finding your horse

[Shavings]

First let me say PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!! DO NOT!! name people or dealers!!
we don't want to get in trouble now do we!!

just wondered how ever one found there horses?

was it on the internet ? through a friend? maybe in the paper?

just being nosey sorry!!

please remember do not name people !!

if you wish to share the details please pm me and do not post them here!!

(just wondering as will be looking for new horse in next 12 months)

 

[BigRed]

I got my last horse via a friend. She was surplus to their requirements and I had her on loan for a couple of years before they let me buy her. Best money I ever spent. Now she has died I am finding it impossible to replace her. I find that very few people tell the truth about the horse you go to see. I am actually on the verge of giving up now.

 

[Shavings]

oh big red i am so sorry for your loss
but don't give up !! there is the right horse out there for every one, just takes some look detective skills to find the right horse

 

[wattamus]

I found mine on a completely random website for free equine ads. All the locations were like "hampshire" "cornwall" "yorkshire" etc and there was one that said "burstwick" ( a village 4 miles from me ) anyhow i went to see her, got a free loan (didn't have to pay/ do anything just turned up and rode) and then two years later i bought her off the owner for £500 im sure things wont be this easy but i did spend months and hours of searching on websites to find my horse of a lifetime : good luck for your upoming search!

 

[Shavings]

bump

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Chestnut mare via a bloodstock agent.
Grey filly from an ad on Arabianlines.
Bay mare given to me by a friend.
Chestnut gelding via the man who came to shoot our wild rabbits.

 

[Chestnuttymare]

I found mine because a woman i knew had gone to a dealer for a pony to sell on, she fancied herself as a bit of a dealer herself. saw a big chestnut mare down in a field on her own. The dealer told her not to bother as she was a nutter. She saw it as a way to make a few bucks as if she was that bad then she would be going cheap.
she brought her back and put her in a field with a pony. She called me and said she had the perfect horse for me. No mention of the nutter thing at this stage, that came out later. I went to see her and thought she was lovely, she was the most gorgeous colour but she was ribby and you could see every muscle but had no covering. She had been a racehorse in Ireland and the dealer had bought her at a sale over there.
I rode her from the field up to the farm and was passed by various tractors, trailers, vans etc and she was fine. I did have a feeling that something wasn't quite right and there was something bubbling.
Long story short, I bought her and about a week after she had what I can only describe as a nervous breakdown. Mentally she was a mess.
I told the person i bought her from and she said she would take her back and just have her shot!
Anyway, I kept her and with work and help from a really good horsewoman, I ended up with my horse of a lifetime, she is an absolute dream. Brooke has been with me for almost 9 years and is about 23. We still get out and about and hack for miles. That is her in my sig.
Good luck with your search, you too Big red, really sorry for your loss. I know how hard it is.

 

[indie999]

I got my last horse via a friend. She was surplus to their requirements and I had her on loan for a couple of years before they let me buy her. Best money I ever spent. Now she has died I am finding it impossible to replace her. I find that very few people tell the truth about the horse you go to see. I am actually on the verge of giving up now.

I have given up after the last one threw me off with a big buck and "never ever bucks"!
Am sick of the porkers and I thought they seemed decent people(went with the money £3K and thankfully didnt hand it over)! So I completely understand as my old plod is a field ornament now and I just dont think I am going to ever find another either. He is supposed to be the companion but I just enjoy looking after him although I am now wondering how long he is going to last with his arthritis etc.

Sorry to sound so negative. But I only looked at a handful when I found him and now with hindsight realise I was very lucky indeed.

But I found the old boy in H&H in a little tiny advert under Family pony..very brief concise and no pic but went to see him 13 years old. The lady caught him in her stilletos and he just fell asleep outside the stable and we knew straight away that he was going to be ok! I got on him straight away and everything went well. My experienced person cantered him towards home and a bus let off its air breaks as well and didnt bat an eyelid.Deal done!! No he wasnt doped! I was lucky.

 

[Bernster]

Word of mouth may be the best way to find one, and via friends, but that's so hit and miss it would take for ever.

I've had mixed success. Two bought from private homes were brilliant and just as described. Two bought from dealers didn't turn out so well. I wouldn't go back to either of them although have had friends buy from one of them (big dealers in SE) and been pleased with what they got.

Would always go for a private home if poss where you can get some history, photos and competition results (if not affiliated).

 

[sharky]

I looked at every website (horse and hound, horsemart, horsequest, horse trader, horse deals etc etc), Hunt forums, riding club forums, livery yard websites in the area, cards in tack shops etc.random google searches, dealers websites, friends with other horses at yards, friends who run a tackshop

I finally found William my gorgeous 17.1 Hannovarian TB X on Horse and Hound but was amazed at what some people say and blatently lie when i'm totally honest as a buyer.

