The "GO" in kigers...

[angelsdream]

I saw the ad Dianne place on the gelding and in it they said he liked to lope alot which brought up a few things in my head that I have seen with ads for Kigers for sale. I've noticed they say they like to go or "need a job" or "need to be rode daily", etc...and I've also talked with some people who said there kigers would just go and go and go and never wear down and yes they in fact needed to be rode everyday.....so my question is what do others think of this??? I don't see what some say with them just wanting to go all the time...to me I see it as mine being "willing" and will go and give me there all til I ask them to stop...never are they just so hyper or too much energy. Just wondering if it's the people who don't understand the difference or if there are some kigers who are just wired with more energy. I know with all horses there are different bloodlines and so there will be different types.

[sbutter]

This is a very interesting question since I have seen that "Go" in Calista. She can literally go all day at a trot if you asked her. On one of our Point Reyes rides, I was teaching her how to walk out instead of just walking average and then trotting to catch up. She has about an even walk while our two other riding horses have a reach of about a foot, so they have a very big swinging walk. Calista would have preferred to just walk her normal speed and then trot up every two minutes or so. I turned the trail ride into a nice little lesson in moving out when she walks. By the end of the ride, she was doing a lot better. It was a big ride for us and all the horses were dragging by the end of it (including the TB), except for Calista. I could have asked her to canter or even go into a gallop and she would have done it with zeal. She was the "roundest" out of all of them, so I was surprised that she wasn't the most worn out. She also didn't sweat that much compared to the others. Calista has always been very responsive to what I ask her to do and is always ready for me to hit the gas pedal. However, even though she has all this energy, she does not need to be ridden daily. She is one of those horses that you can have out in pasture for months and then go for a ride with no worries. She also seems to do better when I do give her breaks in between rides. She had a couple weak break this winter and then I went to ride her and she did better than where I had left off with her. Those little breaks seem to be good for her mentally, because she thinks things over. If I have a problem with her in one lesson and then turn her out for a couple of days, it's like the problem is no longer there. I have been riding her bareback with a rope halter and lead for the past couple of weeks, and she is doing awesome. She always has that energy and is ready for me to hit the gas, but she is not pushy about it and will do what I ask (unless she wants to show me a cool trick she just learned lol). I had finished one of my rides with her by doing a walk to canter transition and in the next ride, that is all she wanted to do. It was so hard to say no, because she was doing it soooo nicely. I ended up spending the whole time showing her that the gas pedal does not = canter.

If I didn't care about manners in a horse and let her do what she wanted when I was breaking her, she would be an energizer bunny that would always be trotting or cantering. Now, she is very good about not pulling on the reins or "jigging" if she wants to go faster. She will do what I ask.

[dunbnwild]

None of mine need to be ridden or handled daily/weekly/whatever to be well behaved- every single one is leveled headed without the need of consistent training activity. I've pulled some out after months off and picked up where we left off for the most part- sometimes they are a little stiff with certain things- but they are a safe ride.

Mine live in a natural herd environment with lots of social activity, so maybe these are horses who are kept alone or in stalls.

Cat, Bravo, and Lazzy will all Go all day with energy in the reserves. Rain - my 3/4 Kiger, all mustang mare is a lazy girl and at the end of the ride acts like she can't even step up into the trailer, ha ha. She even gets annoyed when the others have a short little run around the pasture for fun.

I think Kigers like to work and have a job and interact with people- so that might be what people are seeing as needing a job. I've noticed mine spending a lot of time watching me work the other horse with a "me next" kind of look on their face. But mine are all attenion hogs.

[angelsdream]

Great point Sara on during the breaking process or even after if the horse is able to do whatever, I could see where bad habits would be picked up and one of them being hurry go so we can get done..!

