Welcome to Barnmice Tony!

Thank you for your comments Tony. I have heard the name Bismarck I think. How did he find you? It sounds as if there is a nice story here.

My Canadian found me.  I first saw him when he was a weanling.  My friend wanted to buy a Canadian so I was dragged off to this farm in the middle of nowhere in the middle of winter. She was talking with owner off in a corner when this little weanling walked right over to me and put his nose on me. It was lightening had struck.  I had to have this little guy but my finances would not allow it.  I still had my old TB and I can only afford one horse at a time. Two years later and she had died and this now big guy was still for sale so I rushed out and bought him. He is now 6 years old and this has been quite a journey.  He is 16.2 HH and 1300 lbs and I love him dearly.

The breed standard is long manes and long tales and long forelocks but if you are not into showing then any length is ok.

I have attached a picture of my Canadian being ridden by my coach (Jill Steadman) at his last show Sept 30, 2012. His tail used to reach the ground but got eaten!  I do all the braiding and prep work myself.

When I was breaking my guy when he was 3 the progress we were making was painfully slow.  I thought I had bought a retard.  Then a friend suggested I try treats.  So once I started rewarding him with a mint for desired behaviour progress became rapid.  This horse will do anything for a mint.I went through bags of mints when he was 3.  Now I always have mints in my pocket.  Currently he gets one after the bridle is done up and on, one once I am in the saddle and then another after we are finished the ride.

I found "normal" training doesn't work well with this breed. They are also very sensitive.   I use my voice to calm /soothe/reward them and to express when they are being naughty. I always ride with my dressage whip.  I tried riding without a whip but they slowly try to take control and be the boss.  When they are naughty the most I have to do is yell a bit and give a tap with my whip. Then you have to forgive and move on.

Canadians are spooky when young but seem to grow out of a lot of it when they hit 6. Mine is still spooky(he is 6 now) but has grown out of 90% of it.  My friend has a 18 year old Canadian who is bomb proof.  They take their cues from their rider.  You have to be very relaxed and mentally calm and just go by the scary stuff.  I have a buck strap on my saddle to grab when needed.  When passing spooky stuff you can try keeping them focused on you by asking them to change their bend frequently.

http://www.lechevalcanadien.ca/indexen.htm

This is the national breed organization and can help you with getting the papers transferred over.