Aarrggghhh, horse buying...why is it so hard...?!

catembi

catembi

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So I promised myself a new horse as soon as I finished my doctorate. This has been a fab incentive as I've now got a 5 year course done in 4. I've been keeping myself ticking over on my ex-racer who hasn't really come back following KS surgery.

Anyway, I thought that getting my dissertation done would be the hard bit, but it's actually finding a horse that will pass the vet! So far I've had an ID mare fail on flexion and temperament - showed a v nasty streak on vetting - and today a youngster fail on soundness.

All I want is 1) sane 2) sound and 3) eventually capable of jumping Fox. 1) is quite important as I'm pushing 50 & no longer want to be the one clearing the collecting ring at competitions a la ex-racer...

So where do I look for my unicorn? I've looked on here, finding a lot of out of date adverts, preloved, FB groups, local FB groups, ex-racer groups, one or two dealers who haven't phoned me back...

**sighs**
 
Well done on your dissertation first of all, and sorry to hear your ks horse isn’t doing good.

I occasionally have a mooch on the sale sites and see lots of horses who sound great but when it comes to actually buying, there are lots of frogs to kiss and not many princes!

You’d think having a youngster vetted would give you a decent chance of soundness. Can’t really help you on the unicorn search but wishing you luck. You def will find one, it’s just annoying having to work throuh the process.

I saw a nice 10yo RC type who’s evented 100 and done some Bsja or similar I think. Looked just my type! It was on a RC sale site, but seems to have disappeared from my facebook feed now! 7k. Surrey area. If interested ill Find out who posted it and get the ad for you.
 
Yes, the whole time I've been studying, it's been, oooohh, he looks nice...ooohhh, that one looks nice & I've been so frustrated that it was the wrong time to look. Now that it's the right time...as you say, there are a LOT of frogs...!

Youngster was throwing a splint, which is fair enough, one of mine did that once. But having waited 4 years, v impatiently, I want to get on & GO, not faff about waiting for a splint to settle...!

I am trying to confine the search to Beds, Cambs, Northants as by the time I've viewed & got vetted, I'm clocking up the miles..!
 
Try Kimba Stud, they have a Facebook page but best ring Kim and tell her what you want. Pyecombe has some nice ones so you could make a trip down and see a few
 
You'd think it wouldn't be that hard, would you? There are plenty of horses out there after all. So far my wanted ad has resulted in offers of one well under the height limit, one unbacked when I stated must be ridden as I will require a 5 stage vetting, one which is clearly lame in front on the video...and one in Holland 😂
 
It took eleven months to find one for a friend. Two vet failures and more visits to try more lame horses than we could count. She's got a lovely fellow, found a month ago, who is just what she wanted and in the end found him on preloved only a mile from where she lives!

We tried to get an Irish agent involved but she could only line up two and that isn't worth a visit to Ireland for. I started a thread asking about Irish dealers that would be worth visiting, but got no joy on that front either.

Another friend also had a nine month search and two vet failures and found the right horse three miles away recently. Found on Horsemart or Horsequest.

Both looking for sound, sane all rounder riding horse types, 16+hh and 15-16hh one with a budget to £7k and the other to £10k.

Keep looking!
 
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I totally feel your pain. It took me 4 months, countless miles & hours, and I think 32 viewings to find my unicorn. I don’t care if I never have to horse-hunt ever again. Ever. Soul destroying how ignorant/ untruthful/ deluded some sellers are.
 
I spent a long time looking for my current one. I got fed up with sellers telling me that what I wanted did not exist. I would find one I liked every 3 months on average, but they tended to have something not right physically when examined closely.

Going to Ireland seems to have worked for some people, but when I went I was only shown 3 horses in my rough spec, and that cost me £300 for the agent fee, so I would not do that again as when I added up flights, hotel, house sitter, airport parking etc it was quite expensive. They were not exactly what I had in mind so I did not buy.


Finally found one via the BE website that was about 2 hours drive from home. She is perfect!


Don't lose heart. You may look at a lot, but only need to find one.
 
