About to give up! Having a hard time finding my dream horse

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pollypock1211

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I am really struggling to find a new horse. I gave in a went over to Ireland last month and tried a horse at the famous 'Bravo Hughes Stud' and went to Goresbridge sales but still i found nothing. I thought i finally found my dream horse in England a few weeks back - a 4yr RID gelding who was perfect in every way he ticked all the boxes and from traveling back home on the 2 hour trip to me ringing her to say i would send her a deposit that night she had sold him :( people said i was not quick enough and should have left the deposit there and then but to me its a massive decision and i wanted time to decide to make sure i was doing the right thing. Do other people do this?

I am also fed up of traveling up and down the country to find that most horses are not the pretty picture which was described in the advert or that things are not in the advert which are clearly visible when you get there! and then they talk about buyers wasting their time! Sorry for the rant but i'm starting to think it is me that is searching for the impossible - i know i can be picky with horses but its due to the fact my last horse had endless problems, £15,000 later and still had to be put to sleep! we had a very difficult 3 years and it broke my heart.

Is it me searching for something that doesn't exist due to my bad past? im not sure i am allow to describe or put my wanted ad on here but to sum it up i am looking for a genuine all rounder to get me through the sj levels. Can anyone help or recommend any good reputable dealers in the North East area.
Thanks
 
I would go direct to breeder if I were you, many keep their youngsters until under saddle. Indigo Irish Draughts have some lovely ones plus if you were to travel down to Devon, long way I know, but worth the trip, Narramore Stud also have some gorgeous home breds. I would never buy from a dealer unless it was a highly reputable one who had people coming to them by word of mouth, rather than through adverts.
 
Ok thanks for your advice. The reason i say dealer is because the only reason i didn't have a chance of winning my case of my 'miss sold horse' was because it was via a private sale. Had it been a dealer i could have took it further and confident i would have won the case. I am totally put off private sales so i must admit i have been looking at more dealers. However i will now look at the breeders - i will have a search of the place in Devon. Thanks :)
 
Try ringing an agent, like Sophie Martindale, or Jo and Irish Sports Horse Agent. Tell her what you're looking for and she'll find one for you. They have contacts that us "normal" people don't come by as we aren't buying horses all the time.
 
Starzaan said:
Try ringing an agent, like Sophie Martindale, or Jo and Irish Sports Horse Agent. Tell her what you're looking for and she'll find one for you. They have contacts that us "normal" people don't come by as we aren't buying horses all the time.
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Never thought of this Starzaan - would this not be very expensive? thanks
 
I bought my horse from Judi Thurloe (based near York) when she was importing Eastern European horses. It seems she's gone back to buying from Ireland these days but she runs a hunt hireling yard so most horses that go through her hunt out with a mix of people on board.

The three I tried when I went there all jumped 1.10m without any effort at all. I'm not sure what she has in at the moment but she has a website which usually has a few details up.

I rang her and talked to her about what I wanted, she said she had one horse that would be a good match, with two others as possibles. I went to visit the yard, she showed me all the horses, told me which ones she had picked for me but let me decide which I wanted to try. I ended up buying the horse she had matched me up with and 8 years later I still very much happy with my purchase - he is v.nearly my perfect horse! :)
 
Don't give up! Maybe step back from searching for a few weeks, or try a different strategy. I felt like you so many times when I was looking and felt so fed up but eventually I found my mare, she wasn't really what I was looking for but has been amazing and so much more than I could have hoped for. Well worth waiting for!
 
pollypock1211 said:
Ok thanks for your advice. The reason i say dealer is because the only reason i didn't have a chance of winning my case of my 'miss sold horse' was because it was via a private sale. Had it been a dealer i could have took it further and confident i would have won the case. I am totally put off private sales so i must admit i have been looking at more dealers. However i will now look at the breeders - i will have a search of the place in Devon. Thanks :)
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There may be more chance of winning a case against a dealer (as I did) but it doesn't mean you will get your money back. Despite winning my case against a dealer in Kent I have never received my money back and would have to spend more money pursuing her for it.

What goes around comes around as she has recently been arrested in connection with her dodgy dealings along with a number of other dealers and a vet in Kent.
 
hoggedmane said:
There may be more chance of winning a case against a dealer (as I did) but it doesn't mean you will get your money back. Despite winning my case against a dealer in Kent I have never received my money back and would have to spend more money pursuing her for it.

What goes around comes around as she has recently been arrested in connection with her dodgy dealings along with a number of other dealers and a vet in Kent.
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Brilliant! I always did believe in Karma! wish the same would happen to the selfish idiot that did it to me! Sure it will one day!
 
Herpesas said:
I bought my horse from Judi Thurloe (based near York) when she was importing Eastern European horses. It seems she's gone back to buying from Ireland these days but she runs a hunt hireling yard so most horses that go through her hunt out with a mix of people on board.

The three I tried when I went there all jumped 1.10m without any effort at all. I'm not sure what she has in at the moment but she has a website which usually has a few details up.

I rang her and talked to her about what I wanted, she said she had one horse that would be a good match, with two others as possibles. I went to visit the yard, she showed me all the horses, told me which ones she had picked for me but let me decide which I wanted to try. I ended up buying the horse she had matched me up with and 8 years later I still very much happy with my purchase - he is v.nearly my perfect horse! :)
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Did you know her personally ? i will have a look now for website
thanks
 
Wagtail said:
I would advertise. That is how I found my horse of a lifetime. I got to see her before she was advertised.
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Yes i have had a look at advertising 'wanted' - i only have done so far on Facebook as the wanted ads on the 'horsey' sites only have very few adverts on the wanted sections so i was worried no one looks on here.
 
pollypock1211 said:
Did you know her personally ? i will have a look now for website
thanks
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No, not at all. Although I did find out about 3 months after I bought the horse that my friend was joint MFH for her hunt and knew her well. He said she was a good horsewomen very much into her hunting and showing.

