Buying a mature cob

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hol089

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Hi, I'm new to this forum but need some advice!

I'm currently loaning an 18 year old cob who is on schooling liver (I'd want to keep him on there as he loves his horsey friends) and lives out 24/7. He's brilliantly behaved and very patient, he was a bit lazy when i first started riding him as he's always on complete beginner lessons but he loves cantering he's fast and doesn't want to stop! He has no previous health problems apart from mud fever (his legs are fine now) allthough I would get a 2 stage vet check before purchase. The majority of people think he's lovely and a good purchase but a couple of people have really put me off with things like 'he'll retire in a few years' and 'he'll cost you a bomb in vets bills' I have considered the options if he retires and I wouldn't and couldn't sell him. I have also looked at insurance and had some quotes, Petplan will insure him up till 25, I realise this doesn't cover every eventuality however I do have a few hundred in savings and a very generous boyfriend!

Sorry to drone on but any advice would be much appreciated! :)

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18 is not 'old' these days and, depending on what you want to do with him, you could still have years left.
a young horse could cost the same in vet fees - thats just the way it is.

if it makes you feel a bit more optimistic, my 21yo is still jumping and there are people on here with horses in the late twenties/early thirties that are still being ridden to various degrees
 
18! He's practically a dinosaur and will probably pop off soon :eek::eek::eek::eek:
Haha he's in his prime! I think one of the Badminton competitors horses was 18 :D If he's happy with what he's doing and still enjoying it then there is no reason to stop. We have a 40 year old (no lie) at our yard who pootles about with little kids.
You might get landed with a few vet bills but if he hasn't had a hard life of work then he should be fine. My horse is 15 in feb and I've spent a small fortune in vet bills on her because of what she did in her earlier years. But sometimes its luck of the draw. If he's been healthy all of his life then there is no reason he will just suddenly come down with a disease :p
I would go for it! Good luck! xxx
 
I say go for it. I bought my horse 7 years ago - and he was 22 then. I have had the odd vet bill, for the usual things you would expect, nothing major. I love him to bits n have never regretted it. I also know people since who have bought young horses and been saddled with huge vet bills, you just never know. But at 18, thats a youngster these days. Good Luck!x
 
I purposely bought an older cob as a quiet plod................ he's a 19 year old traditional going on 6 year old TB, nothing like the plod I anticipated! He had a very clean bill of health from the vets and spent the summer competing against others a third of his age, in all disciplines, and beating lots of them too.
18 is the new 8!
 
my lad will be 18 next year... and he's currently hunting twice a week, and loves it. I've always said that I'll retire him when he stops wanting to go hunting or enjoying it.

in the 7 years I've had him, the only non-routine vet's bill I've had is for a bit of conjunctivitis - cost me £70 inc call out and drugs.... not the end of the world.

most of the more native types (cobs, true natives and anything with a bit of cold blood in them) are hardy, and will work at some level well into their twenties.

If you are happy that he's going to do what you want of him, and cope with it then I would go for it. :D he looks lovely!
 
I'd go for it! We have a 20 year old who still has as much energy as he did when he was a baby (if not more...) and is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down yet. Fingers crossed & touch wood he hasn't had any health issues either (he's a cob too!)
I know of many horses still going strong in their 20s, and even our "retired" 30something year old chases around like a nutcase. As long as they're well cared for, I don't think age is as much of a big deal as it used to be. He looks lovely, such a pretty face!
 
Thank you for all your replies :)

I love him to bits so at the end of the loan (only a month left now!) hopefully the hairy boy will be mine! Also glad to see not everyones writing off an older horse no one has been interested in him because he's 18, everyone seems to be after a younger model :(
 
My 19yo came 3rd and 7th in two unaff ODEs in Oct, going strong. It is an individual thing, if he is going fine he may continue to do so or drop dead next minute, you never know.

If you like him and can afford him and do most things you want on him, why not? list the why nots and whys and see how they measure up :)
 
go for it, one of mine was still being ridden at least 4 times a week for long hacks until she was 31,she then retired and she was pts at 35. she hardly cost me anything in vets bills in her old age. as others have said some younger horses cost loads in vets bills and sometimes dont even get to 18...good luck with him...
 
I'm about to start schooling at 17yo.... Go for it. All horses at my yard are over 15 bar one. All still fit to ride and oldest is 32.
 
blood_magik said:
18 is not 'old' these days and, depending on what you want to do with him, you could still have years left.
a young horse could cost the same in vet fees - thats just the way it is.
Click to expand...

Could not have put it better myself /\/\
My 21 yr old cob was fit as a fiddle on the whole and still being ridden up until I lost her to colic. I would say, as you know him and have a good partnership with him why not. 18 is not old these days :)
He looks very sweet, just my sort :D
 
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