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I have made the decision to try to stay local & be patient. I'm also undergoing a metamorphosis - I started out wanting supersafe but with a bit of performance - first one that failed the vet was an ID. Then I decided on maybe a bit more performance so the 2nd one that failed the vet was an ISH. And now I'm looking at full TBs... What TF am I doing...? Someone please remove my online banking access & lock me in a cellar til the urge passes...

But they are soooooo beautiful and soooooo clever & soooooo athletic, and soooooo sensitive... Aaarrrgghhh...!!

There is a v local one that is in the same town as where I was for my martial arts lesson this morning...only the owner is 150 miles away on holiday... Hopefully the rush of blood to the brain will have worn off by the time she's back... Except she's said that he would be the *perfect* horse to jump Fox, and he's so pretty, and I *want* him...
 
I had three failed vetting before I bought G one to be fair had an issue about which the owner was very open he was a word of mouth horse so not formally for sale he was very smart with a great jump so I had a vetting it was worth a try . The final failed vetting was a just started five year old who failed on his hock X-rays I did not see that coming then I found G on an ad over there>>>>>>>.
Then I bought Harvey at Christmas I saw him on a Facebook video from an agent and loved him he’s got breeding and could clearly jump so I got my big girls pants on and flew to Ireland rode him for three minutes and he arrived in time for Christmas he is truly one of this unicorn horses who is the full package .
Keep working at it keep looking invest time and if you are lucky enoughlike I was with Harvey to get that omg look at that feeling go for it don’t delay .
 
I would just look for a kind and sound horse!! If you want specifically want to jump 1.20 's, perhaps look for an older schoolmaster and be prepared that he/she will have soundness issues in the not too distant future. The longer I am around horses the more I realise they go wrong more often than they stay right, and it is vital to enjoy the journey with them. After having to retire 2 horses (at 6 and 8 yrs) with soundness issues I got a 3 yr old TB - just because she was sweet to ride/handle -I had no aspiration to do anything other than own a sound horse. She has turned into a horse of a lifetime, taking me to BE Novice and BS Foxhunters. Now she can no longer jump, due to pedal bone problems (she is 17 so she is allowed to have lameness issues now!) we are actually enjoying trying to do dressage! I really hope you can find a horse who you can enjoy riding - anything else is a bonus x
 
Sometimes beginner's luck? I bought my first horse in 1995 for ride and drive. He came from a film yard, where he lost so much weight in winter, they kept him stabled so he dumped their clients. I bought him un-vetted, had never mucked out a stable put on a rug or knew what feed to buy. I was advised to give him red cell - something wrong with him??

The up-shot of all this, first winter he lived out with a good rug. He never bucked again. He was pts aged 36, working until he was 35 and never gave me a vet bill in 20 years. He was the beginning of my Cleveland Bay passion as I thought he was an unregistered part-bred. As well as being a superb harness horse, he jumped like a stag.
 
I feel your pain I could not do it if I ever was after another one. Had my boy 5 years now and tbh I wasn't even looking for a horse when I saw him advertised. I am guilty for doing a bit of window shopping online mind you. He was the first I looked at and that was it. Always imagined a heavy hunter type, got a chestnut showjumper. Hes a good solid sort though irish cross. Wouldn't think he could jump like he does. He was only an hour and a bit away.

The right horse will come at the right time :)
 
I feel your pain. I almost gave up and gave in. Horse that was described as perfect gentleman turned out to vertically rear if nervous, others lame, undisclosed behavioural issues and way under the height they were supposed to be.
I'm glad I took a punt on the new girl. Shortest advert ever but so far has been worth it
 
A friend got a very nice something contintental (either Trakehner or Hannoverian, I forget which!) from a stud in Bicester last year. He wasn't one of their horses as such (doesn't have the prefix) but he was bred on site by one of their liveries, using one of their stallions on her mare - they've kept in touch and his full sister was about to come up for sale as a 4/5 year old this year. If she's anything like him, she'd be pretty lovely. I think this was the stud (web confirms he's a Trakehner!) - might be worth giving them a ring and asking about George's sister! http://www.godingtonstud.com/
 
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After having spent a year, three failed vettings and numerous dodgy rides finding my first unicorn, my second horse sort of fell in my lap, but he was not a unicorn so sold him and I was so lucky that with the benefit of age and good friends in the right places it took just a month and two trips to find my current very special unicorn. I sent his finder a list of what I wanted and she was off to Ireland with me in mind and a budget, bought 4 that she showed me, lovely horses just a bit too pricey (although worth their price), but she had spoken to another dealer and she found Nickel. Saw him, liked him, bought him. 7 years later I do not regret it
 
