Am I wasting my time (horse buying)?

My first horse (and equine soulmate) was an ex-racer. We only had four and a half years before a field accident led to her being PTS, but I look back on that time as being some of the best of my life. She was the ultimate hacking horse, schooled beautifully, and had manners to burn. On the ground and in the saddle, she was a complete and utter lady but still absolutely oozing with character. She was loyal, loving, and apart from being prone to abscesses, she was overwhelmingly sound. I got her when she was 15 and lost her at 19. She was a lovely, compact little mare (she stood around 15.3hh), and despite being petite herself, she came from NH lines so was elegant and athletic without looking flimsy.
 
I've just been riding the most beautiful 14 yr old NH TB. 5 seasons racing, during which time he hunted as well. He's had 2 seasons doing RC stuff with his owner. He's sound as a sound thing, utterly clean legs and a delightful ride. He's 14 with no issues.
Personally I steer clear of flat bred horses because I love the bone and build of the traditional NH chaser type (and also they aren't generally started til slightly later)

My current mare was in training briefly but her laid back temperament and size meant that she was never going to make it as a racehorse- so she's got all the advantages of having been in training without any wear and tear of the actual track. And she's a quarter of the price than the equivalent ISH!
 
I am in the same position - it's probably my thread you may be referring to. I am still on the fence with it. Horse prices are coming down at present, the market has slowed up.
I can't make my mind up with what I want but it depends on what you are wanting to do with the horse. I am still looking to do a decent level dressage test - pretty much every ror I have seen videos of does not move as well as I would like or is lame, this goes for a lot of videos of horses I have looked at.
I have come to the conclusion that they cost so much to keep etc that you almost need to have something that will ideally do the job you want it for and to not just make do. Even if it means saving a bit longer as horses have become so expensive. That's coming from someone who has always just made do and bought cheaper horses!
Depending on where you are I would look at getting a loan ror - I have been offered a few either through a charity or some studs/yards do this, but they are not quite right.
 
ihatework said:
I’d in general be a little more wary of young ROR that either haven’t made it to the track or had only one or two races. Yes the selling line is usually ‘too slow’ and that probably applies to a few. But I do think most of them fall into the ‘too weak and trainer knows they won’t stand up to the job’ category.

A slightly older NH type that has stood up to a couple of seasons +, might not vet clean but imo stands more chance of being a functional citizen in a new career
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Exactly. The soundest, toughest ex-racehorses I've had (and I've had many) have stayed in racing until 10/11/12. If they've come through 7 years of racing sound then they're survivors!

Surely there's a middle ground for what you want though between ex-racer and £25k? Friend has 2 or 3 for sale that would hack and do unaff (and probably low level affiliated) competition. Nothing flashy but nice fun RC-type horses. They'd be in the £8-10k bracket.
 
As a few people have said, an ex NH horse who has raced a few seasons and come out sound will more than likely stand up to work in an amateur home. However, they might need a little bit more down time to start with and then a good year to build up the new body required for their new job. I've got an ex NH horse, raced 40 times, retired sound at 7 when I bought him (he's 10 now). He does everything with a smile on his face, does a sweet little test, jumps 1.10 for fun, careful over a SJ, bold and brave over xc, hacks for miles without spooking or being silly, happy to pull up easily after a gallop, no vices, loads himself on our trailer, and generally an all round lovely horse to do anything with. Plus he's really beautiful. He costs an absolute fortune to feed, shoe and in bodywork (I try and keep on top of this to keep ware and tear at bay for as long as possible) but he's worth it. I don't think he'd pass a pre purchase vetting, but I get him trotted up, with flexions, and lunged for the vet every spring and he always comes up sound.
We love going to RoR stuff, I went to my local area club afternoon last month, everyone was so lovely and supportive, horses were all fantastic too. They were all keen to get on with the job but I didn't see any rearing, bucking or bad behaviour from any of them. I'm a massive tb fan though, I just love the athleticism and the brain.
 
spacefaer said:
@BACR Couldn't agree more. In my opinion, TBs are the ultimate sport horse.
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They are super aren't they and so many variations in the breed. At the RoR training we went to there was us, and mine is quite a tall but light framed horse, then there was a huge big strapping old fashioned NH type who looked more like a middle weight hunter and also an ex flat mare who was shorter but really nicely built. All were beautiful, talented and getting on with the work happily, which was a great fun poles and grid session. I might pop over and put a post on the ex-racer thread, although not many people seem to be using that lately.
 
I'd say do it as I'm a fan, bought 2 sold one - he's now in his 20's still in work, the one I still have is 19 next yr and in full work, aff elem dr and hunts once or twice a month in winter, think he's been lame twice in 14yrs, once from a kick that caused a fracture and the other from a really bad abcess (he'd already done one dr test and went lame when I got back on), mine is a dinky ex flat horse, ran 23 times and lost the love for it
 
Spanish Dressage said:
I am in the same position - it's probably my thread you may be referring to. I am still on the fence with it. Horse prices are coming down at present, the market has slowed up.
I can't make my mind up with what I want but it depends on what you are wanting to do with the horse. I am still looking to do a decent level dressage test - pretty much every ror I have seen videos of does not move as well as I would like or is lame, this goes for a lot of videos of horses I have looked at.
I have come to the conclusion that they cost so much to keep etc that you almost need to have something that will ideally do the job you want it for and to not just make do. Even if it means saving a bit longer as horses have become so expensive. That's coming from someone who has always just made do and bought cheaper horses!
Depending on where you are I would look at getting a loan ror - I have been offered a few either through a charity or some studs/yards do this, but they are not quite right.
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Yes quite possibly your post!! I'm probably in a similar situation, I want to go out and do a decent dressage test too, ideally BD, and a bit of jumping on the side just for fun. Annoyingly I have something that moves beautifully in the field and is always fawned over, but is alas broken.
 
