Anyone else middle aged and been seduced by a fancy warmblood?

[Hexx]

Not a warmblood, but a yearling cob that promises to make a good sized maxi cob.

He's 17 months old at the moment, so when he is ready to back I will be 55!!!! OMG what was I thinking!

 

[soloequestrian]

it also helps if you buy from a breeder or rider that does not have them under saddle ready to do the 3yr old classes as I am sure that has a lot to do with so many of the problems they can come with. It means paying a bit more but well worth it

This is what I'm going to try to remember from this thread - mine is is 4 and a half now and still hasn't been sat on. I don't have a saddle for her just yet. I'm not terrified or anything like that, no....

 

[Pinkvboots]

I would have another I loved my oldenburg mare she could loose the plot schooling but hacking she was 100% in every way, she didn't like being stabled I still have the door with the hole she chewed which my new horse is also keen on making even bigger, but she had the most loving way for a mare and was head turningly beautiful, I do often look at oldenburgs if I see any for sale maybe one day

 

[JJS]

I'm far from middle aged, but the only real hands-on experience that I have with a warmblood was a KWPN that I loaned at 19 or 20ish, and contrary to everyone else's experiences, he was a true dope on a rope. My other ride at the time was my old ex-racehorse mare, who also defied expectations in that she was really rather saintly. Said gelding was my less favoured ride because he was such a slow coach, but he was a truly lovely boy. We never managed to go up a gear from his big, sedate canter in the year that I had him, not even when we were out in company and everybody else was up ahead having a proper blast If I could have the pair of them back again, I think my long disappeared confidence would be restored in an instant!

 

[Reacher]

When does middle age start? I'm a week off being 35 and yet to look at a warmblood and think "That looks like a good idea"... I'm worried I have it coming. Hopefully I've bypassed it and will remain in sensible (mostly) cob phase.

We did do an exracer for my husband's mid life horse crisis. We survived, despite several suicide attempts by the seriously accident prone exracer, but it thrust us firmly into the current cob phase.

Just wait, your mid life crisis isn’t that far off!
At 35, having not had a rideable horse for several years, I bought an ex racer (having my first asked mr reacher if I could, then ignored him when he said no!).After 6 years of being tanked off in an out of control manner the mare went lame. After 3 months rest she was passed as sound for light hacking I decided to retire her as I was loaning another (older) ex racer school master type who I was able to do a lot more on.
When that horse had to retire at 19 I then bought at the age of 44 a 6 year old kwpn x ISH SJ.
Horse had problems from the start, atrophied back muscles from her old saddle ( not mentioned in pre purchase vetting) plus was eventually diagnosed with bone spavin. Having sorted back and hocks out, mare was still a nightmare, kept decking me, eventually had a fall resulting in concussion. Horse then went to a younger better rider to sort out and compete and prep for sale.
So 2 years after the mare sold I bought a Welsh x arab with whom I’m having SO MUCH FUN, doing arena eventing and hoping to do a little BE

 

[Greylegs]

Yes, I bought a stunning grey WB mare when I as in my mid fifties. She had amazing paces, could jump the moon and looked fabulous (when she was clean - which wasn't often!!) but I was scared stiff of her, couldn't ride her to her full potential and sold her on quite quickly. I now have the most adorable highland - safe, fun, very hardy but not a plod. Best (horsey) decision I ever made.

 

[tristar]

i have never liked them, but i did buy one as a potential stallion, because it was offered to me, i started to test it, it was too nervous end of story, i sold it to a world champion of showjumping, he did well with it, i could never have bred from it,

i then got a tres sangres spanish colt, who is the opposite, he breathes fire and is so bold and hardy, i tested him until he was six then bred from him, i still have him 15 years later, if i breed again i would only use him, no need to look elsewhere when my dream horse unicorn is outside the back door!

so whilst understanding the seduction for some people of warmbloods, i think it is so sad that much better horses in my opinion are not appreciated more, well they are by me anyway.

 

[PapaverFollis]

Just wait, your mid life crisis isn’t that far off!

Argh! Well if I start talking about liking warmbloods I expect some kind of intervention please. My husband is not a good influence when it comes to sensible horse purchasing... If I'd let him have a proper midlife crisis we'd have an AlkalTeke however you spell it. :lol:

 

[Reacher]

Argh! Well if I start talking about liking warmbloods I expect some kind of intervention please. My husband is not a good influence when it comes to sensible horse purchasing... If I'd let him have a proper midlife crisis we'd have an AlkalTeke however you spell it. :lol:

Haha, ok we’ll all keep an eye out incase you start talking about warmbloods or showing other other signs of a mid life crisis

 

[MotherOfChickens]

lol, no-I know my limitations. WBs and TBs were for my twenties, lusitano in my 30s, now very happy with my low maintenance natives thanks.