I do recall a trail ride a few summers ago where I was camping and we had rode 6 hours day before and going on 6 or 7 this day and all the other horses seemed to be whipped but Lakota was still ready to go and would have went hours if I asked, even some of the others commented on how great she looked after the long ride. I do think they have much more endurance than most domestic breeds, other than Arabians Im sure, since they are bred for endurance! But she was also willing to stand quietly - no fight in her either way. I was just curious as to if other's had experience hyperness, but again I guess it could come down to training or a number of issues - had not thought of that either. If they have a busy mind to start with and then you add "hurry trainer" on top of that - not good. I see a lot of "willing" in them to please us no matter what...a friend of mine had a gelding who she said she could ride 10 hours hard up/down mtns a day and he would still be ready...everyday. She said she never wore him out. Which that is nice to have just not the "ive got too much energy and don't know what to do with it" mind that doesn't wanna listen to you.

So I'm assuming this would be contributed to them being from the wild or parents etc..wild horses have much more of an endurance in them to travel the lands for food and for survival? They are very hardy...

To those people that have been around a lot more kigers than I, do you see a difference in the energy/mindset that was consistantly with a certain stallion/mare?? Are there some bloodlines that have much more energy, if so, who?

[Michelle Clarke]

My experience has been both having level headed and still go all day, while others that are hyper and need a serious job. Charro has always needed a job and constant work when he was in training. Zorro was one of those that once he was trained, you could leave him off for weeks, come back and most times he was better than the last time you rode him.

Right now I am dealing with Nova, who not only looks like a female version of Charro but is my ADHD child. She never stands still and even if she is physically in once place, she is mouthing something, swinging her head around or stamping a foot (or kicking the stall - grrrrrr!). Her full sister, Tasa, is super calm and easy going. However, their full brother, Tino, seems to follow more of Nova's temperment...he's always busy busy busy and drives Fabio nutso! I am glad he is not stallion material - could not imagine dealing with that big and with testosterone!

I just LOVE Nova in a training situation...just my type of horse; but daily handling is a drain on my patience. She will jump or climb through any fence that is in her way to where ever it is she wants to go next; and never has a scratch on her. SHe bounces up and down where ever she goes on the end of the lead line but never pulls or acts sassy toward me.

There is another group of Kiger types that I have raised (not Charro foals) or worked with. These are very people orientated to the point of being pests, nothing phases them, they are not spooky and they are easy to deal with for the most part (except for fixing up everything they get into!). They are simple to start under saddle - it never bothers them and neither does the rider. However, they can be big brats when asked to do something they figure they don't feel like doing.

Picts of Nova today...I do love her dearly and hope to have many adventures with her under saddle!

[sbutter]

Nova kind of sounds like Calista when I first started her. She was always tossing her head and had to be moving or doing something at all times. Her attention span was also pretty short. She was not happy standing still and had to prance or toss her head if she was "standing." Whenever we worked either lunging or in a round pen, she would always throw out a kick at the wall if she was frustrated. It took time, but she has finally learned to relax when I ask. She tosses her head every once in a while when I first turn her loose. She is so light though and has never pulled on the lead when I lunge her or work with her. She also is naturally very willing and really tries to please. She had her insecurities in the beginning, but she has really blossomed. It's like she would hit training plateaus where everything previous would no longer bother or worry her and we could focus on new stuff.

Are my eyes deceiving me or is that snow in Texas? That is a pretty slick coat too. Nova looks wonderful.

[mystickiger]

Interesting question, Angel. For sure one that I struggled with in the beginning of my Kiger time. I was used to riding the energizer bunny, AraApp, Bambi who did not and I'm still convinced, cannot flat walk. She is now 25, just the same I wouldn't change a thing about her. But realistically, she was great for flat out endurance and competitive rides but hardly versatile or for everyone. Most people cannot sit her trot, nor should they. While she is the sweetest horse you will every meet on the ground, very few people can or want to ride her. I have no intention of retraining or restarting her, she is what she is and I love her just the same. In the interim, sold both AQHA horses I owned because they bored me to tears. Started looking at Kigers in the early to mid 90's hoping that they were really what was being talked about in magazines since the internet was really non existent. Conclusion - yes they were! Intelligent, sturdy, beautiful and lots of stamina.

