Bad weekend viewing to buy - sorry it's v v long!!

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doolally_tap

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I'm feeling like a hopeless rider.
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I'm looking for a horse to buy and have had three viewings so far this weekend. (horse has to be sane and sensible)

I know it's gonna take time to find the right horse but the viewings have really left me feeling like a crap, incapable rider:

Viewing 1 - Saturday - 14.2hh 11 yr old tb x bay mare

I arrived to find the owners had caught the horse and brought her out of the field ready for my arrival (even though I had asked for her to remain out so that I could see her being caught). Ground checks went swimmingly, impeccable manners from the ground, very clean horse, no lumps/bumps or hot spots. Stood quiet and calm all the time.

I asked to see her ridden. She was tacked up - happy mouth bit, flash noseband, martingale with breast plate. Her owner mounted and immediately the horse's temprement switched. Her nose was in the air, and she jogged instead of walked and you could totally see the excitement in her. The trot was just about controlled, slightly uncontrolled at some points. Canter was definately dicey, racing around corners, nose still in the air. I watched her a bit more and decided that I wasn't even going to get on her. End of viewing 1!

Viewing 2 - Saturday - 15.2hh 12 yr old tb bay mare

Horse was in field without halter, as instructed. Brought into yard. Did all ground checks, again no areas of concern. Chatted to owner about horse's general nature and she said she was laid back and not at all sharp unless you asked her to be. She was very honest and said that the horse would put in a small buck if you were too strong with your leg (eg. if you asked for a more forward going trot and the mare gave you it - but you asked for it again unnecessarily).

I watched her being ridden and she was lovely. She was ridden in a KK bit (never even heard of it before!) Got on her myself and again she was lovely, I felt relaxed on her. She did, however, put in a buck (not even big enough to unseat me) which made me feel like I was riding her wrong.

However by the end of the viewing the owner had taken a call from someone who had viewed her previously and accepted an offer subject to vetting. The horse was nice, but I didn't feel 100% confident on her to make me want to put in an offer. End of viewing 2!

Viewing 3 - Sunday (just got back) - 15hh 8yr old Halfinger Gelding.

Lovely on the ground, nicely mannered, good clean horse. However was only gelded early this year (a little late methinks). The owners rang alarm bells for me really - looked like dealers in disguise! Horse was imported from Holland only 2 months ago.

Watched him ridden - snaffle mouth. Girl riding seemed fine and the horse was pacey, but seemed relaxed and controllable. Fab in traffic - saw him getting passed by two motorbikes and an ambulance with flashing lights (no siren!) - horsey didn't flinch a bit.

I got on him - he was instantly nappy, not wanting to listen to me, trying to head back to the stables and being generally very strong. The owner said I didn't have my reins short enough - but if I shortened them any more my hands would have been in his mouth!! Didn't feel confident enough to even try him in canter, we were on an uneven field next to a road and I just wasn't taking the risk. End of viewing 3!

Now I just feel really really disappointed - and a crap rider to boot.
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Maybe I should just buy a donkey.

If you've read all of this - well done!!!!
 
You sound very harsh on yourself ... its only been 3 veiwing


Chill and stop being so harsh
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Takes time to find the right horse and your doing all the right things and not jumping into buying the first horse you see .

These things take time and there is plenty of horses out there and im sure the perfect one will come along , just be patient and not so harsh on yourself x
 
ive read all this and say, dont give up. ive had a nightmare too and its all worked out for the best, honestly, this next viewing could be the ride of your life and the horse of your dreams. i rode on, 1st viewing, had not even walked him out of his yard and he bolted on me, took me for ages bucking and then smashed up the side of the car. another we viewed we paid for the vetting, long story wont bore you but the owners lied and it could have cost us thousands if my oh had not been so observant nor the vet soso good. i gave up and nearly cried with emotional rollercoastering, however my oh didnt and went to see one for me with a friend and they were convinced, so i rushed up the next morning with a backlog of viewers wanting to buy, didnt feel i rode well, oh filmed me and said we worked well, wasnt convinced but went with it. never been so happy in all of my life as i have been in the last 10 days, yes only had him 10 days,2 rides in the school, 4 hacks out, and the calmest canters ive had in 10years so please please keep going, its very hard to do it and its harder than buying a house but worth it in the end. hope this helps.
 
Good heavens dear, you might have to kiss an awful lot more frogs than THAT before you find your prince! lol
I've a good mind to slap you for your negativity....in fact I shall.....*slap, slap!*......there, you can have two slaps for good measure!