 

[MuddyMonster]

My native is far harder to ride than my previous WB ... Closer to the ground too, so I guess that's a plus.

 

[Mkw]

Well, not me, as I bought exactly what i needed (and wanted), a nice TB from the tracks to be used for hacking etc.
But my father, then 60 yo, bought a fancy WB two years ago. We had talked horse for almost three years. He needed a down to earth, easy to drive WB, that could also do a small competition every now and then, as my father is no longer young and didn't see himself compeeting on higher level, now that the old driving hors had retired. We looked at many horses fitting his needs, but he had already fallen in love with one particular WB, and that's the one he ended up getting. A tall, leggy, beautyful and definitely NOT easy to drive or handle gelding fit for driving at the highest level - that is, if you can actually handle him.
We are now two years on, and finally he has started calming down and beginning to relax a bit when away from home. He is a a wonderful horse though, just a bit of a handfull. And as he's only 8 yo my father will probably still be driving that handfull at 70, dreaming of the nice, calm and easy going horses we looked at before this one

 

[R2D2]

Glad to see I'm not alone! I do wonder if its the equine equivalent of a middle aged man buying a sports car. To be fair the other horse in my family is an elderly Welsh cob, and she still has her nutty moments, its just we know her so well it isn't a worry.

 

[Luci07]

Yes. And he was completely perfect and an absolute gentleman. Horse of an absolute lifetime and I was heartbroken to lose him. I have had numerous ISH who were much MUCH harder work. I will be staying with Warmbloods again as mine put a big smile on my face everyday and was one of the kindest horses I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

 

[Jellymoon]

Omg, you are not middle-aged at 35!!! I am 44 and I’m NOT middle-aged.

 

[Meredith]

You cannot be middle aged at 35. My children are older than that and they would dispute it vehemently.

 

[PapaverFollis]

I never said I was middle aged... I was simply enquiring as to how long I have left before fancy warmblood-based insanity sets in. 5 years? 10 years? When should I warn my family of my impending warmblood buying? My husband's exracer based midlife crisis hit him at 44 so judging by that I may have another 10 years of happy cob-dom... But is the midlife crisis dfferent for men and women? I am just asking so I'm prepared. :lol:

To be honest I reckon I've been having an ongoing quarter life crisis since I was 23 so I don't expect much will change anyway.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Omg, you are not middle-aged at 35!!! I am 44 and I’m NOT middle-aged.

Hate to break it to you but you are

 

[Sussexbythesea]

I never said I was middle aged... I was simply enquiring as to how long I have left before fancy warmblood-based insanity sets in. 5 years? 10 years? When should I warn my family of my impending warmblood buying? My husband's exracer based midlife crisis hit him at 44 so judging by that I may have another 10 years of happy cob-dom... But is the midlife crisis dfferent for men and women? I am just asking so I'm prepared. :lol:

To be honest I reckon I've been having an ongoing quarter life crisis since I was 23 so I don't expect much will change anyway.

I think it’s only a middle-age crisis if you suddenly get one in middle-age I got my first one before middle age therefore it’s just a false sense of ones ability rather than a crisis

 

[OldieButGoodie]

Yes!!! I bought a stunning 17hh KWPN gelding in a moment of madness during my late forties. He was an intelligent sensitive animal who had paces to die for and an elegant jump in him but was also prone to:

Jumping in & out fields - even a 6 bar gate (tackled from a standstill) wasn't a problem. As a result the very first time I put him out he ripped his hind leg and ended up on box rest.
Separation anxiety. Even if he could see horses in other stables or horses in the yard in front of him if there wasn't a horse in the stable directly beside him he'd freak. To the extent he'd try to jump over the lower door.
Bombing off in canter for no apparent reason (a leaf moved?).

The jumping out of fields habit resulted in him one day jumping out of a turnout paddock then flipping over his neck and back onto concrete. Thankfully he got up and was OK but this meant a year of physio and rehab.

Anyway I eventually ended up losing my confidence and I swapped him for my current IDx at a dealer. So I apologise to anyone who may have bought a gorgeous 11 year old chestnut KWPN gelding in 2014 from a dealer and found out that he was, ahem, a little quirky in places!