Beautiful black trakehner gelding

Charlie is a very cute, people-loving and sociable horse who is always coming to see what you are doing and wants to “help” – even if you might not always wish it 😅. He has a twinkle in his eye, so he needs a handler who keeps clear ground manners but also has a sense of humor with him.

He is not naughty – no kicking or other dangerous behavior – but he can very easily find ways that suit him better than yours. He is not a spooky type; he doesn’t truly get scared of much, although he sometimes needs a moment to process what he sees. He is a bit like the ADHD of the horse world, so he does not suit a life with only a few hours alone in a paddock. At the moment he lives outside 24/7 with a friend. He is also not the type for only “serious” dressage training.

He has been at his best both physically and mentally when doing varied work: hacking, pole exercises, small technical jumping courses, or even cross-country. He has tried cross-country twice and truly loved it! I am a dressage rider, so I have not had the skills to train him further in jumping. He is not likely to become a top jumping star with his technique, but with his ground-covering canter and brave mind he could be a very nice eventer up to a good level.

He has three good gaits. The walk is clear and relaxed with a big overstep. At his best his canter is stunning, with very good front-leg action and reach. The trot is more ordinary but has a good rhythm, and now that he has started to understand collected trot we have already found some quite interesting spring in it. I see good potential that his passage and piaffe could become quite nice in the future. He needs a rider who understands how to help a horse develop more power, strength and coordination, and how to ride honestly with the withers up – not just the nose down.

In dressage he does leg yield, shoulder-in and walk pirouettes. Half passes have been started and are going well, also in canter. He does counter canter and a very nice simple change. We have just started collecting the canter more and moving toward training pirouettes. On the ground he knows the basic exercises that young horses are introduced to for piaffe, and he even tries a few small half steps.

He was X-rayed only at age three. There have been no long training breaks, except when he grew a lot last year and was a bit lost in his body for a while.

The horse is located in Helsinki. Please only serious inquiries from people who have everything ready and are truly prepared for a new horse. I am happy to help with paperwork, transportation, etc. if he goes abroad.