How does this make you a cr*p, incapable rider? Get a grip & lose that negativity! I actually admire you for knowing the horses you viewed were not right for you! Well done, many potential horse owners don't get that far! lol

Take a truly sensible (honest & capable!) friend with you for moral support & don't view the unsuitable ones as 'failures' on your part!
You don't sound hugely confident, so maybe try looking at some of the more cobby types? (They're not all rubbish y'know!)

Cheer up, you might not find perfection but I've met enough all-round nice horses in my time, to know they ARE out there!
 
You're probably not useless at all but it may be that you are over-horsing yourself by looking at thoroughbreds as they do tend to be more lively than cold-blooded types. On the other hand some cob types can be very nappy and strong willed and can be just as much of a handful! Just take your time and the right one will come along - better to wait and find a horse you truly feel comfortable on and, if in doubt, don't buy.
Good Luck.
 
oh dear, I wouldn't worry too much. Find one you feel comfy on, my BL I tried out for 3 hours (was in england for one day so all at once) and by the end was so comfortable on him it was unbelieveable. The third ones sound like the rider was 'hiding' all the faults that became obvious when you got on. Have you a friend to take with you?
 
You have done EXACTLY the right thing in walking away from all these horses. Imagine how horrid it would be if you bought one because you felt you *ought* to, then you started having lots of probs.

I saw 5 at one yard & I only got on one of them cos the rest were naughty, so don't think you're feeble. You're not hurt & you've still got your money & you've also gained some experience, so that looks like win-win-win to me!!
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so maybe try looking at some of the more cobby types (theyre not all rubbish)

cobs are selling quicker than alot of breeds now / fetching tonnes of money and are incredibly popular due to their all roundmanship and willing to please their owners whilst being safe for all of the family
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everyone has their personal tastes of course but ive ridden 24 years, most of that on tb and wb and i decided to go for a more safe but just as fun option, roll on our first show on the 17th.

good luck again and enjoy.
 
I had simular problems! Looked at over 15 horses before I found pickle. It just takes time to find "the one". That horse that you instantly feel right with.

Also try and ask lots of questions on the phone to try and make a short list, allthough I know some owners are less honest then others! I had a few strange ones, it happends to everyone!

I had one I went to see it, seemed quite nice they rode it, then I rode it. Owner then asked If I wanted to try jumping it, I said ok, they put up a roughly 2ft 4 jump, I got horse over. Owner then said "oh wow no one has managed to do that in a long time you two were meant to be!" on that note dad got annoyed and we left!

Wish you Luck

Not every horse will be right! some people are lucky finidng the perfect horse straight away but most arnt so lucky!
 
I had a knowledgeable friend with me yesterday for the first two viewings. Today I had my oh with me (who knows nowt!!)

I know I'm being too negative, but I guess my disappointment boils down to the fact that maybe I'm not as confident and capable a rider as I thought I was. These are all horses which have been advertised as "not a complete novice ride", which I interpreted as being someone like me - experienced but needing a safe and sensible horse.
 
I remember trying a horse with a friend, went on a 190 mile round trip, when we got there we couldn't ride it cos they didn't have tack for it!!! we left not amused
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maybe im missing something here but why dont you like dealers? if this is your first horse GO TO A DEALER. i cannot stress how important this is. not wanting to put you off but soooooo many people are fooled into buying the wrong horse.... just look at the posts here! more experinaced riders can cope with bad behaviour and can even correct it, but if you are looking for your first you dont want your confidence bashed. you need it boosted by a wonderfull, special friend.


Dealers by law give you a trial peroid, if anything goes wrong you can swop it for another one.
THEY ALSO HAVE LOADS IN THAT SHOULD SUIT. so stop wasting you time looking at "not as described" not what you need horses, and GO TO A DEALER. you have loked at 3 today all no good how long did this take you? how much petrol did you use?
how about seeing 5-6 at one yard and knowing that you stand an excellent chance that one will be suitable?

dont forget, if anything does go wrong with a dealer you have the law on your side. however if anything goes wrong with a private deal .... sorry!

why dont you ask for recommended dealers, bound to be loads. i have alawys ended up buying from a dealer as people.
the only place i know of that may be able to help, if you have £3k to spend you could try carron nicolls in warkshire. she has got some lovely horses and may be able to find a little gem for you at this price? she advertises in the HH but maily deals in comp horses, but you never know. My horse was from here i have had her a year now and was exactly what i was after.

