Advice needed for total novice!

MrsHutt

MrsHutt

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I have just tried to post this great long post and the stupid computer did something and deleted it! Try again!:

Some of you may recall I am horse hunting at the moment and am looking for the perfect bombproof, safe, sane yet not a plod horse. 15hh (give or take), 10 yrs old (give or take), £2,500 (give or take)!

I have seen a few which weren't suitable for one reason or another (or I was just too slow to act), but yesterday I saw the most beautiful 10 yr old cob gelding. He had such a lovely nature, stood nicely, loved a kiss and a cuddle (nice change for me after my spiteful loaner!), was exactly the right size - I felt really comfy on him and SOOOOOO PRETTY!! But when my 'knowledgeable friend' rode him she said he was unbalanced going round a corner in canter, I found him very bouncy in canter and even watching the very expert rider who's selling him ride canter, he was flung about a bit! He said that he is working on relaxing him into canter (he's on livery there). The guy said he won't deny that horse is green, but is very willing and has even learnt a lot in the 2 weeks he's had him.

Now my question! (Well done if you've got to here - have a hot chocolate with mini marshmallows in if you've read all this!):

How much of a problem is this going to be for a nervous nellie? YO/instructor will do the work with him, but I can't get there so much at this time of year (more in summer) to work with them - will that be detrimental to our relationship? (I do think he liked me - or maybe it was the carrots?). Also, he was £4,000 (+ tack etc). I think that's a bit much for a green horse??? OH thinks maybe make a cheeky offer? That would make my mind up for me. Friend thinks to be careful that after being 'over horsed' with the loaner, not to be 'under horsed' with the one I buy and we can grow and learn together. But he's 10 - shouldn't he know a bit more by now? And (non horsey) OH says could he not be set in his ways?

HELP! Sorry for long post - well done if you've made it to here - now you can have your hot choc! :o:o
 
Why is he green as a 10 year old is what I would be asking.
If he was broken at 4 (might not be the case), he's had 6 years to sort his balance out.

Is he just used as a hack? Does he not school much, hence his balance issues?

I'm taking you trust your experienced person that went with you, what does she think? Trust her judgement, however much you may love the horse.
 
I'd expect a 10 year old to be balanced in canter on a 20m circle if there's nothing wrong with him and if he's ever had any half decent schooling.
I'd make a cheeky offer if I were you... the market's pretty terrible at the moment.
Or, keep looking...
 
Pretty much what everyone else said - my first thought was also 'why is he still green at 10'. Could try making an offer and see what happens, and have YO/instructor school him in winter so by summer when you want to ride he'd be better. BUT...if you're wanting something to learn on and have as a nice easy going, confidence giving horse, I'd suggest you keep looking. :)
 
If you do go for it get him vetted. You do need to know why he is "green" at 10 - he absolutely should not be. You need to know what has happened in his past. But my bet would be that he is unbalenced because of an injury somewhere along the line. If you do a 5 stage vetting that should show what and where. You can then make an informed decicion as to whether you can afford to address the problem.

Oh... and £4K is way too much for a horse like that in today's market.

I'm sorry - its rotten when you love them. But you have to be realistic. For his sake as well as your's.
 
It's way over priced - especially in the current market.

If I were you I'd be a little more patient - there are plenty of sane and safe cobs out there that are sensibly priced and perfect for you.

Ask around and rings some gd dealers - if they havent anything suitable in now they will ring you when they have.

Gd luck!
 
Well I am a nervous nellie.My current and forever horse was 9 when I bought him.I wouldn't call himm green as he had done quite a bit at unaffiliated level, but to be honest, his schooling was poor.This coupled with a bad back from a poorly fitted saddle made his trot/canter very bumpy and poor.The thing he does have is a calm and very steady temperament.I bought him and don't regret it because of that.His trot and canter are improving a lot with help from my very good instructor.You rarely get an absolutely perfect horse, so you have to look at your priorities.If temperament and manners are it (with servieable soundness of course) then a bit of poor schooling in my mind can be overlooked.If your YO/instructor is good she should be able to sort that out for you.If he is as genuine as you think he is then even in this climate £4000 with tack is not a bad buy.You can try an offer of course.
 
green at 10? if you have nothing to teach the horse get a horse that can teach you. Maybe something even older still. My mare is 14 and a true experienced allrounder, however she is in no way a plod or riding school type and has saved my skin a few times when i make a mistake jumping. £4000 is far too much to pay for a green horse unless he has lots of potential and you have the skill to teach him. The fact that you are asking on here makes me think that deep down u know hes not right for you and you need reassurance of this. Dont be afraid to walk away, keep looking til you find the one u just cant walk away from
 
Thanks everyone. You have pretty much said what I thought! After missing one that in retrospect would have been good for me, I think I was worried that I might miss the 'one'. The livery guy did say I could go again tomorrow and he would give me a lesson on him. I think that might be a good idea.