Forgot to say, she had my horse newly shod before his vetting (no extra cost) and delivered him for me too for the cost of the diesel. She gives you a list of vets in the area and tells you which one is hers so that you don't use them.
 
I put a wanted advert on Horsemart and was swamped with good potential dressage youngsters. I got my hunter through a wanted ad in Farmer's Guardian, though I got only two possibles through that one, but he is brilliant.

I absolutely agree with you about going through a top-end reputable dealer, but it would depend on your budget.
 
Have you tried CnG i have them on fb and lots of their horses look nice and ive heard good reports from people who have gotton horses from there?
 
Herpesas said:
No, not at all. Although I did find out about 3 months after I bought the horse that my friend was joint MFH for her hunt and knew her well. He said she was a good horsewomen very much into her hunting and showing.

Forgot to say, she had my horse newly shod before his vetting (no extra cost) and delivered him for me too for the cost of the diesel. She gives you a list of vets in the area and tells you which one is hers so that you don't use them.
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Great ! she has some lovely horses on her website - just what im looking for! ive sent her a message so really looking forward to hearing from her. Thanks
 
caroline23 said:
Have you tried CnG i have them on fb and lots of their horses look nice and ive heard good reports from people who have gotton horses from there?
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I have tried CnG - sent them endless emails and they never returned my messages. Phoned them twice and their phone was off. However I do keep a close check on what horses they have though but at the min i haven't really seen any suitable.
 
Every thought about a PRE ? Once you have had a PRE there is no going back :D There are a number of good breeders in the U.K.
Fantastically smart horses.
I am based in France and flew down to Spain to see a selection of PRE's.
 
pollypock1211 said:
Great ! she has some lovely horses on her website - just what im looking for! ive sent her a message so really looking forward to hearing from her. Thanks
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No problem! I occasionally have a look on there to eye up my 'dream' 2nd horse (that I can't afford! :D) because she always has the kind of horses I like.

I'm not sure what her email response is like but she's very nice on the phone so, if you don't here from her, definitely give her a call!

I hope you find something you like and are as happy as I am with my boy!
 
I would contact JanetGeorge on here, from Indigo Irish Drafts.

They seem to have some lovely well rounded youngstock and she has a very good reputation.
 
hoggedmane said:
There may be more chance of winning a case against a dealer (as I did) but it doesn't mean you will get your money back. Despite winning my case against a dealer in Kent I have never received my money back and would have to spend more money pursuing her for it.

What goes around comes around as she has recently been arrested in connection with her dodgy dealings along with a number of other dealers and a vet in Kent.
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This person and her entourage are trading under a new name now.How do they get away with it.
 
Herpesas said:
I bought my horse from Judi Thurloe (based near York) when she was importing Eastern European horses. It seems she's gone back to buying from Ireland these days but she runs a hunt hireling yard so most horses that go through her hunt out with a mix of people on board.

The three I tried when I went there all jumped 1.10m without any effort at all. I'm not sure what she has in at the moment but she has a website which usually has a few details up.

I rang her and talked to her about what I wanted, she said she had one horse that would be a good match, with two others as possibles. I went to visit the yard, she showed me all the horses, told me which ones she had picked for me but let me decide which I wanted to try. I ended up buying the horse she had matched me up with and 8 years later I still very much happy with my purchase - he is v.nearly my perfect horse! :)
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I also have my dream horse from Judi Thurloe, although he is younger than I was originally looking for, he is perfect for me in almost every way - delivered free of charge and she gives you a three month exchange warranty if you are not happy. Defo worth a look if you are in Yorkshire - it is a very professional set up.
 
I woud 2nd Judi Thurloe. There are some people (even some friends of mine) who don't rate her but each to their own, she knows her job and yes, not all of her horses are oil paintings BUT she is as honest as she can be - obviously she may not know everything about their history but she generally has the horses out hacking alone, hunting, takes them to shows etc etc. We had two horses from her many years back. The horse we bought was a big mistake when we look back but that was no her doing, that was us being rather novicey to be honest. He was a nice enough horse but we didn't know enough and he had some problems.

We got a 13.2hh pony for my sister though from her and he was fantastic.

I would say it's definitely worth taking a look at what she's got in - there's some nice looking ones on there at the moment. The thing I would say about Judi is she can't be bad seeing as she's been tradng for that long, shows at county level with success and the majority of people have good things to say about her!
 
I also advertised - on horse quest and got my horse before she was advertised. I also got offered another, very nice, horse that I noticed sold in days of being advertised. Sometimes people haven't quite raised the energy to deal with buyers yet, but might contact someone looking for a horse like theirs.

Paula
 
Don't give up!!! After we lost my hubbies horse in May we started looking after a few weeks for another for him. I thought after the last time we looked and all the awful viewings we had that by upping budget we'd avoid all that. Couldn't have been more wrong. Even with an extensive list of questions, getting pics and vids, we were still left disappointed at a large number we went to see. I seen an ad for a horse that looked nice, but not much info on his ad, rung up anyway as he was only 25 mins from us. Glad i did as he's now home with us! The right one is out there for you. I found that sometimes the people who gave the best write up on their ads weren't necessarily the best horses. One sounded perfect on paper and was horrid to ride. I guess they needed to attract viewers in the hope someone would take her on regardless!
I know Judi Goor in Ireland also finds horses if you give requirements. Think she has a set fee and if she doesn't find you anything then you don't pay. May be worth giving her a call.
 
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