good luck!
 
yep mine came from a sales livery, slightly different to a normal one and i had a head start as the owner had bought mine from her friend who had had him years for herself but sadly needed to raise cash for a vets bill and mine was "more sellable". the "had no tack to ride him" story was funny, i went to see one obviously not ridden for some time (i forgot this viewing as it was so unmemorable) and then i asked to see him tacked up, they couldnt find a saddle and tried to convince me "he was ridden this morning". when the girl got on she said "oh he feels tiny" - why, did he shrink since that morning??? they insisted on a nose muzzle, i could see why, he head shook terribly. anyway, another couple of grand more and i got the perfect gent. KEEP GOING and expand your search to dealers BUT set yourself a travel limit, i set mine back down to an hour so its not too time consuming nor disheartening, the vetting that went wrong was over 2 hours away! i bet youve fallen in love by this time next week, ok, not bet but hope xx
 
I think you maybe need to sit down and work out what sort of 'type' you want. If you've looked at a TB and then a Haflinger - they're 2 very different breeds with very different temperaments etc. I think you need to work out what sort of qualities you want (ie. safe and sane?) so that'll narrow it down to possibly native / cobby types?
 
I've felt exactly the same as you. In fact it was me and my OH buying one together so we both had to try them out (me who had only been back riding a year after a very long break and OH who had only rode a year full stop). I tried two horses and felt so rubbish it prompted me to find somewhere better to have riding lessons. I left it about 8 months before looking again and after 4 more horses (with a good few weeks/month inbetween due to me being fussy and budget) I found my new horse. Don't worry about your riding, you can't expect to get on a horse you've never ridden before and be perfect. Just make sure they're sensible and you feel in control.
 
Don't feel disheartened after only a couple of viewings. You've done the right thing in having the guts to say that you didn't even want to try riding the first horse. Sometimes you can feel a lot of pressure to ride the horse (especially if you have gone a long way & the owner has made a big effort to present it nicely etc) but if you get warning bells you are better off not riding. OH & I travelled a long way to see one horse for him, when we got there it looked a bit unsettled in the stable & didn't really settle when was ridden for us, but OH got on anyway as we had driven so far ... to cut a long story short he ended up on the floor ...

Took me a year to find my 2nd horse, mind you I am v fussy and had lots of criteria it had to meet ... but the ringing up & going to see horses weekend after weekend can get depressing. Just don't settle for one that isn't right just because you are fed up looking!

Oh, and one of my tips is to take along a video camera if you have one, get yourself filmed riding - it really helped me, good to look back on & notice things you might not have seen initially.

Good luck!
 
Try not to get too downhearted, I looked for months and saw loads and loads of horses before I found mine. I saw some real nutcases described as "sane and sensible", one hideously ugly fat cob described as "county level show standard", and a lot that just weren't suitable for me or me for them.

You'll find something!
 
are you riding at mo???

and are you sticking to your 'wishing list' when buying you really do need trueful to yourself about what you really really want .

Take a friend who knows your riding or an instuctor, or have your thought about a good dealer?
 
Don't knock yourself, you will find the one, as you've seen my post of me with George you know it can be done! Just remember I am the eejit who fell off the third horse she looked at and broke her nose and finger!!

Good luck, there is a George out there for you too!
 
only 3 viewings! You did the right thing by walking away from them all. The right horse for you will be out there, but please, please be patient! You have to kiss alot of frogs etc.......
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I'm getting riding lessons in an indoor school once a week (one to one) with an excellent instructor. I also go out on the occasional rs hack. The horse I tend to ride on my lessons is an absolute dream - he's gorgeous in every way. If I could buy him I would - but I've heard through the grapevine that he has failed a few 5* vettings. He is often on box rest and often when I ride him he is coughing in canter.

Apart from today's viewing I've taken an experience friend with me.

I have nothing against dealers but have had my fingers burnt in the past by a dealer, so am pretty wary. It was the closest I've ever come to having my own horse - whilst I had her on trial she came into season and she went barmy. I had a very bad accident which hospitalised me, and put me off getting back in the saddle for a long time. Because I didn't want to 'exchange' the horse I lost a fairly hefty deposit when I returned her. The dealer turned very nasty and the whole experience has kind of stayed with me.

Saying that - I have an appointment at a dealer who I think is reputable next weekend. It's a 150 mile round trip, but I will at least be able to try out a few horses.
 
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