daughter moving from ponies to horses

Asha

Asha

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Hi All

Hoping you can help.

Sold my daughters pony ( very very sad day) as she was ready for the transition to horses.

When i set out on my hunt for the perfect step up, i decided that under no circumstances would we end up with a thoroughbred.

Tried a beautiful mare ISH, i assumed that was a mix of ID x TB. Shes 8 and is with a local young eventer.

daughter has ridden her at her current home, she was really very good. Tried her away from home and again really well behaved. Snaffle mouthed in all phases, and very light in the hand. Done a bit of everything and seems to be everything we want. The sellers assure me she has never put a hoof wrong, and is only for sale as her daughter is off to uni, they have had her for 2 years.

She is a full irish thoroughbred -never raced and not what i class as a typical thoroughbred as she is quite chunky, hence the assumption of IDxTB


A friend called and reminded me of my original criteria ! thinks i should reconsider and look for something more cobby.

daughter has done PC/local shows etc etc so isnt a complete novice.

Shes being vetted tonight.

Would it put you off for the first step up, just because shes full thoroughbred ???

Thanks
 
Not if it was every thing else I wanted nope. Theres a lot to be said for picking a horse based on its temprement and suitability rather than breed. As long as you have the support in place for once she arrives incase of any difficulties then go for it she sounds lovely.
 
Nope not at all, if she ticks all the boxes & your daughter feels happy on the horse then I would go for it.

When I was looking I the same as you new what I wanted to get & ended up getting something that was not in my criteria, but I felt right with him, so go with your gut. Good luck with the vetting :)
 
Nope, temprement and suitability would be far more important to me than breed for a teenager's first horse. However there are positives to a TB, the main one that you haven't got some enormous chunky beast that can use its strength against a skinny teenager! TBs are often far lighter to ride, and ride smaller, than an opinionated cob or draft cross! Hate to see teenagers over horsed, it can really knock their confidence.
 
Not at all. You can't just pigeonhole a breed into being one thing, particularly as tb's are so versatile. If you've found a cracker then go for it.
 
hi,

i know this feeling all too well, when i made the transition from ponies to horses it was rather hard!

my first horse was an ISH but was more TB in build than cobby lovely horse but did have her issues! although she rode as a pony not a horse (if that makes sense) she was only 15.3 so it didnt feel like a big leap from ponies, sold her due to uni, graduated uni and decided to look for another horse!

i always vowed i would never get a TB always heard bad things thought they were far too much hassle than they were worth. always liked the irish temperment so thought id look again for an ISH, saw a lovely irish x advertised went to see him, looked very similar in build to my last horse so thought nothing of it, anyway cut the story short brought him...... and hes fully passported french x irish TB! raced 10 times, obvs i got told he wasnt full TB and had never raced etc etc etc
if you can find out her passported name do abit of research, any horse that has raced will have a race card; simply put her name into the racing post website and it will bring anything up, also a google search will bring up anything including which sales she went through anything remotely related to her!

saying all this i love my boy and wouldnt change him for the world :D so my mind on TBs has definatly changed, if she ticks all the boxes in every other way dont let her breeding put you off :)
 
Thanks , youve put my mind at rest !

Its a big step, as the idea being shes with us for life ! Shes 15.3hds, so not massive , in my mind a perfect size and something i can get on too.

Thanks again :D
 
the right horse is sometimes not what you were looking for.

A year ago I was looking for something around 14.2hh 7+ years mare and definitely not coloured. I totally fell for the wonderful personality of a coloured 2yo 13.2hh gelding! I would have bought him if he hadn't been sold the day before..
 
alex2601 said:
hi,

i know this feeling all too well, when i made the transition from ponies to horses it was rather hard!

my first horse was an ISH but was more TB in build than cobby lovely horse but did have her issues! although she rode as a pony not a horse (if that makes sense) she was only 15.3 so it didnt feel like a big leap from ponies, sold her due to uni, graduated uni and decided to look for another horse!

i always vowed i would never get a TB always heard bad things thought they were far too much hassle than they were worth. always liked the irish temperment so thought id look again for an ISH, saw a lovely irish x advertised went to see him, looked very similar in build to my last horse so thought nothing of it, anyway cut the story short brought him...... and hes fully passported french x irish TB! raced 10 times, obvs i got told he wasnt full TB and had never raced etc etc etc
if you can find out her passported name do abit of research, any horse that has raced will have a race card; simply put her name into the racing post website and it will bring anything up, also a google search will bring up anything including which sales she went through anything remotely related to her!

saying all this i love my boy and wouldnt change him for the world :D so my mind on TBs has definatly changed, if she ticks all the boxes in every other way dont let her breeding put you off :)
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Thanks for the tip, just put her name into the racing post and came up with nothing. Thats a relief !
 
dafthoss said:
Not if it was every thing else I wanted nope. Theres a lot to be said for picking a horse based on its temprement and suitability rather than breed. As long as you have the support in place for once she arrives incase of any difficulties then go for it she sounds lovely.
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+1, judge the horse as an individual. I have several tb's after saying I'd never touch one. Mine are all good doers (too good), bond very well with individuals, smart and will walk on hot coals for you from what I've got. (Or lob buckets at you if your attention drifts :rolleyes:)

From running a livery yard I've learned to love a lot of breeds I'd never have touched with a bargepole before and to go from the horse itself not preconceptions.

