Buying a horse backed at 7?

[Horseperson432]

Currently looking at a horse that was backed just 1 yr ago… he’s currently 8 and so far has jumped up to 1.10m on a ticket (BS). From videos I can see he has a hugely scopey jump but as u would expect from a horse backed a yr ago he still needs the occasional thing to be “pulled together”. My question is would the fact he was broken late put you off in anyway? The only vice as such I’ve been told about so far is that he can get anxious and therefore requires a confident rider and with that he will be absolutely fine. Though part of me is wondering whether that anxiety is down to him doing so much in such a short space of time (especially with covid, he likely was pushed up the levels inanely quickly). If that is the case and it were to work out I’d obviously step back down for a bit/ do what is needed. Other than that which may be unrelated to his age (I’ll see if I try him!) should I be worried he was broken so late? Thanks

 

[EllieBeast]

If you know his history, how he’s been kept (ie turned out rather than cramped in a box his entire life) and If there is a legitimate reason for him being backed later, then I’d see it as a huge advantage, at least his body will have been well developed skeletally before he’s been asked to do any real work.

 

[Melody Grey]

I’d be suspicious of why he’s been backed so late, but if the history checks out and you trust it, it could be an advantage.

 

[horsimous]

Quite a few horses seem to sit in a field doing nothing for a variety of reasons. Suggest you view to see how green he is and check the reason why it was later.

 

[millikins]

I'd want to know his history. I would never again buy an unbacked or late backed gelding older than 4.

 

[J&S]

A gelding I might wonder about, a mare not at all. I have known ex brood mares become excellent riding ponies.

 

[Cowpony]

Yes I have a mare who was backed at 7. She was a broodmare in the early part of her life. She'd been well handled, so is very polite on the ground, and I think backing them later gives their joints more time to strengthen. I'd still want to know why a gelding was backed late though, as others have said.

 

[vhf]

Currently looking at a horse that was backed just 1 yr ago… he’s currently 8 and so far has jumped up to 1.10m on a ticket (BS). Other than that which may be unrelated to his age (I’ll see if I try him!) should I be worried he was broken so late? Thanks

I have 'done' a few later starters, including a TB who was unbroken at 7. I sold him at 8 too as it happens.
The older ones do seem to progress faster than the younger ones, partly because their bodies are more ready for it (you're careful what a 3/4/5yo does regardless of how 'easy' or physically mature it seems to be) and partly (apart from my semi feral 6yo) their brains seem more clued up to learning human centric behaviour. That 7yo was so easy in every way we were convinced he must have been in full work before and we'd been told a tale. However, when it got to the equivalent of Pre-novice eventing level activities and he was still going like he'd done it all before, we had to accept it was him.
If the story is genuine, my main concern would be whether he was genuinely able to progress at that speed or whether corners had been cut in a way that will come back to bite someone.

 

[MarvelVillis]

I'd want to know his history. I would never again buy an unbacked or late backed gelding older than 4.

Can I ask why just out of curiosity?

 

[Gloi]

If he was genuinely backed at 7 no problem.
If you have any suspicion he was backed at an earlier age and then left due to physical or behavioral problems that is a different kettle of fish.

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

I would want a lot more verifiable background and reasons for not backing at a more usual age, including but most importantly IMHO, access to his vet records if available.

 

[millikins]

Can I ask why just out of curiosity?

We bought a beautiful hackney/welsh unbroken at 6. He had a severe, underlying hip injury which the seller must have known about, she'd had him since weaning. Multiple vet/physio input and he wasn't able to put full weight through the hip. Declared unsafe to ride and unable to keep as a companion he was pts. He deserved better, he was a poppet.
And a Shetland, sold by someone I thought I knew which was also a disaster.

 

[stangs]

Can I ask why just out of curiosity?

If you’re getting an unbroken mare/stallion, you know they’ve probably been used for breeding. Whereas there’s nothing really to do with a gelding, so unless he’s been driven or done in hand showing etc, there’s a likelihood that he has some hidden problem that’s stopped him from being backed earlier. And if he’s unbroken, it’s tricky to find what that issue is before you buy.

For the same reason, I’m always suspicious of geldings being sold from the field.

 

[Gloi]

If you know the history it's ok. There were several horses near me in a field that the owner had bred and then got ill and they'd just been left with minimal care. They eventually got sold and broken in and were ok, just rather lacking handling. The eldest was about ten

 

[Lois Lame]

I think meet and talk with the owners. See how genuine they are. See where the gelding spent those years, if possible. Hopefully he had a decent amount of room to live in because natural exercise over large and varied ground is so good for their bones.

 

[Slightlyconfused]

My gelding we brought unbacked at 6.

We know the breeders, he was getting on in years and couldnt back him his daughter who was helping in between her fulltime job had a few to back to sold a few from feild to the right people.

 

[lannerch]

I think meet and talk with the owners. See how genuine they are. See where the gelding spent those years, if possible. Hopefully he had a decent amount of room to live in because natural exercise over large and varied ground is so good for their bones.

I would be worried about buying a newly backed at this age particularly for this reason , a certain amount of correct exercise while the horse develops has been shown to help strengthen the joints.
Obviously like most on here I would also be suspicious why he had been left so long so unless I personally knew the history of the horse it would be a no from me.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Definitely try and find out history. I have known people try to back a horse at 4/5. The horse has proved unrideable, they turn it out for a year and sell as unbacked!!