Do they all have go? Yes, but like any breed I think there are variances. I do think bloodlines are starting to play into it whereas we possibly couldn't answer that before. Maybe we still can't with the number of adopted horses entering the breed. But I do think that intelligence is a common denominator regardless. Titan, now Finn, from the Steens Kiger line is much less forward than Mystic but in many ways very similar.

What is Go? Depends on who's asking or answering. Mystic has go with self preservation like you can't believe. Great for competitive riding but not so great for disciplined riding. When I started to study with my current trainer, her comment to me after watching us ride is " You have a very nice broke horse. She is very forward ( go?) which is wonderful, has a to die for big swinging walk which is the most important thing, but we need to get consistency." Hmm, I thought she was consistent. Yeah, she broke on me a half stride here or there at the trot but came right back with the slightest asking so I didn't see that as a problem I needed to work on. I was willing but confused. Long story short, getting my very forward, very sensitive mare to be like a metronome in gait without rushing was an awakening for me. Apparently she's a chip off the old block. She's Michelle's Zorro's granddaughter. Once she's got it, please don't bore her - it's there. The head swinging at liberty or in the field is always going to be there. She is and will always be a busy, intelligent mare which you have 2 choices with - challenge or leave in the pasture. Don't bore her with the mundane or circles. She excels at lateral work.

I guess you could say that they aren't hyper because I have yet to meet a Kiger that is. Of the 15 or so saddle trained Kigers that I've come to know personally I would have to say they are all in the upper intelligence range. Some are "plugs" that have very little go because that's what is expected of them, but all meet their owner's expectation of Go! If the owner doesn't know how to rate go, some may be seen as full of go. Like most horses, they rise or fall to the expectation level they are given. Some even manage to excel.

Karen

[mystickiger]

Sarah, BTW "It's like she would hit training plateaus where everything previous would no longer bother or worry her and we could focus on new stuff. "

You are right. I laughingly chalk this up to the sign of a smart mare. But the up and down slide of plateaus is a part of learning.

"

There is another group of Kiger types that I have raised (not Charro foals) or worked with. These are very people orientated to the point of being pests, nothing phases them, they are not spooky and they are easy to deal with for the most part (except for fixing up everything they get into!). They are simple to start under saddle - it never bothers them and neither does the rider. However, they can be big brats when asked to do something they figure they don't feel like doing. " Yep, been there done that. Sweetest horses to be around, not my cup of tea. Probably the best for the average confident trailrider though.

Karen

[DianneC]

I can definitely see a difference in Quil (Calista and Chinook's daughter) from his other daughters. She is much busier and has always had a definite opinion about everything. She loved to follow me around as a baby but I always kept one eye on her. She's become a darling mare, very sweet but still lets you know what she thinks. I do think that many Kigers are bored to tears by arena work. They need trail time mixed in or they get dull.

[Michelle Clarke]

Sarah...you're right. That's is stinking S N O W in Texas! We had temps in the single digits and complete misery for four days straight. No water and troughs with six inches of ice built up. Our house heater did not get over 60 degrees. It literally took us eight hours a day to feed, break ice and water everyone. We have 19 pastures with horses in them and the way back is over a mile to even get too.

Today the sun is out and it will be over 50, but I am so wiped out I am fixing to take a nap instead of play clean up at the barns!

I have officially bumped up my 10 year plan for moving to Costa Rica...!!! Now I just have to wait until Mexico settles down so we can drive the horses down (hey, it is actually closer to drive to San José than to Burns Oregon from here!).

[mystickiger]

Michelle, I was wondering how you were making out in that weather. It has to be exhausting not being set up for that! It's bad enough and lots of work when you are set up for cold, ice and snow.

Watching the lead up to the Super Bowl sure shows how crippling it's been for your area. What an economic loss it's caused for businesses who would otherwise be doing a tremendous business this week. Stay warm.