I feel your pain, got very excited about buying my first horse, inherited my pony and bred from her which was a bit of a disaster, but still have that foal 25 years on but really wanted to buy the perfect horse. Soon got fed up of reading the perfect advert only to be very disappointed on viewing. Wanted a mare over 10 year old that had done a bit of everything, ended up rushing into buying an extremely handsome 5 year old gelding that just was never going to work. Still have him, he is now 16 and will never sell him but haven't ridden in over 2 years as I just don't enjoy him. So take your time, stck out for exactly what you are after and don't buy because he's handsome!!
 
The owner of the 2nd horse is giving me soundness updates & there are 2 or 3 TBs that I haven't seen yet. The trouble with looking at one at a time is that I'll probably be too old to ride by the time I find one. But having a few on the go, even in the loosest sense of the word, is tying up too much mental bandwidth.

It's also hard to know whether a horse is The One, or just the best so far. When I first saw the late Catembi, it was love at first sight - never felt it before with a horse & never have again. How many do you see before you have to decide, you'll do?
 
catembi said:
The owner of the 2nd horse is giving me soundness updates & there are 2 or 3 TBs that I haven't seen yet. The trouble with looking at one at a time is that I'll probably be too old to ride by the time I find one. But having a few on the go, even in the loosest sense of the word, is tying up too much mental bandwidth.

It's also hard to know whether a horse is The One, or just the best so far. When I first saw the late Catembi, it was love at first sight - never felt it before with a horse & never have again. How many do you see before you have to decide, you'll do?
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I've had many horses over the years and I fell in love instantly with one. Soul mate stuff, like in kids pony books. I walked into his yard, he looked at me and I said out loud 'oh, there you are!' He was my horse of a lifetime and 8 years on, there's not been another like him. I've found others to love, but I think that deep deep connection is a once only thing sadly.

I hope you find your next horse soon, but don't feel bad if that instant lightening bolt feeling isn't there. We were lucky to have it once, is how I look at it.
 
I think you can develop the connection if you let it happen. Millie hit me like a thunderbolt... when she got injured I was mourning that feeling as much as the end of her ridden career.

But I definitely feel the same deep connection to kira now... it took a while because she was so difficult for the first year or 2. Now she's very very special to me and makes my heart skip a beat just as Millie did all those years ago.

I reckon the same could well happen with salty. They're all so different so the feeling is different but they all weedle their way in gradually if you accept that imo :wink3:
 
I felt this way last year when I was looking. I viewed 9 in total and so many were not as described or had glaring conformation faults that had been well hidden on pictures. Then I found Polly and couldn’t get her out of my head, I hadn’t had that feeling about anything else I’d looked at.

This year I viewed 2 on a Friday who were no good and then went to see Millie on the Saturday. I had a grin on my face riding her, but still had that internal struggle when making a decision (did I really want to go back to 3 horses, did I really want to increase my loan to buy her etc) but we stopped for coffee on the way home and my mum told me that if I walked away I would regret it. I knew she was right. Booked a vetting, which she flew and we’ve had her three weeks now and she’s proving to be everything I wanted.

The only horse I’ve ever felt a sudden very strong connection with was the Diva. It’s four years today actually, since I bought her, and I remember putting her in her stable the night she arrived and feeling this absolute overwhelming connection with her instantly.
She sky-rocketed to the absolute top of my world in about three minutes, even though I’d had my two geldings at the time for many years and adored them. The Diva is my number one, always has been and always will be. I can’t explain it really. She is fully aware that she is the most important thing in the world to me but that just makes her even more amazing. We joke that I would roll a red carpet out for her if I could!
 
I think that anyone who is finding it impossible to buy a horse is being too fussy. There are plenty of lovely sound animals around- but one might have a sarcoid, or a blemish, or weave- no horse or human is perfect, you have to find one with faults you can live with.
Too green? You can work on schooling. Spooky out hacking? Get him out and about. Too young? He will soon get older!
 
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