For the last several months since being back in California, I have been on the hunt for a younger horse to ride and train as a barrel horse. It's not that I don't love and enjoy my current "barrel horse" (I use this term loosely as he is also a polo horse, mountain horse, trail guide, jumper). I absolutely adore my 14 year old gray horse, "Im Handlin It" aka Romeo. It's just, he's getting older, and I never did have the chance to properly season him on the barrels when I first got him at 7 years old. ("Seasoning" a horse is introducing the horse to many different arenas at rodeos and barrel races and competing on the horse consistently until they are used to the atmosphere). While I still enjoy taking Romeo to barrel races to see if he will magically one day turn into this 1D (the fastest category of a barrel race) horse, he is getting older. Horses typically prime in their teens, and start to slow down anywhere from mid teens to early twenties, depending on the horse. Personally, I don't think Romeo will slow down until he's 40. That's a joke folks, horses typically live until 30 years old.
Back to the horse search..
I wanted a prospect that had the breeding, attitude, and conformation to succeed as a barrel horse. After seeing several horses and picking out what I didn't like about each one, I found it was quite similar to the story of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears".
Except, instead of the porridge being too hot or too cold, it was a horse who was too skinny or too green. (A "green" horse is one who has very little training)
Instead of three bears, there were many, many horses.
Here is my documentation of my search for the perfect porridge.
Err I mean, horse.
At the beginning of the horse search, I browsed thru some online ads when I found a really cheap "barrel prospect" up in Red Bluff, about a 4 hour drive. I called the gal about the horse, and everything seemed pretty legit. I told her if the horse was everything she said it was, I'd probably want to come home with her.
Upon driving 4 hours to see this horse and riding her, I discovered this horse didn't have enough "Whoa". None, in fact.
Horse search continues. With the goal of trying to stay local.
Here is Sassy, a cute little cowbred roan just down the road from me. She had a nice handle on her, and she had plenty of "Whoa" unlike the last one.
Sassy was cute and had plenty of potential for cow work, but for barrels, she was just too small and a little older than what I was looking for (she was 7 years old).
Horse search continues...
I found another horse locally to go look at, again just down our road! A local barrel racer had her marketed cheap because of high hay prices. I figured she was worth a look for being 15 miles away. I rode her around in their tiny arena, and she was decent.. but just not right.
When she took off the saddle, that's when I realized this one was too skinny. I guess she wasn't kidding about not being able to afford to feed all of her horses. Plus, this mare was unregistered which means if I were to resell her, she wouldn't go for as much as a registered mare.
Horse search continues, and it's starting to look dreary.
After looking at several "backyard horseman" and their "home trained horses", I decided to start going straight to the source - locally known horse breeders and trainers. I made an appointment with a pretty well known ranch in the area that had some race bred 4 and 5 year olds thrown into their typically cow and ranch dominated herd.
I really liked this guy, Will.
He was trained to the hilt. In fact, anyone could ride him. He was definitely farther along in his training than I was looking for, but I figured that meant I could put him on the barrel pattern quicker.
Problem with this one? Too expensive.
I thought the owner was giving me a quote of a down payment on his ranch when he told me the price of his horse.
The horse search continues...
After calling up a few local barrel racing breeders and finding out I was about three weeks too late to buy anything they had available, I found a lady through my horse shoer. She was located in my town with a 6 year old barrel prospect that was started on the barrel pattern.
Besides thinking this girl, Cassie, was a mule the first time I saw her, she was trained well and was easy to ride.
After trying her out twice, I decided I just wasn't in love with her, and I had told myself I would never buy a gray horse again because of my gelding's melanoma problems. (Gray horses are susceptible to melanoma and sometimes it can be fatal - my gray gelding will probably die of melanoma as they are more than likely internal)
Plus, I thought she was a little too pokey (slow) to be a barrel horse prospect.
After I depleted the local horse sources, I didn't know how much longer I could continue with the horse search. I had spent hundreds of gas money to try out these horses, dragged Texas along to many of them on his days off, and was just downright sick of the horse search.
That's when I found her.
I had seen this ad online for this 4 year old for several months. The ad seemed promising, but the price was way more than I wanted to spend. After a price reduction on the ad, I decided to ask a few questions about this girl, Jade.
After talking to the horse's "agent" (her owner lives in Canada and Texas, and dropped the horse off with the "agent" in California to ride and sell), I decided to spend the gas money to come out and try her.
That's when I fell in love.
Jade's downfall is that the extent of her training is a bit of a mystery. She was sent to a barrel racing trainer in Texas as a 2 year old, but was not getting all the training she was supposed to. She was sent to the agent in California on January 1st of this year skinny, wormy, and a little scared.
Jade is a big 15.2 hand mare and still growing. Her breeding is spectacular. Her sire (father) is a leading Canadian Barrel Racing sire, and her dam (mom) is the offspring of a Charmayne James (11 time World Champion Barrel Racer) stud. I found her ad as a weanling in Canada at the ranch she was born on, and I found information on her half brothers and sisters. They are all successful barrel horses in the 4-D and Pro Rodeo world. Even if she never makes it big like her brothers and sisters, she can always be bred and should have amazing foals.
With the right guidance, I am hoping this girl will make a really fun barrel horse.
This porridge was perfect.
I brought her home about two weeks ago, and she has adjusted to ranch life pretty well. She is still young, and anything can happen with a 4 year old.
She has already made a friend...
The old man has a new girlfriend!
Welcome home Jade!!
