Hi ya'll. I have decided to "re-arrange" my herd some because unfortunately, the horses we have at the moment really are not meeting my family's needs. We have three geldings...and while our "old man" is staying (wouldn't take the world for that horse!)...our two younger walking horses are going to need to find a new home. The one I am mentioning in this post is Rio...a 13 year old, NON-registered black TWH. He is a super comfortable, smooth horse to ride...as he does a stepping pace as well as a rack. He picks his gait up naturally, but will also walk along with Quarter Horses just fine. He neck reins and has a good whoa.

He is easy to catch IF he is not with a horse that is hard to catch. When he is by himself, I can walk straight up to him and catch him. However...if he is out with my Standardbred (who likes to run from you!)....he will follow him. He is a very friendly horse....and to be honest, I will badly miss visiting with him once he is sold. This is the horse that I can spend hours out in the lot with at night when I put hay out...just loving on him. That being said though....This horse would do best with a person who can and will assert their authority. He eats up attention...but if you don't keep yourself in the "alpha" position...he will try to bully you. He doesn't kick or bite...he'll just try to invade your space. I was able to quickly nip this in the bud by simply making him back up from me. I am sure he would try to bully a timid person though...once he figured them out.

This carries over to the saddle as well. I would recommend this horse to an intermediate rider and up. I am sure that he would probably take advantage of a beginner...or anyone who lacked confidence. I have had a ton of fun riding this horse...however, at this point in my life, he is no longer what I *need*. I have a one year old little girl...and I would really like to find something that I could eventually feel safe riding her on....so it would need to be "beginner friendly". Also...we're wanting something that is buggy-broke. (I have a "wanted" ad listed here for that.) If I had lots of land, I'd just keep Rio.
Rio did have some buddy sourness issues when I first bought him, about a year ago. That was quickly nipped in the bud...and he now leaves the house by himself without any fighting. Like I said though...he would do best with at least an intermediate rider so that this was not allowed to "come out" in him again. The reason he had this issue to begin with was because his previous owner did not assert himself..and allowed the horse to make the decisions.

I have ridden Rio along side of community roads, sections of highway, and on wooded trails. He handles traffic well. He's not spooky. I do believe he enjoys being out on the trail the best though. We don't get many opportunities to do actual TRAIL riding (b/c of my husband's work schedule)....but when we do, Rio is at his finest. You can tell...that is his "element".

And now...the draw-back. I hate to say it...but I have to be honest.. He cribs...or windsucks, whatever you want to call it. He does NOT chew wood. I know some are probably saying..."Ugh, Why did I read this whole ad just to find out he cribs!" Unfortunately, when I bought Rio...the seller was not completely honest about this. I didn't ask...should have, lesson learned...and the seller definitely did not offer the information. I can't do that. I have never had any problems as and effect of Rio's cribbing. He is healthy and eats well. I've had no problems with keeping weight on him. If he is in the field/pasture, he does not bother cribbing....it's only when he is in the lot around the barn or when stalled. I do have a "Miracle Collar" that I sometimes put on him. It DOES keep him from cribbing. However...I don't care for seeing it on him...so I usually leave it off. If he doesn't have the collar on, it does take him a little while to finish his feed...b/c he'll crib in between every few bites. If I'm in a hurry for him to get finished, I just put the collar on him. His cribbing took a little while for me to get used to....but now, it doesn't bother me. It doesn't seem to bother him either..so we just let him. His teeth are also in good shape...and my vet said that you definitely could NOT tell he was a cribber by looking at his teeth.

I have been brutally honest about this horse...you know his attributes as well as his drawbacks. I really want to see this horse go to a good home where he'll be well cared for. I am asking $1,000 for Rio. If you have questions...or would even like to negotiate my price...drop me an email at jessicaandrickie@tds.net or give me a call at 601-394-4827. My name is Jessica, and I would be willing to consider any reasonable offer.
Scroll down for pics...
I don't have a good body shot of Rio..so I will try to take one today and post it.






Thanks for checking him out. I will also be posting another ad for my five year old TWH soon.
Jessica

Edited to add more pics....




I should've also mentioned...
Rio loads on a trailer easily...and you can also clip his face and feet. The only thing he is not crazy about is his ears (like most horses!). If someone tried to get him used to it, I'm sure he would. I've just never had a need to clip his ears (we don't show)...so I've never pressed the issue.

Here's a pic that shows his mane.. His tail is so short because it was chewed off by a young horse at his previous home. I've had him a year...and it has grown probably about 3 or 4 inches since then...so it's growing back quickly.


I've gotta quit with the pics or I'll want to back out of selling my pretty boy. :unsure