I would trust YO to do a good job over the winter, so that's a thought. A friend of mine did buy a 16 year old who was very lacking in schooling and YO worked with her to bring her lovely mare up to scratch (she sadly died this summer - another story). But that owner could ride most days and worked with YO so they grew together.

I think that this horse has been owned by an 'older lady' (like me) for the last 3 years who mainly hacked him and had a weekly lesson. She had just started to take him in the school by herself when she had an accident (not horse related) and decided to give up. I don't know what he had been up to before. I should try and find out.

OOOOOH, I'm in such a quandary!
 
MrsHutt said:
OOOOOH, I'm in such a quandary!
Click to expand...

I'm a great believer in 'you'll know if it is the right one'.

Do you really want to be spending quite a bit of money on something that isn't 99% right? ..... assuming you'll be damned lucky to find something 100% right.

Everything was right about my current horse, apart from she's a mare, I've always tended towards geldings. It never put a doubt in my mind because I knew she was right in every other way :).
 
I know of plenty of 10 yr olds that are very unbalanced on a 20m circle, it's only because they have hacked all their lifes.

If he is well behaved, doesn't have any hang ups and you can afford to pay for your YO to give him regular schooling then I would put an offer in. Certainly not at £4000 though!

Schooling livery is roughley £100-£150 a week, work out how much work this horse is going to need over winter and it adds up! I would put an offer in at about £2750, is they say no then tell that is your final offer and walk away. Chances are they'll phone you back in a couple days time. Feed and bedding prices are through the roof atm, no one wants to keep a horse they don't want for the winter. And even if they do refuse at that price there are so many nice horses going at decent prices atm.

Good luck :)
 
I have just spoken to the dealer who the present lady got him from (about 3-4 years ago) and she said he's only be used for hacking and not done much schooling at all. She thought he may well suit me (she has nothing to gain - I would suggest, an unbiased opinion - she could have offered to sell me another one of hers). I will talk to my YO again, I think and go over tomorrow for the lesson.
 
As long as he is sound (vetted) the unbalanced on a circle would not bother me. AS he has only hacked it is to be expected!

What amazes me is that if you ask someone how much for a safe 10 yr old horse they will often say £5000+ but when we mention specific minor problems they say he is over priced. This confuses me!!
 
Another thing, whichever horse you eventually buy, if it comes with tack, make sure you know exactly which tack.It might be shown in nice smart tack and with nice smart rugs but that might not be what it is delivered in.My personal obsession but have the fit of the saddle checked by a professional saddle fitter before purchase as well.Having said which, so long as it is the right horse FOR YOU, don't get too hung up on price.Your safety pleasure and confidence are worth a lot.There are a lot of what would appear to be lovely horses around at the moment at what would appear to be silly prices but many would not be suitable for you.A genuine horse will always command a good price as they can be very hard to find.If,in a couple of years, you feel you want more you will be able to get your money back and sell easily.Good luck whatever you decide.
 
My thoughts are that if he passes the vet and has a great temperament, unbalanced in canter on circles wouldn't bother me. After all, he has been mainly hacked. And you can always go straight into walk and trot dressage!!

As far as price is concerned, I am sure they will come down a bit. If the tack is OK (look at the make of saddle!!) you will not go far wrong if the horse is right for you. He sounds just what many people are looking for - a nice safe horse with no hang-ups!! Not easy to find nowadays. And they do come expensive!!
 
Charem said:
I know of plenty of 10 yr olds that are very unbalanced on a 20m circle, it's only because they have hacked all their lifes.

If he is well behaved, doesn't have any hang ups and you can afford to pay for your YO to give him regular schooling then I would put an offer in. Certainly not at £4000 though!

