".. she is still a little bitter about losing money on him and refuses to give up his papers...."

Hi I just recently got my first horse. He came to me through one of my close friends who's mom had got him from one of her friends. I don't know if you're going to be able to help me on this issue but, the woman that my friend's mom got him from, has a problem with the lady who's barn I'm baording him at. They have some past history when it comes to horse matters and do not get along. Recently I went to the original owners house and politely asked for his registration papers because I was hoping to show him this year in the county fair. Well it turns out she had a buyer lined up for him if I hadn't taken him. You see I got him for free. And she is still a little bitter about losing money on him and refuses to give up his papers. I was just wondering if maybe you had any suggestions for me. Thank you, Katana.

Mark Sheridan's Answer:

Hi Katana,

Unfortunately if you do not have the registration papers in your hands with the signed transfer along with it,.....you are not the official owner of the horse. I get this mail all the time if you read some of my other posts. The registration papers on a horse are no different than the title on your car. I never buy a horse unless I receive the papers and transfer report that goes along with the animal. Your best bet is to contact the breed association that he is registered with, and if that does not pan out, you have no choice but to contact an attorney to get those papers in your name. I hope you at least have a bill of sale or transfer of ownership in writing of some sort. Good luck, and I hope things work out for you.

Thanks.........Mark

www.marksheridanqh.com

"I have also read articles on ezeewean halter which allows the Mare and colt to be together during weaning and not the anixety for both of them. What is your opinion on this. ..."

I need your advice. We have a 8 month old colt (male) who is still nursing. We were checking into having the colt boarded for weaning for a month and then back home. We only have the Mare and colt, no other horses. I have also read articles on ezeewean halter which allows the Mare and colt to be together during weaning and not the anixety for both of them. What is your opinion on this. Also any information on when to have him fixed. thank you

Mark Sheridan's Answer:

Hi Patsy,

You need to wean him now. You are letting him stay on the mare twice as long as he should be. Do not bother with any gimmicks on weaning. Put him in one pen, and the mare in another pen. Now is also the time to castrate him.

Thanks......Mark

www.marksheridanqh.com

" I would really like to help this horse because I know the results are very worth it but at this point, I'm out of ideas..."

Hello Mark.

I have an 8 year old Appaloosa mare that I recently bought from a sale. At the sale she was the most behaved horse there. She didn't spook or anything. She was "the horse to watch", if you know what I mean. I fell in love with her and rode her everywhere. The owners were extremely nice. The mare is definitely the Western Pleasure type. She's a beautiful mover and everything. She has it all. We did buy her and brought her home about a month ago. The next day the whole family went on a trail ride up the road,so I had to take her. I really didn't want to because I wanted her to have time to settle in before I started anything with her. Well on the ride she was very nervous and did a little excited trot, like sometimes you see barrel horses do when they get excited. I kind of expected that because she was new and riding around with a bunch of new horses. I put her away that night and told myself that I would begin work with her tomorrow so we could bond. The next day my dad insisted that we leave all the horses out together so that they could interact and fit her into the herd heirachry.

Well as I figured, she buddied up with my old Western Pleasure mare who recently had a foal taken from her. The rest of the herd bully them both around. But my old mare won't bully the new horse at all. They became very attached in about a weeks time. Even seperating them at night became a big stressor. So I decided to keep the new mare in the roundpen while they were all out during the day in the pasture. After about a couple of days they both settled down. About 3 weeks later they are all out together again and doing well. But they are still very attached. My first question - Do you think my old mare "adopted" the new mare because her foal was weaned about 2 weeks before that? Anyways the old mare who is bombpoof and will do anything you ask her is going to be my 8 year old sister's horse to show. Whenever we bring a 2 horses to a show they hate to be separated. Then they often go into the ring "screaming" for each other. And with these two so closely bonded I expect some major problems next year during show season. So right now me and my sister never ride together, so that I can show the new mare it's normal to be ridden alone. But her main problem is she tries to run to the barn as fast as she can to get back to other mare and her "safe place". It is extremely annoying when your trying to have a nice time riding when all your horse can think about is going back to the barn. She is now a completely different horse from what I bought at the sale. She is very spooky when she's not getting her way, like if I'm making her go away from the barn. She has amazing potental but at this point I'm very tired of her behavior. We have worked very hard on groundwork and she knows it very well. She'll do about anything I ask on the ground. I would really like to help this horse because I know the results are very worth it but at this point, I'm out of ideas. She just gets very worked up when she's not at the barn or with her favorite mare. So I would say she has major buddy & barn sourness. I've tried walking her back and forth from the barn out to field, trying to show her that even though we turn back to the barn we aren't stopping there. I've tried tying her the farthest from the barn and unsaddling to show her that she relax there and eat hay. I've even tried making her work at the barn and then resting away from it. But nothing has worked so far. Please help. Thank you very much, Payge.

Mark Sheridan's Answer:

Hi Payge,

I would not worry about the bonding issues. Read some of my other posts and just ride the heck out of her. Quit worrying about the unimportant stuff. If she gets along with some horses and not others, that is just the way it is. Give her a job and make her go to work and she will be just fine.

Thanks.......Mark

www.marksheridanqh.com

"I would like to break into the horse show world but it seems very overwhelming. ..."

I don't even know where to start. I have a 5month old Appaloosa I'd like to show but again, no clue where to start. HELP!

Mark Sheridan's Answer:

Hi Sarah, since you have an Appaloosa, I would contact the APHC. They can give you some info on getting started in the show world. I would also contact the AQHA and get some info on introduction to the great world of showing horses. They can be contacted at; www.aqha.com , and other than that, I would take some lessons from a reputable trainer and start showing at some local open shows to get your feet wet. Do not be intimitated or overwhelmed. Just go out an have fun. That is really what it is all about.

