OK! So Im looking for a new horse to buy. I LOVE drafts have sence I was a little kid! My current horse right now is a TB and that is my second horse, first was a egyptain stallion. But im selling her right now.

I found this Percheron on dreamhorse and he is for sale for only 800 if im working with a trainer and I am. I e-mailed all the info that I have recieved about the horse to my trainer and she hasnt said any thing about him yet. So I thought I would give you guys the info and see what you think.... So here it is.


Date Foaled:2001
Gelding
16.2 hands
Temperment: 5
Notes from dreamhorse ad:

I have this wonderful boy that I am not experienced enough to work with. Mostly my fault not his. I am a pony girl, I love large ponies and that is what I am use to. Thunder needs someone with large horse experience. Nice, but way to big for this girl. He is beautiful with wonderful feet, ask my farrier. If you are interested in trading, I will take a loss. I love ponies,small or large. I do however want to be assured he goes to a good home. Most important to me.


This is what the lady has emailed me:

Hi,

Thunder is for trade, but I only am interested in ponies at this time.

I would let him go for $800 if you are working with a trainer. I bought him for $2500 1.5 yrs ago and shipped him for around $700. Due to me not keeping up with a young horses training (7) he does need to work with one for a month or two. He is definitely not mean, but a large horse that needs to have a one on one relationship with someone. Thunder is a sensitive horse and a wonderful ride, but I am particular with where he ends up.

Owning large horses such as TB's and Warmbloods is quiet different than owning a draft. He is big, and powerful and requires special equipment that some fail to understand. His bridles,halters and saddles require draft size to accommodate him and most are special ordered. I tried ordering a Warmblood halter once and it didn't even come close to fitting him.

Farrier prices are also more expensive.

Please think about that first and if still interested, I am happy to discuss further.

Thanks for inquiring,

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Yes, Thunder is a bit spooky due to not being worked with. Not like a Arab or TB, but due to his size spooking an inch can be dangerous if you are in the way.

He isn't a run away or anything like that, but he does need a person that understands a sensitive horse and how to make them feel protected. He is not a leader and needs a good owner to be that for him. One he knows this he will do anything you ask. He is very willing.

I haven't ridden him since last September and it was only here on my property. He tends to be better in the saddle spooked than on the ground. Mostly due to my inexperience with such a large horse.

I am intimidated by his size and that is not working for either of us. I am not use to large horses and if you haven't worked with a draft you may not be either. It is just different as they move like his name. Massive and heavy hitting when they trot or run. Though he is light on his feet for his size and moves quick, not a slow poke. He has never offered to buck,rear, bite or kick. I know that he was ridden on trails with his trainer, but not with me. This is why he must go to a knowledgeable person that is use to working with a draft. It is even different than my friends Warmbloods and to me they are hugh, though Thunder does have larger feet. He does his best to be respectful and has ground manners until he is spooked and that is where his biggest training needs to come to play to desensitize him to wind, fast movements as he thinks he is being attacked. Even if he were to break lose he doesn't go but about 10 yards and stands quietly. Just a matter of repetition to get him comfortable.

Thunder was trained using Parelli techniques. I am not schooled in them, but he did very well in his tapes from what I could tell. He learned how to walk over poles, go around barrels(not fast) and move about comfortably in nothing more than a rope halter.

I do have a lady that trains Percheron/TB crosses that is going to come to see him from in the next couple of weeks. I am in no hurry and have seen her website and what she does. She is knowledgeable with large horses and she breeds and trains, though getting out of breeding so looking for a project. I am comfortable with this.

I am more than happy to show Thunder to you, but at this time its to muddy to ride where I reside in ******.

Thank you
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Thank you guys for reading this and helping me. Does it sound like she has screwed him up and is just "giving" him away. Since she did buy him for 2500 or is the market so bad and she is more concered about finding him the proper home. I was also wondering about him being ridden in a halter. My trainer told me that percherons where hard to ride because they brace their necks and take over, but if he was being ridden in a halter wouldnt that mean he was soft and not hard to control?

I really like this gelding Ive asked for video and Im hoping I hear from her soon and can see video. But Ive attached pics. He is about a 5 hour drive from me so I cant just go check him out unless I do see video. Any info would help. And if you can tell me what you think of him and If I should be interested or not.
Thanks again!