Schooling livery is roughley £100-£150 a week, work out how much work this horse is going to need over winter and it adds up! I would put an offer in at about £2750, is they say no then tell that is your final offer and walk away. Chances are they'll phone you back in a couple days time. Feed and bedding prices are through the roof atm, no one wants to keep a horse they don't want for the winter. And even if they do refuse at that price there are so many nice horses going at decent prices atm.

Good luck :)
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This ^^^^^^^

I would add that one person's green is another person's well schooled! I would be willing to bet that most horses that just hack are green in the school, yet their owners are quite happy with them. My definition of well schooled is a horse that can do an elementary dressage test, someone else could think that well schooled is a horse that can do a walk/trot test, it is all a matter of what you want. If he is bombproof, has a good temperament and hacks out well (which he obviously does), he could be just what you are looking for. Loss of balance on corners in canter is something that can indeed be sorted and probably fairly quickly.

I do think he is way overpriced and tbh is probably not worth more than around £2.5, especially in the current climate.
 
soulfull said:
As long as he is sound (vetted) the unbalanced on a circle would not bother me. AS he has only hacked it is to be expected!

What amazes me is that if you ask someone how much for a safe 10 yr old horse they will often say £5000+ but when we mention specific minor problems they say he is over priced. This confuses me!!
Click to expand...
i see what your saying but a minor problem can be a big one for a novice rider
 
My horse was a green 7yr old when I bought her, unbalanced in canter (as was I) as she had really just hunted in Ireland then hacked over here. I was rather 'green' myself having been a happy hacker who had done pony club as a child and had a few lessons here and there.

It has been tough (mostly due to her unpredictable nature though!) but we have had lessons and have improved together. Now she has lovely active and balanced paces and I have greatly enjoyed the experience of learning together with her. I wouldn't change her for the world and my riding has greatly improved as a consequence of having to up my game.

Personally, I would be inclined to put in an offer if I really felt a strong bond to the horse. If you have an experienced YO owner who is willing to help you and can afford to have some lessons then I think a lack of balance can be overcome with a bit of work and could result in a wonderful partnership. :)
 
I don't think its massively over priced at all! If its a heavy weight cob around 15h and 10 and the only thing wrong with it is canter in the school with tack I would say its got to be worth around £3.5 if the tack is any good. I sold my gelding (10 yrs heavy cob 15.1) in 3 days because he was safe, and did a bit of everything for £3250 with no tack. He was stiff in the school due to hacking only (passed vet) but it put no one off and I could have sold him millions of times over even in this market.
I would think what do you actually want the horse for? If you have help at hand to get him through the canter 'issue' over winter you may well have the perfect horse in summer. It sounds like you are looking for what everyone wants and if the horse has a nice attitude and is genuine im sure you would be fine, you say you did canter him so maybe give yourself some more credit! Also it doens't need to be anything like the cost of schooling livery, ask your instructor how much she would charge to ride the horse, mine charged £15 and rode twice a week for me which was only £30 not hundreds!
I would go back and try him again. If the only issue that makes this horse 'green' is in the school I would say that 90% of the bombproof cobs at the yard I keep mine at are green too and ridden by novices and OH's who have never ridden in total safety even if they don't look 'correct' on a circle! Let us know how you go on!
 
I don't think I said it quite clearly - the price is £4,000 PLUS more for tack etc. I was thinking of say £3,500 including the tack (yes, I'll check it's that which I've seen - good idea!) and I would DEFINITELY have a vet check (already enquired).

Hopefully I'll get over tomorrow - no snow here so far! :)
 
I liked the one I went to see, but he got excited as there was a show on and gave me a fright! I know I was a bit of a wimp, but I hadn't really ridden since my fall and it just shook me. However, she had another little connie that she thought might suit me - he was lovely, and I felt very safe on him. But, I went home to think about it and bring my 'knowledgeable friend' the next week - then they phoned to say he'd been sold. I'm not surprised - he was lovely.

I have been speaking to my YO this afternoon who thinks she can sort out the one I like! Also going to see another in the morning (before I go for the lesson in the afternoon), just to give me a comparison (much cheaper, I might add!). Fingers crossed!
 
As a nervous novice you absolutely do not need a green horse. Prettiness and sweetness count for nothing if you end up scared to ride it - and you will.

The right horse is out there. Wait for it to find you.
 
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