I wanted a school master that can carry a 6ft 15 stone man who is a total novice and can teach me without being too forward or too lazy and i told every seller EXACTLY my capabilities

One person even tried to sell me a 4yr old "schoolmaster" who is a bit green jumping ???? .... i mean, really!! I might be a novice but i'm not an idiot.

Like BigRed said i was on ther verge of giving up too as must of travelled thousands of miles and over many many weeks till i found William - i wasn't even going to look at him as i just wasn't sure, but best decision ever as i now have the best horse for me ever, to which everyone tends to agree inc my RI - thankfully

just stick at it as there really are good honest people out there who want the right person for their horse, sadly you have to filter through a lot of lies and crap to get there

 

[Aidey]

Bay cob - out the Loot (paper)
chestnut pony - farmers guardian newspaper
Palomino pony - local dealer
coloured pony - unknowingly popped out of the palomino pony
bay TB - another local dealer
appaloosa WB - reputable dealer who imported WB's
chestnut TB - ad on horse deals
chestnut foal - ad on another forum

 

[JennBags]

First horse from an advert in one of the free mags. He was the first horse I tried, and then couldn't find anything that gave me the same feel - he wasn't an easy horse but I still have him almost 10 years later, he's now 28.

Second horse was from a dealer in Warrington, I saw his ad in H&H and fell in live with him. Not a great buy, and 2 years later had to have him PTS.

Third horse was on Horsequest. Almost didn't go to see him as thought he might be too much for me, but I knew he was my horse the second he stepped out of the stable . Have had him for 6 weeks and he hasn't put a hoof wrong yet

 

[rhino]

Went to see a horse advertised in the local free ads. It wasn't as it had been described (mega green) and the owner suggested a dealers local to her. Phoned and arranged a visit but turned up to find they had 3 geldings and loads of mares - I needed a gelding!

1 was ok, nothing special and had a conformation issue which most probably wouldn't have prevented it competing at low level.
1 was a grey crib biter, talented though!
1 was a beautiful 8 year old warmblood, good confo, bsja winnings and a VERY easy temperament. I was sure he would be well out of budget (easily worth £3.5 - 4k plus at the time) but they were only asking £2k

I have never heard a bad word about the dealer and a number of friends have also bought from them.

(They are based central/west Scotland if anyone wants to pm me if they are looking)

 

[BillyBob-Sleigh]

I started riding my friends mare when she become pregnant and caught the riding bug again good 'n' proper! I loved her mare so much that I went to the same breeders she bought her mare off and saw my boy there waiting for me. He may as well have a sign outside his door saying "Belongs to Jess" I offered to buy him the same day, and even though I type this with a broken leg after he chucked me off at his first ever Arena Hunter Trials he is the best horse I've ever had!

 

[BorgRae]

Well, I went to a dealer that was close me (Couple of miles down the road). I had been pondering the thoughts of buying my own for a while and so A) wanted to see what I could get for my money, and, B) wanted to see the type of horses said dealer had. I was looking for a 10 (ish) year old school master, the horse of my dreams...

Well, little did I know I would leave that day having shaken hands on a horse that was nowhere in a million years what I wanted I just fell in love with him, there and then!! Poor lad was skin and bone! He neighed at me and that was it, love at first sight…

However, he was a 3 year old, un broken, stallion oops!!!

I've had him 4 years now . I’m not gonna lie, there’s been blood sweat and many tears, but he is indeed the horse of my dreams. I love him more than I could ever have imagined... it was a risk, but thankfully the risk most definitely paid off!

He's my dream boy!!!

 

[Shavings]

coloured pony - unknowingly popped out of the palomino pony

That is is the best way of finding a pony i ever heard!!

and rhino I might take you up on that offer in the new year

i know what i would like, got the most beautiful image in my head, but i am willing to change some things if the right horse came along just know its going to be a long road to finding my pony (due to past injury cant take any more risks) but i am willing to go down that road, to find a friend who life
(poor bl**dy horse will be spoilt so rotten it might need to see a dentist!!) lol

 

[arizonahoney]

Horsequest >> First Ponies over 13.2hh

Private sellers, girl was about to outgrow him and they were happy to sell him to an adult who would not hammer him.

I would say that he is not really a first pony (bit too quirky for that), but we have lots of fun and he certainly stands out in a crowd!

 

[chestnut cob]

Through my old YO. I had a mare on loan who was going back to her owner to retire and YO's dad asked if I was interested in looking at a horse belonging to some people he worked for. They have loads of horses (polo people and breeding) and were moving on the general riding horses as the daughter lost interest. They'd bred all of them to event though she'd done very little and most were chucked out in the field. One was dragged out of the field for me to look at then I was told a few days before it was a dreadful headshaker so it was PTS. Then they called to say they'd got something else out of the field that I might like, so went along. Most of the eventers (those with a BE record) were for sale and this horse was for loan, as he shivers so they didn't want to sell him on. Tried him, quite liked him but wasn't smitten so they suggested I trial him for a month. Had a v busy trial month including hacking, schooling, jumping lessons and hunting... loved him and so he stayed. That was 3.5 years ago

 

[superted1989]

I found Markie whilst just generally browsing NFED. His ad just jumped out!
Went to see him (I'd already been told the ad picture was 5 years old) and he was perfect. Loads of character and exactly the right size and build. Didn't haggle over the cost (about double what I really wanted to spend!) and did the deal then and there.
It's turned out far far better than I could have hoped. He came back into work easy as pie, had a very successful show season and is almost perfect. There's been some teething problems, mainly him knowing he's a cobnobasaurus and trying it on!

