**Update: Thanks very much for all of
the inquiries. Gandalf is pending
placement in an adoptive home. Should
you desire to be notified if this
placement falls through, please let us
know. And please click on the "All
listings" link to see our other
available horses.
Gandalf is now
part of Herds of Hooves, a non-profit
rescue here in Carnesville, GA. He has
been with us for about 6 months now and
I have known him for about 2 years prior
to that. The history that I know is
that he was originally off the track
(and was successful as a racehorse) and
was then trained for jumping and used
extensively at an english barn in FL
doing intermediate level jumping lessons
and trail riding. He did that for
approximately 3 years and was purchased
by a 50-something year old lady who is
barely 5 feet tall and a first time
owner and novice rider. Some of her
family moved to GA and she sent Gandalf
along with them with the hope that she
would follow soon after them and move to
GA. That did not work out and he sat
for about a year with the family, who
was also new to horses. As a trainer I
was called in about a year after they
moved to GA for help with their other
horse's riding skills and Gandalf's
ground manners. I found him to be super
intelligent and desperate for a job--
most of his behaviors were the product
of seeking attention and needing to have
something constructive to do. Over the
next two years, I worked with the
family's other horse and periodically
worked with Gandalf to give him
something to do. He was not ridden at
all during that time and eventually the
family convinced Gandalf's owner that he
was being wasted. She signed him over
to our rescue and I successfully used
him as a lesson horse almost immediately
even after a 3 year break from riding.
His body and muscle tone needed
rebuilding, but his behavior and
etiquette under saddle were great. He
knows his leads, apparently does have a
rusty lateral, and happily jumps any
obstacle without hesitation. He does
not rush the jumps but seems to fully
enjoy the process. Unfortunately, our
main purpose is founder/laminitis
rehabilitation and we therefore run a
completely no-grass facility. He does
fine in a herd other than often being
the recipient of a mare's ill temper,
but he really does need grass as part of
his regular diet. He will survive
almost completely on grass alone but,
without grass, he needs a great deal of
concentrate to keep his weight up.
Therefore, we've decided to place him up
for adoption instead of keeping him for
a lesson horse. I am very regretful to
have to give him up, as he does have a
great work ethic and really enjoys work
both in and out of the arena, but he
needs a different type of facility than
what we offer. We practice Progressive
Horsemanship, a form of natural
horsemanship, and he responds
wonderfully to this type of handling.
He can be nervous and fractious if
handled roughly, but does need firm
boundaries and a good leader or he
becomes mischevious. He is completely
effortless to groom, bathe, vet, trim,
load, etc. He has had natural barefoot
trimming for 3 years now and has
wonderful feet. If really spooked, he
has been known to pull back against his
rope when tied, but I would not classify
him as a pull-back. He trailers like a
dream and has been loaded and unloaded
multiple times on the side of a busy
highway without a problem. He is
completely polite taking a bit and
during saddling and has been taught to
drop his head for haltering and
bridling. He rides in a snaffle bit
with no extra headgear, though he has
apparently ridden in a martingale
before-- I personally don't feel that he
needs anything like that, just hands
that know how to not pull and get in his
mouth as he is pretty sensitive. He
does not neck rein, but does not care
whether he is ridden in an english
saddle or a heavy stock saddle with all
the rigging. He can be ridden at a
walk, trot, and canter on a loose rein
and shows no interest in speeding up,
though he will move out if you tell him
to do so. I think he would be fine with
a confident beginner under the
supervision of a trained instructor or
with an intermediate/advanced owner who
understands how to be firm without being
aggressive. Natural handling methods
would be a great asset as he's been
handled this way for the past 3 years
and has flourished under it. Gandalf is
a truly wonderful horse who is up for
adoption due to absolutely no fault of
his own. There will be an adoption
agreement that keeps him from going to
auction or getting "lost in the system."
He was purchased for over $3000, but
his owner wanted to ensure that he would
go to a good, permanent home when he
left her care and that is why he was
turned over to us. Please contact us
with any questions, for pictures, or to
meet Gandalf in person. He definately
should be used and worked, as he's too
nice a horse to sit in a pasture.
Thanks very much for the interest please
click on the link to see all of our
listings to see our other horses looking
for placement.
Price: $ 1,000 (Negotiable)