Do you guys know any good guestions I should ask,too?

I don't think I would ever make a decision without seeing the horse first. But let me make some observations.

She seems to genuinly like the animal. And his body language in the pictures is pretty placid. However she is clearly intimidated by him. Look at HER body language. I am not sure if she bit off more than she could chew when she bought him OR if there is more going on with him. Take a good look at how she is holding his hoof -- she seems terrified of him landing that hoof on her own foot. If that were the only pic, I might be inclined to say it was for the camera, but the other shots show her timidity as well.

Oh, and 16.2 is not that HUGE! (The Andalusian I want to buy is 16.2!) She is a little thing used to ponies, so huge is her perception.

We had a couple of draft horses at the ranch where I rode as a kid, and they seemed to fall into two different catagories: Solid as a rock. Or spooked at the slightest provocation. There didn't seem to be any middle ground (of course we're only talking about 6 or 7 horses!)

If you can handle and deal with a spooky horse, then it's not a huge problem. But horses that spook easily always seem to spook easily. Sure you can desensitize them, but you cannot take away the hyper-awareness if that is in their core personality. I hope that makes sense, as it could be important here.

I would try not to be too impatient. Get your trainer involved if you can, and take a road trip up to check him out. That is the ONLY way you are going to be sure. And when you go, watch the body language of people around him. Are they preparing for him to misbehave or are they just intimidated by a large horse! Horses have their tells... so do people!

Thank you! I didnt notice her body language. I was looking at the horse more then her. But now that you pointed it out I see it, she does seem afraid to be to close to him.

The spooking does bother me, my TB spooks and bolts, so I have been tossed off 5 times. But once my trainer told me what was going on and helped us get through it she hasnt spooked liked that. She will still spook but not as bad.

One reason why I do like drafts better is because they tend not to spook like TB or arabs.

Cheryl since youve been around drafts and what she has said about his spooking do you think he is the flighty type. Or is it because hes picking up on their intimidation and not being able to find a leader in her and gets anxious and is just waiting for that chance to release stress?

what about him being ridden in a halter and not being trained to be in a bridle? Is that a bad thing or good?

Let me put it to you this way. Percherons are the ONLY animal you will find at Disneyland. They are calm enough to pull the trollys day in and day out. As a breed they are not flighty.

High strung horses like Arabs and TB have the run far away from danger as fast as you can mentality. My mare was 1/2 TB, 1/4 saddlebred and 1/4 arab, so I've experienced the bolting too. Not fun, especially when it's under trees and you only have a halter and lead rope (hey, I was a kid, I wasn't always a SMART kid!) Drafts, on the other hand KNOW they are big and cannot run away as far and as fast. When spooked, they usually will run a few steps, and then turn around to assess the situation (snorting the whole time!).

So the spooking aspect is different than what you are used to. Could he spook and you end up on your butt on the ground? Yup!

I used to ride a big old barrel chested paint. He felt like a draft, big and round -- but he wasn't. He'd catch something out of the corner of his eye, jump to one side and turn and look at it straight on and snort at it. If you happened to slip and fall, he might turn and snort at you too! I rode him bareback, so I've fallen off more times than I would like to admit when he did that! We did everything we could to desensitize him. He was just hyper aware and always spooky. He wasn't a horse for a beginner, but he was a lot of fun most of the time. We just had to be aware of that aspect of him and remain calm ourselves. When someone rode him that was bothered by him being spooky it was worse. When I rode him (and laughed at him when he'd crow hop to the side) he didn't do it so much. So a lot depends on the rider's confidence and the horse's trust in the rider.

As for riding him in a halter. As mentioned above, I've ridden many horses in nothing but a halter and lead -- again, adult here saying not the smartest thing we did. We had 300 horses and 600+ acres of pasture -- we would often grab a horse that was near the gate and ride out to find the main herd with nothing but a halter and lead, and then ride back down the same way. In the upper pasture that had no trees to speak of it was seldom a problem. Lower pasture had a stream with trees on both sides.