Pan
 
My daughter sold her wonderful 14.2 irish cob when she was 12 as grew too tall. Like you we went on a hunt for a definitely not a TB, safe, solid blah blah and ended up with an ex-racehorse on loan.

At 14 she bought herself a 5 year old ex-racehorse of her own so as others have said, if the horse fits, it doesn't matter what breed, sex, size. 7 years later he's still with us, however has to put up with me now she's at uni.....

That said - if I could have her 14.2 back now for me in my dotage I'd be there like a shot with an open wallet!
 
I personally love TBs and I've just moved from ponies (I'm 15) :)
I had a TBx on loan for 6 months and that gave me the confidence to buy my own mad animal :)
He is also an Irish Thoroughbred who has never raced and is perfectly mannered to ride, rarely spooky and only occasionally does he have moments, I'd really recommend ypou go for it!

x
 
If the temperament is right & the horse is perfect, then breed doesn't matter to me. In my mid teens I used to ride a 16.3 Irish tb who'd been of the track about a year to help keep him fit for the busy working owner. He was better behaved than most of the ponies on the yard & the owner used to hack out with her daughter on the lead rein from him.
 
We went out determined to get a cob as our first horse, and definitely nothing with any thoroughbred in it as we wanted something completely laid back. Ended up with 3/4 ID, am assuming the other 1/4 is TB, but it was the best decision ever, he is just the perfect horse for us (in fact, saw some completely unsuitable cobs) at the end of the day, if you didn't know about the horse's breeding and you're happy then it shouldn't matter. :) best of luck
 
My first horse after ponies was a 16.3hh ex-racer who hadn't done anything but hurdle/ point-2-point :L He's brilliant :D He's verrry solid for a TB though so it took a while to get used to the massive step up but so worth it!!

Before him, I rode a very fine 14.2hh mare, and before her a 13.3hh cob so it was a big step up!
 
No- My daughter at 10 was regularly riding our friends 16.3 ex Pointer. The most genuine horse ever.
 
I love thoroughbreds BUT most of them ride very differently to a pony and it is the way a horse goes compared to a pony that makes the transition hard not the change in height. There are alot of horses that ride very similarly to a pony, personally I would be looking for one of these.
 
I have a daughter who is also moving to horses (once I sell the pony!)

We are also not wanting a TB, but if she does find the perfect horse & it happens to be a TB then I think I would probably have a change of heart :)
 
Great news, she passed a 5 stage vetting. Vet commented that she was a lovely sort and behaved impeccably. He thinks we will have a lot of fun with her.

Pick her up tomorrow, my daughter is now very excited.

Thanks for the support:D
 
I will NEVER judge a horse by breed or colour again !

So far my daughters horse is everything her old owners said she would be. My daughter is loving every minute, although having to learn to ride a totally different way, as she has horse paces rather than her lovely ponies, pony paces.

Also turns out my farrier knows her as he shoes for the previous owner, and knows shes a nice mare and has seen her out hunting.

Ive been on too, and can see why she wanted her.


Hooray for Irish thoroughbreds :)

Got a lovely text from our ponies new owner saying how wonderful he is and he is doing everything asked of him.

A couple of pics, to introduce Seren


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Ended up buying a WB for my 14 year old,very tall daughter 4 years ago and he has been fantastic.We still have him and would not part with him at all.If the horse has the right temprement and ticks the boxes go for it.Not all cobby types are suitable,in any case.
 
I'm 14 and I've just got a 16hh thoroughbred (an ex steeplechaser) my other pony is a 14.1 hh Arab x who rides like a horse though so there's not actually that much difference. I'm keeping fly for the rest if thi year though while I start work with tipsy so hopefully that will make the transition easier. Tipsy is far mire laid back than fly though and fir some reason feel safer on him so I'd never completely rule out a certain breed xx
 
Wundahorse said:
Ended up buying a WB for my 14 year old,very tall daughter 4 years ago and he has been fantastic.We still have him and would not part with him at all.If the horse has the right temprement and ticks the boxes go for it.Not all cobby types are suitable,in any case.
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elzandfly said:
I'm 14 and I've just got a 16hh thoroughbred (an ex steeplechaser) my other pony is a 14.1 hh Arab x who rides like a horse though so there's not actually that much difference. I'm keeping fly for the rest if thi year though while I start work with tipsy so hopefully that will make the transition easier. Tipsy is far mire laid back than fly though and fir some reason feel safer on him so I'd never completely rule out a certain breed xx
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Thanks both, my daughter is delighted with her new neddy. She has a lovely temperament and is starting to enjoy her cuddles.
She has a big hole left to fill from our pony.
 
My tall 11yr old daughter has just moved from a 14hh Conny x to a 15.2hh Show cob type. Can't believe how easy he transition has been for her. Guess it was good luck and a bit of decent judgement.
 
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