flaws. This, my friends, is not one of those times. And, for those that have competed dressage, you know that one of the things you’re scored on is Suppleness. Does that horse look supple to you? Naw, me neither. Given the above noted uneven gait, perhaps suppleness isn’t a realistic option for this horse.
Anyone else think he looked… off? He looked to be stepping unevenly with his hind legs every once in a while. Not a consistent limp, but something that would make me want to get a chiropractor or some such professional out to look at his alignment and see if he’s not out somewhere or if he really is just that poorly put together.
When I see horses like this, I wonder if they wouldn’t benefit from yoga-like exercises (from the ground, not saddle) to help bend, supple and build their muscles. I’ve been wanting to try that with my horse actually. I’ll start looking into it and get back to you guys.
The reason that horse can’t bring its hind legs underneath itself to track up at all:
Honestly, he has the hind-end of a heifer. (Actually, I’ve no idea if that’s the correct bovine comparison, but I want the alliteration 
)
PS. that is one high-set tail!
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34 Comments
There is a dip in his butt from his high set tail to his lumbosacral joint! WTF I didn’t realise that was possible in a horse! The rest of his spine is a step higher than the plane of his hindquarters! Whaaaaaaaat?
Just watched the video. Oh my he looks so sore in the hindend, no wonder he can’t move them properly! That was a lovely counter canter around the arena too
I think something is seriously wrong in his lumbar area AND his feet hurt. I couldn’t decide if NH wannabe was trying for counter canter, overbent to the inside or couldn’t steer the horse. Time to call a vet or a chiro at least. He gets an A+ from me for attitude working under that overload.
OK, I don’t know that much about conformation but apparently I wasn’t the only one thinking that this horse moves like his feet hurt. The canter also made me go WTF.
Poor thing looks sore all over. He needs an upgrade, some time off, and a good vet/farrier/chiro!
Just soooo much comparisons to make! Compared to his round, beefy butt, his hocks look wrong. If you draw a line on the front side of his back leg, something just doesn’t look right in the angle. Plus, it looks like he has a wound on his left back leg on the front of joint. And don’t even get me started on how bad that rider is. Yank much? Plus he throws his body around in the saddle trying to cue the horse. I foresee back issues for that poor horse.
I don’t think you even need to foresee issues, I think he’s already got them! Same as many of you, the impression I got watching that — aside from the fact that the horse is quite green and the rider is quite abrupt, good lord his hands! — is that the horse looks sore through his back and it definitely impacts his movement, not to mention his willingness. I’m sure his conformation has a part in that but I’m also sure that the situation could be improved drastically with regular chiropractic and body work. Could be a saddle fit issue contributing to it, as well.
The only positive thing I can say about this is thank god he’s a gelding, and that he wasn’t just studded out because he’s a sooper kewl kolor! Well, at least he isn’t currently. I’m just going to pretend for peace of mind that he’s been a gelding for a long time, and therefore, he has no foals on the ground. Sadly you never know though…
I think this horse could soften up and mellow out to be a nice mount with a rider who doesn’t ride with hands-in-armpits all the time OR one who didn’t use the reins for balance while riding. Do I think the horse is a dressage prospect? Egads, no! However I think he’d make a lovely mount for a horse-crazy kid looking for her (or his) first trail/4-H horse.
I agree the horse looks to have a bit of bovine in him if his back end is any judge — I do agree that he needs some chiro work since it seems he’s hitching up somewhere in his back end.
Can anyone explain to me the reasoning behind the nose-to-stirrup routine? I can understand doing it A FEW times to get the horse giving to pressure side to side. Or teaching them how to bend through their body like when they’re on the lunge so the haunches or shoulder don’t swing out.
But over doing the rubber neck thing seems like you’re asking for trouble where the horse won’t follow his nose, but instead, just turn his head and keep going straight — like in the video starting at 2:17. Nose is cranked around to the left, but the horse is still along the rail. It seems to me you’re installing a custom avoidance on any horse that’s been flexed like this ad nauseum.
It’s a big thing in the NH world. Something along the lines of suppleness? Honestly, I think it achieves the exact opposite.
It does help stretch the muscles in the neck and to help soften up the horse and to teach ‘give’. Also comes from teaching the One Rein emergency stop lol!