Thanks........Mark

www.marksheridanqh.com

"I have a Western Pleasure horse and he does the cripple walk or the four beat lope...."

We got him out of it and back to the three beat lope because we were told AQHAwas doing away with the four beat. I took him to state and only one other horse was in a true lope. However, he did not place. All of those that placed were in the 4 beat lope. Do you prefer the cripple walk or the true lope? Thank you, Hillari

Mark Sheridan's Answer:

Hi Hillari,

Just to clear things up, the AQHA has never endorsed anything but a true, clean, three beat, rythmic, and fluid lope. If you want to send me a video of your horse, I would gladly review it and give you my honest opinion of your horses gaits. Sometimes when we judge horse shows, we have to judge what we are given to work with. Some smaller shows have horses that do not quite have the best movers. At the larger shows, this is quite the opposite. Slow is good, as long as movement is not sacrificed. Clean is always better. Send me the tape and I will look at it for you.

Thanks.........Mark

www.marksheridanqh.com

" What are my horses worth?..."

I bought a mare and her filly. I was told at the time it was a good investment. They are registered at AQHA.com as A Lady of King and Leo,and Gypsy Lady Starbabe. My problem is I have two girls with disabilities and want to get them more involved with Horses. Even though these horses are gentle, they are not ready for my girls. I would like to trade them for a couple of well broke horses. I have a man who will trade two 17 yr.old geldings, one a Quarter horse and one an Arabian. What are my horses worth? Bloodlines, Dry Doc, Coy's Bananza, Roca Girl, Leo Moore, Nino Paul, Old Taylor, Jetalong.

Mark Sheridan's Answer:

Hi Jana,

It would be wrong for me to give you a dollar amount on the value of your horses without actually looking at them. The only input I can give you is to weigh your needs with your girls. If these two other horses are what you really need, then the price is not an issue. Safety is the first concern you should be looking at. You can not put a price on that! Hope this helps you in making the right decisions.

Thanks.......Mark

www.marksheridanqh.com

"Do you have any idea how I would be able to find out "who" he is?..."

I bought a AQH stallion about a little over a year ago and they told me that he had been registered but the previous owner did not have is papers or know what his registered name was. Also I am planning on breeding him in the near future w/or without papers, but it sure would help out a lot if I knew what I was dealing with. Do you have any idea how I would be able to find out "who" he is? Thanks so much for your time!

AAH Staff Answer:

Sara,
Your only resource other than the 2nd prior owner would be the Am Qtr Horse Assn. They have all the records.

Good Luck,
AAH Staff

"judge at an AQHA show in Virginia told me that he could not place me in any of the classes because I was wearing a helmet hat ..."

When I was 11, a judge at an AQHA show in Virginia told me that he could not place me in any of the classes because I was wearing a helmet hat --- one of those cowboy hats with a helmet underneath of it. Even though this happened quite a few years ago, I was just wondering if this was legal? My horse Zips Foolish Legend and I were riding western pleasure, horsemanship, and trail. Thanks!

Mark Sheridan's Answer:

Hi Kaila,
It has always been legal to wear a helmet in all AQHA classes. I am not sure how long ago that was, however I have been judging since 1993 and it has been legal to do so in the rulebook. I see those helmet hats quite often. You can get a free copy of the rulebook by contacting the AQHA in Amarillo Texas.
Good luck at the shows.

Thanks...Mark
www.marksheridanqh.com

"I have tried 7 bits on him overall so far and none of them help with his stopping..."

I bought my horse about a month ago. The woman I got him from competed with him in hunter/jumper, dressage, and field hunting. When I got him I let him get comfortable with the other horses and his surroundings I finally rode him about a week after he arrived. I walked him the first day he did fine. I trotted the second day he did fine. About a week later I cantered him and he took off running and I could not get him to stop. The woman I got him from sent me the bits he rode with and he does not listen with them and he doesn?t stop any better. I have tried 7 bits on him overall so far and none of them help with his stopping. Do you have any advice on a bit I should use or an exercise I should try if so please help!

Mark Sheridan's Answer:

Hi Kristi,
Go to a good trainer. I am not going to try to give you information to help you on a horse that runs off! I just cannot do this. Go to www.4ahorse.com and look up professional trainers in your state. Either take lessons or put him in some sort of training program for a while and get him fixed. Getting run off with is not fun! Do not get hurt! Read some of my other posts and you will understand where I am coming from.

Be safe. Mark
www.marksheridanqh.com

"He seems to be in shape, but is still having trouble keeping that slow deep lope that I know he can do..."

I have a 4-year-old paint horse that is out of Dirti Rocki. He was started slow and is very immature on the ground only; under saddle he is always trying to give me his best. I am having trouble keeping him consistent at the lope...he had one of the deepest lopes I've seen, he just has trouble carrying himself slow enough for the competitive circuit. I have built him up for a year, with lots of bending and long trotting, and consistently working on slowing him down. He seems to be in shape, but is still having trouble keeping that slow deep lope that I know he can do. Do you have any methods that you can suggest?

Mark Sheridan's Answer:

Hi Kate,
There are numerous things you can do to slow him down and keep him moving good underneath. However, maybe he is comfortable at the rate of speed he is currently traveling. I see too many people trying to make their horses go in a way that is not natural. It is hard for me to give you advice without seeing your horse. I do know that I have seen a lot of nice movers taught to move terrible in order to go slow. Make sure you have hip, shoulder, and face control, and then be happy with your horses? performance. Remember that western pleasure is just one class out of many. Maybe pleasure is not his thing. Start doing trail, changing leads, and other things with him. Most of the really great pleasure horses were born great and the trainers did not get in their way.

Thanks. Mark
www.marksheridanqh.com