Percy

Breed: WB/Draft

Sex: gelding

Age: 2019

Height: 17.2h
Pedigree: 

Price: $20000 subject to change
​​​​​Link to lots of photos:    Percy | Flickr  

Link to videos:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcQCVjZbhR9o

 Percy- 7yr 17.2+ h shire/hanoverian gelding that is just so cool! He is a very tall horse but compact and extremely light which makes him super easy to ride for a big horse. Not strong or heavy which I think can often be hard to find in the truly big horses.

I bought Percy from an older rider who had gotten him and realize that a super big horse just felt rather intimidating to ride. I always truly do think do people realize what a big horse can feel like to ride? I was able to track down his old owner who had gotten Percy as a young horse when he was still quite feral :) They had done all the hard work and years of making him into an all around well trained ammy friendly type. Hacking out, good flatwork, jumping, etc. She said she regretted selling him but they really did a fantastic job with him! She said that Percy had originally arrived really leary of people which does track because initially he just needed a minute to figure out our program. I read that they spent a lot of time just working with him, feeding him treats and showing him all the love. I mean I find all that stuff critical with any horse but some horses need it more than others!

This horse is the coolest horse to ride and honestly the canter on this horse for a horse of his size makes me so impressed! No wonder he jumps so darn good because holy smokes he has a fantastic canter. Those transitions are so ridiculously good!!! We want to do some more work teaching him to stretch down a bit more over his back in his work but we are just getting to know him. He is an absolute fantastic jumper and so so brave. He has scope galore! He is balanced, uphill and light. He doesn't have auto changes but often offers his changes. He has been trail ridden in his past home and he seems very brave about all the things. He has been excellent with a very busy ring and traffic going all around him. He is not spooky or reactive. Yesterday during our ride both in the barn and out in the ring my husband was pounding posts which sounded more like a jack hammer and Percy was the least bothered. He was just like cool whatever.... I feel like each ride we do he just gets even cooler so it's sort of exciting like what can this horse really do? He is just such a stunning horse and the movement is so nice. That canter is dreamy and the jump is so good!

We have ridden him english and western so far. His ground work is very very good. He is excellent with lunging and all the ground work which I know had all been done extremely well from his previous connections.

Percy has excellent manners and has just been extremely well behaved in all aspects. He is a total puppy dog on the ground and despite his size is a total gentle giant. He can be a bit guarded when he first meets new people but he quickly warms up. I would say I have met a lot of draft x's like this and I describe them as a bit watchy in that they want to be out of your space vs being in your space. You have to really invite them to join in and hang out with you as they prefer to just stand back and watch you. What this means to me is that with horses like this we simply go a bit slower and tell them what we are going to do vs just doing it. I mean total common sense stuff but I think they simply require a more intuitive kind of owner because they just don't love riders/owners who really don't think things through before doing them. What I mean by this is these horses really don't love people who just fly up the mounting block not holding their reins and kick them in the butt on the way over as they mount.... I mean duh but I cannot tell you how many horse shoppers mount in a way that makes my heart skip a beat. You have to be more intentional with horses that need you to take a breath so they can take one themselves. If all this sounds weird to you, he is NOT the horse for you!

I say these things because I find them important to say. It's why horses end up in bad homes because people don't tell the truth. There is absolutely NOT one thing he does wrong but that is because we also know what we are doing and I am going to tell you upfront what he prefers. Horses only go as well as the program that they are in so all these little things matter when I evaluate horses. He is just the coolest of cool but also only for the rider who will appreciate that you need to use some common sense. I haven't put him in a situation where I have seen him do anything wrong but I am going to guess his would probably be a scoot. He doesn't seem naughty about anything but if you went flailing around on him I think he could get a bit scooty.

We are really enjoying him and have a lot of fun outings planned for him! He is sound, no injuries and no vices. He does wear front shoes with pads due to his big size (size 6 shoe).

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcQCVjZbhR9o

www.benchmarksporthorses.com in Delaware.