This poor horse! It looks like he’d be a nice mount for someone with softer hands and more understanding of how horses use their bodies to move. His back end is funky. His tail is set higher than any I’ve ever seen before. He clearly hates his rider, and I would too! The rider spends more time in the horses’ mouth than out of it! Dressage horses don’t neck-rein. The nose-to-stirrup atrocity at 2:17 looked to me like the rider was attempting to make the horse TURN, but all that accompllished was bending the horses’ neck and look like a train wreck. The horse has NO bend in him! The only “dressage prospect” thing I saw was the willingness to counter-canter. I sure hope someone buys this horse and turns him into a nice trail mount. He sooooooo needs an upgrade!
Yes, that poor hind leg is off or stiff or something…
I can totally see where that guy figures dressage is the discipline for this horse- It’s the tail wringing!!!! Screams dressage to me.
Oh and also very thankful he’s a gelding.
In the video the guy said ” he goes in a snaffle, a spade or a hackamore” AHHH a spade? In THIS horses mouth with THIS guy riding? Poor horse!
He looks to me like he’s suffering from a too-big rider and bad riding. He could come along with good dressage training. As a German dressage trainer told us, any horse can be taught dressage because it’s basic “training”, and if done properly it will correct a lot of faults. I’ve got the problem of wanting to buy horses I feel sorry for, and this is one of them. I don’t think he’s that bad. Check out Marijke de Jong’s Straightness Training; I haven’t used it, but I do like reading her stuff and watching her videos, she has helped a lot of horses just by straightening out their bodies through training: http://academicartofriding.com/marijke/ Poor little dude. Another good one is The Science of Motion by Luc Cornille. http://www.scienceofmotion.com/ Proper movement, proper riding with a trained rider can fix a lot. Also farrier, vet . . . chiro if it’s a good one. Hope he gets a good home.
My first dressage horse was a TB bred to be a rope horse. He SUCKED at roping but went PSG
The man rides the brakes quite a bit, GET OUT of the Horses MOUTH!!!
Poor little man what on earth is the man doing to him ? The nose to knee is obviously something the rider ? values & horse seems to be convinced that it’s the right thing to do & takes the advantage offered to bite it’s rider’s boots . Think it may well have a problem at the back ,whether there is something wrong due to the injury to the front of the hock or something sinister don’t know but it is certainly not level.
** Sacroiliac issues **
Haven’t read all of the comments, but I think most of this horse’s issues stem from his rider and training. Yeah, his conformation sucks juuuust a wee bit, but certainly he could have made someone a nice enough ride-around with different training. I disagree that the horse was hanging off the rider’s hands; looked more like the rider was hanging on the horse’s face! I would assume that the horse is usually ridden a lot worse than this, judging by what seems to be a fear and evasiveness of using himself properly. He’s probably never been allowed to! I wouldn’t be surprised to find some chiropractic issues from the riding and conformation combined.
Poor fella. It seems he will end up at a low-end gaming home where he will become more and more fried and painful. Who else is going to want what they’ve turned him into?
He’s a conformational mess and poorly trained. Staggering sideways is not a sidepass. However, he has the temperament of a saint. I think he’d make someone an excellent trail mount or even a kids’ horse. Needs a vet exam, chiro and massage first.
Did anyone else see that saddle digging in behind the horse’s shoulders too?
Honestly, with some chiro work (and maybe some massage therapy), a saddle that actually fits, and a rider that knows what the hell they’re doing, I think he’d do decently in the lower levels of dressage – or a super 4H horse.
*be a super 4H horse
That horse never stopped wringing its tail. Poor thing. Hope someone who knows more about riding rescues this horse, because that is what is needed for this poor guy.
I agree with the previous posts, poor guy! Looks like a good soul, hope somebody with a little more tact gets him.
Snarkyrider – try carrot stretches with your horse! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ijbo_qqTXW0
They are great for stretching the big back and side muscles. I usually do them after a ride, but if the Very Opinionated Mare looks particularly tight in the back when I saddle up I will do them before I climb aboard.
Thanks! I’ll go check it out
I tried that with my horse, but instead of stretching he started backing up so he could see the carrot better. Training_fail LOL
Walls are your friend! lol.
I make my mare do them after she gets worked. The first time she figured out stretching her head down between her knees for the carrot, she was SO surprised and kept sticking her nose between her knees, like, “OMG I’m a carrot dispenser!”
LMAO!
My mare tries to stretch around either side but won’t go through her knees. If she can’t reach it she just gives up and stands there with a pouty face haha.
Having seen the movie, I never got past the name “Rainman”. Do you think it was a cleverly disguised confession or a Freudian slip?
Where is this horse? Poor fugly thing needs an upgrade off that manhandling cowboy’s property asap.
If you type “Dressage prospect” in your Craigslist/redneck online translator you will see that the definition is “too lame to jump”.