Getting disheartened :(

SatansLittleHelper said:
Nor me....not terribly helpful :/
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I think the point being illustrated is that a true weightcarrier that is 100% safe and totally bombproof, in your preferred age range and sound with no vices, is likely to command a premium price - partly because most vendors will know this kind of horse is highly sought after, and also because it takes quite a bit of work to get a horse to this stage.

Doesn't mean you won't find anything, but you may have to look harder and longer, or compromise on something (like age, sex, experience or accept some sort of blemish or condition that doesn't affect the horse's suitability for you).
 
Ricky Sawyer on Facebook I selling a part bred Clydesdale. Looks lovely. Sorry, asked for details and he's sold.
 
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Don't know whereabouts you are but Mica Woods Equine Services on Facebook has some nice cobs around the price range you are looking for, chunky types, some around 16hh. She has lots of good testimonials too. x
 
Rather than travelling all around the country, why not increase your budget and look closer to home?

I'm moving my horse from Midlands to Dorset soon and that will be costing me £250! So rather than you paying to go down there to view and then also to transport horse back, why not just limit your search to abit closer to home and bump your budget to 3k. At 3k, you're far more likely to find the type you want as you can look at those advertised for 3.5k. Especially coming into winter, you're far more likely to find something more suited with a 500 increase in budget.
 
I do think that you should relax a couple of your criteria. Be prepared to consider mares and be prepared to look at horses over 10 yrs old. Horses, these days, live well into their 20s and beyond.
Personally I wouldn't compromise on the height. I am 5'9" and used to ride our 14.3hh chunky cob when she was in her prime but I always felt that she was very much at the shorter end of what I could comfortably ride (and she certainly took up the leg). So I can understand that you don't want anything under 16hh.

Will your horse have a field companion?
 
He's got a beautiful coloured cob called Robin for sale atm. EDT to say Blake also has a lovely id x advertised on his page.
 
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Hey SLH… getting disheartened is an essential part of looking for the right horse! I despaired as I searched for months and months, spent a fortune travelling and even lost a deposit at one point, but it was all SOOOO worth it to get my wonderful boy.

My best advice is to search online CONSTANTLY. Pick the sites you want to look at and look at them at least twice a day. Don't do this using filters - just look at anything thats been added since last time (sometimes the filters are wrong or miss out ads because they have a blank field). Have some absolute must-haves and ring up about anything that looks possible, ask lots of questions and arrange to go and see the promising ones as soon as you can. IME the key to getting the bargains (which is what you need) is to be first!

Also agree, the age thing is something you can relax. TBH its as easy to buy an unsound young horse as it is an older one - and actually some conditions only manifest themselves later (I bought a 6 YO who had arthritis at 8 for example, and navicular comes through after 4 years old I think). If a horse gets to 12 and it is sound then thats a good sign!

Good luck - really hope you find one as wonderful as my Bilbo because it will help you to heal x x
 
Thanks Ester and TGM - that IS what I meant - I think a genuine, safe, sensible, easy, up to weight and quality horse is unbelievably hard to find - and I would value it at more than 2.5k, particularly in the age range.

I posted quickly and should have explained more clearly - apologies
 
Thanks for all the links and info regarding dealers. I will be making some more calls tomorrow :)

As I said somewhere on this thread earlier, I am prepared to reconsider my age limits and even consider a mare (though I really do prefer geldings) but I really can't compromise on the height thing. Really 16hh+ is more ideal for me, I am very tall and I just feel silly on anything too small.

And yes the new horse will have my friends Breton mare as a field companion :)
 
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TGM said:
Don't get down about it, it takes time to find the right one.

How much do you reckon it will cost to keep your new one? Will you be paying livery? I'd put aside the weekly cost of keeping your new horse, every week you are searching, so your lump sum slowly increases. If you can up your budget just a little, you will find more suitable horses falling into your budget range.

Also bear in mind that as winter approaches and horse-keeping costs increase, vendors have a tendency to drop their prices to shift horses faster.
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Very good idea TGM, SatansLittleHelper this will keep upping the amount you have to spend, and get you used to not having the extra money to play with.
 
SatansLittleHelper said:
Thanks for all the links and info regarding dealers. I will be making some more calls tomorrow :)

As I said somewhere on this thread earlier, I am prepared to reconsider my age limits and even consider a mare (though I really do prefer geldings) but I really can't compromise on the height thing. Really 16hh+ is more ideal for me, I am very tall and I just feel silly on anything too small.

And yes the new horse will have my friends Breton mare as a field companion :)
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I would consider looking at horses advertised as a bit smaller than ideal for a few reasons. Partly because people are rubbish at estimating horse heights and are often wrong but also because horses can feel very different to ride. I am 5ft8 and have ridden horses that feel too small at 15hh but currently ride a 13.2hh pony who I love riding and feel great on. She has massive paces and feels much bigger when you are on board. My husband is 6ft2 and rides our 15.3hh and he looks a bit tall but then I have also seen him looking too tall on a 17.2hh clyde cross. It is all about proportions and the way you feel in the saddle not about the number on the measuring stick.
 
SatansLittleHelper said:
As I said somewhere on this thread earlier, I am prepared to reconsider my age limits and even consider a mare (though I really do prefer geldings) but I really can't compromise on the height thing. Really 16hh+ is more ideal for me, I am very tall and I just feel silly on anything too small.
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SLH, I'm the same height as you. This is me on my lovely 15.1hh unregistered section D, sadly long gone. I bought him as a 10 yo, with no competition history, and went on to get to Medium with him. More importantly, he was a complete gentleman and was enormous fun to ride. I could hack him solo through a busy town centre.

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These good horses do exist, but they are thin on the ground. I got this guy through word of mouth.
 
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