 

[Mlini]

Mine was on Preloved & Horsemart. After weeks of trawling adverts at work, he was the one I kept going back to look at and the only one that ticked all my boxes

 

[Moomin1]

I decided to buy my second horse two years ago after an 11year break from riding altogether. I never thought I would find another after my old pony died years ago, but decided to take the plunge when I finally became more financially settled. I scoured the internet, mainly horsemart, for a month or two, and eventually went to see two horses (different locations) in one day. First one was lovely and extremely well bred, but was only 5 and really had far too much potential for what I wanted (happy hacker with poss a bit of local showing!). Didn't think I would have the time to put into a young horse and wanted something a bit more experienced and happy to be ridden as and when without doing their nut! Second one took my heart immediately, didn't want a mare really as have always been a gelding person, but she just seemed perfect for what I wanted!! Private seller who advertised on Horsemart. Very genuine woman who answered all of my questions in depth and was always available (and still is) by email. Passed 5 stage vetting with flying colours and brought her home a few weeks later! She has lived up to every expectation, and although I never thought I would say this, has taken my heart as much as my old pony did all those years ago - something I never thought could happen! We have had our moments, and she is maybe a little more sharp than I wanted back then, but I have developed the confidence again to deal with that and wouldn't swap her for the world!!

 

[Kat]

I had been looking for over a year and had given up more than once as I was getting so disheartened. It was difficult to find something suitable to share with the husband that was right for both of us.

We'd had a few time wasting sellers, a failed vetting and the usual nice but just not quite right ones.

After seeing one that was nearly but not quite right in the november we had decided to give up until spring. Then in February we got a phone call from our old instructor who had seen a horse on Facebook, it was being sold by someone she had done some work for in the past and knew was legit. The horse was smaller and younger than we wanted but close and well within our budget so we thought we hadn't got much to lose.

Despite some hitches we ended up buying her and she is absolutely brilliant!

 

[tinap]

Found our 1st pony in the FreeAds paper, were looking for an 11.2hh 2nd pony but it seemed that was a non-existent request so got a LR pony instead.

2nd one was an impulse buy off a friend who had rescued a 12.1hh but had no-one to bring it on so I bought it for h

 

[tinap]

Arghhh dumb phone!!

Bought it for my daughter to bring on.

3rd & current pony I found on horsequest for sale by a private seller. He was 2 hours away - I thought he was fat & ugly, daughter fell in love!! Nearly 4yrs later they are doing fab together & I love him to bits!!

 

[Pocket_Rocket]

I found my boy on the Internet in fact every horse I went to see I found on the web. I think word of mouth is the best way but not very often that happens. You do have to be very careful though like you say unfortunately there are a lot of dishonest people out there that just want the money and couldn't care about the horse. I only found 1 or 2 genuine sellers all the rest were dishonest. I can not stress enough that you must see a horse ridden before you get on any unknown horse. One dealer wanted me to get one of his horses I refused said I wanted to see it ridden first to be sure it was safe. He get on it and the horse reared and reared and spun he had to jump off it before he got thrown off it! Good luck though I'm sure you will find something

 

[Serephin]

I found mine on here! Poster was looking for a sharer, which I was for a while, then I bought him.

Having been to see countless horses via horsemart etc which were not as described or just not for me, it was relief to find my boy. He is a star.

 

[ShadowFlame]

Via window (cough) shopping on the internet. Preloved. He was local, the advert grabbed me, the rest is history

 

[depurple1]

First horse was from a reputable dealer. If I was looking for a showjumper I would go back to him.

Current horse was word of mouth. I called a dealer, who had nothing suitable but had a friend who was thinking of selling a horse who ticked my boxes. I ended up buying him - he's been hard work but is now coming on nicely

 

[JumpingJacks]

Through a friend of a friend. Heard that her old owner was wanting to get rid of her. I went down to try her that day. Rode around the farm tracks bareback as they didn't have a saddle for her and he dropped her off at our field straight away . Told us that we could have her for a month and if we didn't like her he would take her back and if we did we needed to pay the money for her at the end of the month.
Bit of a funny situation but she has turned out the most trustworthy horse i have ever met . She has now been outgrown so is now in a pony club at a local school teaching children how to ride. She is a firm favourite.

 

[Daytona]

I'd never buy private, I will only buy horses from two dealers , one close to me the other one about 80 miles from me. I trust them and also know if things don't work out I have a come back.