20 year old loan horse?

J

Jericho

Well-Known Member
Joined
26 February 2008
Messages
2,568
Visit site
Having made the decision to loan a horse since my boy is out of action and placed a wanted advert in Horse Quest I have had a number of calls from some lovely people offering me their horses. So far the two that sound the most promising are a 15.1hh 12 yr old and a 16hh 20 year old.

I am looking for something to hack and do some dressage on - prelim / novice level only, maybe a teeny bit of jumping, probably just xc, if I feel very brave). My top priortiy is a fantastic temperament and safe to hack/in traffic.

Both sound absolutely lovely - and school master types who will be nice and steady but have a bit of something extra to give and have been competed regularly this year and have no soundness issues however my issues are that at 15.1hh (ID x connemara) I think I am going to be too big (I put in advert that I am 12 stone 5ft 7) and the other horse is 20 years old which I am worried about - not for any major reason, just that I have never owned a horse over 15yrs old and am worried that its age will become a problem - insurance, conditioning etc

Sooo.. just interested in what your views are? Will I be too big for 15.1hh and is 20yrs old too old to be doing the type f workload that I will want?
 
You don't sound too heavy for the 15.1 ID x Connemara , but I'd need to see a pic of the horse really .

The 20 y.o - yes , I can see your reservations about a horse of that age , but would need to know what its current workload is .

They both sound great , so go & have a look /try .

Good Luck
smile.gif
 
i wouldnt have thought you'd be to big for a 15.1 im 5ft 8 and regularly ride anything upwards of about 14hh.
dont think i'd worry to much about a horse being 20 i ride a 19yr old mare who thinks she's 5! so long as they are sound theres no reason he cant happily hack about and do the odd competition. good luck x
 
Cheeky109.jpg


Blackwaterpallisade.jpg


I got him on permanent loan when he was 21, and I was too scared to jump. The first photo is from this year (he's now 25) and the second is round the 3' at Blackwater Farm a year after I got him. It was the best decision I ever made getting him- he knows everything and I trust him with my life- he gave me back my confidence and I owe him everything. He competes regularly round 2'9, we do ODEs and we win jump-offs. I've never been so successful on any other, younger, horse.

Btw, he's a 15.2hh ex-racer, and teamchased with success and had a very long life with injuries along the way. I'm only 5'2 but I'm a fatty so a 15.1hh horse will carry you easily!!
 
Thanks- its been a long and tricky road together, with some scary weeks where he was lame. We have to be so careful about ground conditions, and trying to get him dressaging was a slog but now he's a darling, and without him I would have almost certainly given up riding altogether.
 
I loan (well share but owner doesn't really have anything to do with the horse) a 20 year old and he's fab and is teaching me loads so don't rule him out on age only.

However do be careful in terms of insurance, there aren't any companies that will offer a new insurance policy on a horse passed its 20 birthday so unless the owner already has him insured and you can just cover the premium for them you could have some problems.

Also 15.1 isn't necessarily too small, it's about the horses build and your balance rather than a straight 'x height = y weight only' IYSWIM
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top