I didn't see anything about him not being ridden with a bit -- just that he COULD be ridden with a halter. I'm of the opinion that you should use the least amount of force necessary. Every colt I worked I started in a bosal. I've worked with almost every type of western bit (and some english) out there. I learned what is termed the Vaquero method and also rode in shows with a spade bit horse. Mind you, most of the time, that horse could be ridden in a light bosal with perfect control. So it comes down to respect and training. I was lucky and didn't even know it back then. I learned a lot of what is now considered "advanced training" techniques when I was just a kid. The term horse whisperer was not commonly known and yet many of those techniques are what I was taught and what I used.

I just hope when I get another horse, I can remember it all!!!

I still say your best bet is go see him. Drop something, shake a hankerchief or crumple up some paper to see how he responds. Is he being Jumpy cautious? Or Jumpy scared? Big difference.

I do have to say, he's an awfully handsome fellow, I can see the appeal!

Cheryl's right, go see him.
But heres some things. For a Perch he is small, but for a horse he's big. And she is right standing at the end of a rope of a draft is a whole different feeling all together than being on the end of a lead with any other horse. I would stay away from this one. Drafts in general are very calm laid back unspooky animals. Although a Perch is more spooky than some of the other draft breeds. He most likely has that in him and it is not a trained responce.
Price- Very fair or even slightly high. There are a few different Draft auctions located around the country and prices are down. The high priced driving gelding great breeding, great show record, 12 yr old, rides/drives guarenteed sound sold for $11,000. High priced mare @ $9,700 and sale average @ $4,000. These are show animals some with nation registery points. A few good-not great,but good- anyone could own, get along with ride/drive sound teenagers with no vices sold for under $500.
If she says he needs to go to a trainer or owner with a trainer, I would believe her, he probably does. Your trainer[NOT a personal attack] Can't do Drafts. They are not strong, can/should be ridden in the mildest snaffle, with little to no rein pressure. There is no man strong enough to drive a 6 horse hitch if they were actually strong and pulling[That would be 12000 lbs of pull]They are built very uphill[head and neck above mid-shoulder height. They can sort of be a hard ride if trying alot of flexing, they have short/heavy necks which don't flex easily. I'm not sure what your looking to do with him, But as pleasure horses they are great. Remember they are custom designed to work long,slow,hard straight lines for hours, so certainly don't get one and expect it to be a performance horse.
Then you will need to consider cost- Find a farrier before getting a draft alot DON"T do them. And price is normally twice an average horse. Equipment-Although it is growing a little in popularity, hard to find usually buy from catalog. Trailers, some of your bigger guys can't fit in a standard trailer. Barn, Newer stables are fine but some older barns especially bank barns, are to small both in height and doorway width.
Good Luck- If its not this one theres another out there waiting. Just don't rush.

Oh just looked again at pictures. Hes got a tail. So he's not a driving horse. I personally would buy a driving horse. If they drive they ride but not vice versa.

I would use him mainly as a pleasure horse, and once ready go to some open shows and then hopefully get into dressage shows... Thats what I really like. But I like drafts.... The barn that im at has a huge irish draught hes just short of 17 hands so he is bigger then this horse. There is a farrier that will shoe him...and the barn is big enough for large horses.

I will go see him... I just wanted to get peoples opinion, who know more about drafts then I do and just horses in genral. Even though I do know a lot about them its alwasy best to get different opinions.

I really like him I just hope im not going to get over my head in this. But I know I can take it on I have plenty of time with training and what not.

I couldn't find a match for him on dream horse but typed in advanced search-Draft,Draft cross under $1,000] and found a few that I would look @ before him. Of coarse without asking further questions than what they have posted.
An Irish Draught is a breed-It is not a Draft Cross. And have a normal shoe size of 3 or 4. A Draft shoe is a speciality shoe not just a bigger size.
I too show Dressage and throughout my career have only meet and seen one person that had a true Draft that was good @ it. She raises Shires and is located in Maryland.
You will be frustrated if you try to seriously pursue or correctly ride Dressage on a Draft, and it is not fair to the animal to ask of it something it is not capable of doing.
Friesians/Andalusians/Lusitano/Lipizanner have a similar look of a Draft and are very capable even bred with an uphill conformation that makes Dressage very easy for them.
And your right, you can never have to many opinions-although they will always be different. Part of what makes horse people so much fun.