Gamebird said:
Exactly. The soundest, toughest ex-racehorses I've had (and I've had many) have stayed in racing until 10/11/12. If they've come through 7 years of racing sound then they're survivors!

Surely there's a middle ground for what you want though between ex-racer and £25k? Friend has 2 or 3 for sale that would hack and do unaff (and probably low level affiliated) competition. Nothing flashy but nice fun RC-type horses. They'd be in the £8-10k bracket.
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A lot of this is obviously down to my own expectations, I do totally get that. I look at what's for sale and see things that have had KS surgery (or other issues) up for 12k-15k, or something (clearly a schoolmaster) that's pushing 20 and 15k -20k.... which could go on for another 10 years (unlikely) or another 2. Who knows. There feels like huge risk there spending thousands.

I say this as someone that has plenty of other things to spend that sort of money on.... work to the house, hubby would like a nice summer holiday next year... but also I earn well and pay for things, I don't borrow, so I'm quite risk averse in what I spend on. I spent a couple of years saving for my lorry, earning bonuses etc to buy basically outright 😂

So I know I either suck it up and pay (anything over 5k starts hurting my brain!!), or pay cheap and hope I get something that I can turn into what I want. Or buy another youngster which didn't work out too well last time 😂
 
alsxx said:
Yes quite possibly your post!! I'm probably in a similar situation, I want to go out and do a decent dressage test too, ideally BD, and a bit of jumping on the side just for fun. Annoyingly I have something that moves beautifully in the field and is always fawned over, but is alas broken.
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I have exactly the same situation - mine has uveitis at 4 - he is so beautiful and moves like a dream. I just don't think anything compares unless it is 15k upwards. It is so soul destroying watching them in the field. I bet your the same as me and don't really want to make do....but I am not sure I can spend the money again!
 
alsxx said:
Yes quite possibly your post!! I'm probably in a similar situation, I want to go out and do a decent dressage test too, ideally BD, and a bit of jumping on the side just for fun. Annoyingly I have something that moves beautifully in the field and is always fawned over, but is alas broken.
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Spanish Dressage said:
I have exactly the same situation - mine has uveitis at 4 - he is so beautiful and moves like a dream. I just don't think anything compares unless it is 15k upwards. It is so soul destroying watching them in the field. I bet your the same as me and don't really want to make do....but I am not sure I can spend the money again!
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Out of interest what are you both wanting to achieve in dressage? What would be your goals?
 
Squeak said:
Out of interest what are you both wanting to achieve in dressage? What would be your goals?
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For me, not having been inside white boards for 10 years (young family, still kept riding though) I want to ideally affiliate and work gradually upwards, to get to elem would be great. Further than that, absolutely, but I'm not aspiring to GP or anything!!
 
Squeak said:
Out of interest what are you both wanting to achieve in dressage? What would be your goals?
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I have been stuck at novice forever due to an older horse, horses without ability etc. I know you will say it's all about the training, which I know it is to a degree but I am competitive and want to do well. Getting to ele/medium upwards is the goal. The new ele tests are a big step up from novice.
I would happily have any breed but it must move well and have a good hind leg. I have got to regionals at prelim/novice but nowadays it's hard to get much further without the right horse.
 
BACR said:
They are super aren't they and so many variations in the breed. At the RoR training we went to there was us, and mine is quite a tall but light framed horse, then there was a huge big strapping old fashioned NH type who looked more like a middle weight hunter and also an ex flat mare who was shorter but really nicely built. All were beautiful, talented and getting on with the work happily, which was a great fun poles and grid session. I might pop over and put a post on the ex-racer thread, although not many people seem to be using that lately.
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Do post on the ex racer thread. I don’t tend to as mine is 21 so hopefully retrained 😁 but love reading about others progress on that thread. I have a fab picture of my show hack ex flat horse in an ror class next to a big NH horse shown as hunter. Looks like I’ve brought a pony to the class.
 
I bought a seventeen year old TB to do PC and dressage, I think just going to the track blew his mind, so he had spent most of his life showing, and he was never lame apart from a nail prick while we had him. His main negative was he had thin soles, had bad seperation anxiety, and hated open spaces on his own.
I think you need to know how much work they have done and what sort, I would buy something I had seen ridden out but not from the field.
My neighbour bought a young ex racing TB, really good in traffic, but it threw her and she ended up with a fractured pelvis and broken ribs. I would only get a young one if you had the right faciliies and time.
 
humblepie said:
Do post on the ex racer thread. I don’t tend to as mine is 21 so hopefully retrained 😁 but love reading about others progress on that thread. I have a fab picture of my show hack ex flat horse in an ror class next to a big NH horse shown as hunter. Looks like I’ve brought a pony to the class.
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Thanks, I'll pop in there this afternoon and post. I've got a cracking still from a video of him snoring over a 95 oxer but he'd have comfortably cleared 1.10 and he still doesn't even feel like he's trying! I'd love to see the picture of yours and the big NH horse. I love seeing how different they look, I secretly want to have one of those huge NH types (as well as mine, he's never going anywhere).
 
Go for it! If I had the money, I would get one. My fancy Arabaloosa who I bought as a yearling broke herself at rising 4, just after backing and hasn't come right enough to be started under saddle again since (she's 5 now). Just shows you never know
 
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