Equine Transformation - Magnus Exsulto and Sharon Jones

This story is from the May 2019 Horse Deals magazine.

Horse’s age, breed, height, name?
Magnus is a 10 year old Thoroughbred gelding who is currently registered with Equestrian Australia as Magnus Exsulto - Latin for Great Leap. He bucked spectacularly when I got him, but can jump the moon. He’s gigantic - very near 17 hands, and burly.

How and when did Magnus come into your life?
Approximately five years ago Magnus was listed for sale for $800. He looked like a horse soon to be at the knackery, and I thought he looked like he deserved a shot at a nicer life.

What potential did you see in him?
He had a magnificent shoulder and a very kind eye.

What was his condition and temperament like on arrival?
He was in poor condition, lame and underweight, with injuries on his hocks, head and hips. The previous owner said he had fallen in a float. He was predictably quite irritable in general.

Was he already broken to saddle when you got him, and did he require retraining?
Yes and yes! In a nutshell, he was very resistant to the bit and was nearly impossible to saddle. He bucked a lot.

What did you do with him in the first month?
He was still wearing his racing plates and his feet were very overgrown. I had his shoes pulled and feet trimmed, then set about poulticing and hosing his hocks to try and get him sound and started feeding him. He had trouble putting on weight, so the vet came out and did his teeth which were in rough shape, and he also had a very bad case of ulcers to treat. We got turned down at an agistment stable as they only wanted horses “of a certain quality” but he looked terrible.

How did he progress over six months?
For the first few months we took things pretty easy. I free lunged him in a round yard, and we went on long slow trail rides to rebuild his muscles. He was very difficult to get a saddle on and would buck instantly when I tried to do the girth up. I rode bareback a lot and gently reintroduced a saddle as his ulcers and pain cleared up. I was keeping him at a jumping stable at that time, and learned that Magnus loved to jump and is quite talented! After six months we entered our first schooling show and he won the 50cm class.

Progression after 12 months?
For the next year, I schooled him in jumping, cross country and on the flat. We entered his first ODE at 65cm and he won, then competed and placed 2nd at EVA 80 at his second event. We spent his second winter schooling showjumping and competed to 1.05m. He had some soundness issues after that and took most of a year off competition to work on strengthening his back.

Does he have any special needs?
Heaps. He’s a prince. He hates being cold and/or wet. He must be kept rugged all winter and when it rains. He always has some lucerne chaff before a ride to help stop his ulcers from recurring, and gets chiro and massage treatments to help keep him sound. I don’t jump him outside of competition very often, even though we both love it.

What were the biggest obstacles you had to overcome?
Getting the saddle on without drama, and getting him sound.

What is Magnus up to today?
Magnus is eventing to EVA95 and prepping for his 1 star eventing debut, showjumping to 1.15m and learning to go in a neck rope for fun. He’s very intelligent and finding new things for him to do keeps him happy. We’ve done obstacle courses, liberty training, and can ride out over fences with only a neck rope now. He loves going out on the trails and is completely bombproof. He still prefers not to wear a saddle, but tolerates it now. I was offered over $10,000 for him and turned it down. I could never sell him. He’s my best mate and we trust each other totally.

What was the key to his transformation?
I guess listening to him and trusting he was giving me all he could when he could. There was a fair amount of patience involved. He’s not a horse you can push into things. He can escalate into battle mode quite quickly. There are a lot of carrots and no whip or spur in our training. Once he learned to trust me, he suddenly would go anywhere and do anything I asked.

What advice would you give to someone considering taking on a horse off the track?
Be kind. It’s a new world for a horse coming off the track. Quite often they lack social skills with other horses, and need to learn things as simple as walking up and down hills. It takes time to create a partnership.

What does the future hold for him?
We’re aiming to event at 2 star level, he has the scope to jump the big fences, but I’m not sure he’ll stay sound enough. If he can’t hold up to competitive eventing, he’ll be my mate on the farm, learning more tricks, doing liberty work which he loves, and having long trail rides bridle and saddle free in his neck rope.

Would you do it all again?
I currently have three more OTT Thoroughbreds I’m working with. I love Thoroughbreds!

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