TOO OLD FOR A BIG MISTAKE

by Jayne
(England)

At the age of 50 and with a small inheritance in hand, I thought that at last I could realise a dream that I had harbored since a child of owning my own horse. My three daughters were settled and grown and my husband had discovered to joys of golf so I was free to indulge.

Whilst making my early investigations into the now rather unknown world of horses I read an advert about Paso Fino horses. As I hadn't ridden for 20 years and suffer from a rather 'dodgy' back I thought that the 'smoothest ride in the world' sounded attractive. My first impressions were good and the ride was indeed smooth, the horses had a wonderful presence and way of going that betrayed their Iberian history, I was smitten. The fact that the Paso Fino was gaited was an advantage as my old bones were not challenged and my rusty technique had to change anyway to suit this new way of riding.

So, having done plenty of research and in my normal enthusiastic way, I booked flights for Yvonne, a UK expert in Paso Finos, and my husband and I to Florida USA in search of my dream horse.
The week in Florida was indeed amazing and I had the best time of my life. I loved going to various different Studs trying horses and absorbing the 'Latino' atmosphere that pervaded each farm whether the owners were Poerto Rican or Columbian. I learnt a great deal about the breed, riding and training techniques and became more confident that I was not too old to learn new tricks!

I found my dream Mare. A beautiful, 31/2 year old, by the leading stallion 'Cappucino'. She thundered out of the yard onto the track with poise, high powerful leg action and a beautiful head set. She gaited well and had good confirmation. She was so light to ride that just a thought sent her in a new direction. Yvonne and our trainer/guide Carlos thought she would be ideal. I saw her washed and groomed and I led her back to her stable where she seemed calm but watchful. We saw some other horses over the next few days but I knew that Ginebra was 'the one' so we went back and I rode again to confirm my first impression.

We also found another horse, a chestnut stallion, who just took my heart and as we were not sure that the Mare was going to be available, due to a previous interested party, I decided to buy him too. So to cut a long story short, the mare was put in foal, both horses had a full vetting and passed, they were put into 1 months quarantine and shipped over to England. I was assured that I could sell the foal and Stallion should I not wish to keep them as there was a strong and developing market for Paso Finos in the UK and Europe.

The Stallion, Merlin, arrived first in good condition and was quite laid back. A month later the mare, Ginebra, arrive in a very different state. She was close to collapse when Yvonne arrived in Luxembourg to pick her up along with some other Paso Finos that had been imported. She was manically weaving and very agitated, Yvonne didn't want to leave her at the Airport even though her instincts were to get a vet and rest her. The crossing was very rough over the channel, but as soon as they arrived in Essex Yvonne had the vet waiting. He diagnosed shipping sickness and azatoria and Ginebra was treated for a couple of days at Yvonnes before coming to me.

Ginebra was a different horse to the one I had seen in America, she was anxious, restless and slightly aggressive. She stable walked and weaved from foot to foot, flying at the stable door if anyone looked in with ears pinned firmly back. It took me sometime to get her to eat properly as she was too nervous to do so contentedly. She didn't improve in the field spending most of her time fence walking. I was a little concerned about riding Ginebra as she was a very young horse to start with and in this state I was not sure I was experienced enough to deal with her. I certainly did not want to make the situation any worse.

I did ride Ginebra with some help from a trainer and although she still weaved occasionally and was a little agitated in her stable, she did settle down. However, within 3 months of her arriving I noticed swellings on her fetlocks, the vet didn't know what they were exactly and we decided to leave her until she had foaled in November and then scan if they had not gone. The swellings did go down and she was subsequently given a clean bill of health by the vet.

I decided that Ginebra was not the horse for me, mainly as a result of her temperament. I wanted a horse I could warm to and learn with, who would return my affection, a partnership which could develop over the years into a true bond. This wasn't going to happen with Ginebra, I was a nervous reck, worrying about her constantly! So I put her up for sale, it was a heart breaking decision as it was as if my wonderful dream had turned into a nightmare.

Yvonne found a very nice German man that was interested in Ginebra and the foal. He flew over and tried her and fell in love, much as I had and agreed to buy them both. During the vetting a problem was found with one of her fetlocks and OCD was suspected which seemed to be confirmed with an x-ray. The sale fell through. OCD is believed to be hereditary and Ginebra could not have been used for breeding and her foal could also be affected with the same problem. Having researched the disease I was not really happy with the diagnosis and with Ginebra's insurance coming up for renewal I decided to get a second opinion.

The specialists in Newmarket were brilliant and quickly found the real cause of Ginebra's problem. She had suspensory ligament disease in all four legs and should not be ridden as the problem would not improve, she could however be used as a brood mare as she did not have OCD. I suspect that this had be caused as a result of the early training of Paso Finos at 2 1/2 years and with a big mare with a high, powerful leg action like Ginebra this probably put damaging strain on her young and not fully grown ligaments. Not good news for me, but at least I now knew and could respond appropriately.

A few months later the young German man got back in touch with me. He had a friend who was interested in Ginebra as a brood mare. This would be a excellent home with knowledgeable people.
I let Ginebra go, along with my dream and 90% financial loss.

I still have Merlin, who has since been diagnosed with arthritis in his cannon bones and desmitis in his impar ligaments, he has been off work for 6 months. I will probably try to sell Merlin too for a fraction of what I paid for him or keep him as a companion.

I am still searching for my perfect dream horse, hopefully a PRE or PRL, but am terrified of making the same mistakes again. Everybody says I have just been dreadfully unlucky and I did everything I could to avoid this happening. But that doesn't escape the fact that I am now 53 haven't ridden for 6 months and am stuck with two horses I can't ride or seem to sell and time is ticking by.