Have i made the wrong decision?

[EquestrianFairy]

I took on a loan horse with a view to buy 3 weeks ago: when i rode her at her place she was very forward going and had a lovely pop on her. I roder her 3 times which were all hacks with the owner and her other horse.

Shes been at mine for 3 weeks and due to various issues (saddler finding it hard to find a saddle narrow enough/her mouth being weirdly bruised and now needing her teeth doing) ive only managed to ride her a handful of times and during these times i have come to realise she has always been taught to follow other horses and when there is no one to follow she is clueless about what im asking of her and has no understanding of the whip etc.

Im sat here wondering if ive made a mistake and perhaps taken on a horse that needs a little more than i had first envisaged. I have her on loan until June before i make a decision but im torn on whether to work hard on her to see where we can get by June or cut my losses now and start looking again for something that i can carry on with.

Shes a sweet mare, has her vices but generally is very loving. I think im comparing her too much to my other horse who is perfect but too small for me BUT at the same time the idea was to just to have fun on this little horse and carry on with my small scale competing rather than start from the beginning or at least, somewhere near there!

 

[Ella19]

I think I would look again. Yes you could work with her but from your post I'm guessing you want something you can get on and go so to speak? I'd also be wary of finding it hard to get a saddle to fit. Have you had her vetted?

 

[Montyforever]

If you have the time and want to work with her do it If i was in your position i would send her back unless the purchase price had been agreed now at what she is worth now, otherwise you will be doing all the work that will make her worth more when the time comes to buy her.

 

[Wagtail]

I can't really advise without seeing the mare but it does seem odd to have a horse needing such a narrow saddle. Are you sure it is not just muscle wastage. I had a saddler once try to fit a narrow saddle on a horse that I knew was actually wide. It took a long while to convince him to fit a wide saddle and just pad it out. The horse then grew to fit the wide tree and the extra padding was removed in stages as he did so.

 

[diggerbez]

I took on a loan horse with a view to buy 3 weeks ago: when i rode her at her place she was very forward going and had a lovely pop on her. I roder her 3 times which were all hacks with the owner and her other horse.

Shes been at mine for 3 weeks and due to various issues (saddler finding it hard to find a saddle narrow enough/her mouth being weirdly bruised and now needing her teeth doing) ive only managed to ride her a handful of times and during these times i have come to realise she has always been taught to follow other horses and when there is no one to follow she is clueless about what im asking of her and has no understanding of the whip etc.

Im sat here wondering if ive made a mistake and perhaps taken on a horse that needs a little more than i had first envisaged. I have her on loan until June before i make a decision but im torn on whether to work hard on her to see where we can get by June or cut my losses now and start looking again for something that i can carry on with.

Shes a sweet mare, has her vices but generally is very loving. I think im comparing her too much to my other horse who is perfect but too small for me BUT at the same time the idea was to just to have fun on this little horse and carry on with my small scale competing rather than start from the beginning or at least, somewhere near there!

what does your instructor think? could it be that you aren't asking her in the right way? i get annoyed with things like this as people always want to blame the horse rather than themselves...not saying that that is the problem here but it might be....

 

[EquestrianFairy]

She has no muscle at all, that's why he had problems- her current saddle which is the best he could find at that point in time is padded out also. He is back end of January for a check up although we might as well leave it till end of February at this rate!
My last horse came to me like this and I spent a lot of hard work making him what he is today, it's just that I didn't really want to be doing it all again if I'm honest. A part of me knows she will be worth it but the other part remembers what a hard slog it was the first time round.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

One question. Do you like this mare?

If the answer is 'yes' then get a different saddler and put the work into her schooling.

If the answer is 'no' then give her back and look for a different horse.

 

[EquestrianFairy]

Diggerbez- my instructor has said the same thing as I asked her to ride (I was feeling like I was useless). I don't blame her, she only knows what she has or hasn't been taught.

 

[diggerbez]

Diggerbez- my instructor has said the same thing as I asked her to ride (I was feeling like I was useless). I don't blame her, she only knows what she has or hasn't been taught.

well depending on her age and her temperament then it would depend what you want to achieve. if you want a primarily hacking horse then i suspect it wouldn't take too long to get her used to going out on her own...you say "small scale competing" but i guess it depends what that means as to how long it will take to get her right for this. i honstly believe that most horses can be trained to compete at a fairly decent level...but they do have to be willing and not too 'stuck in their ways'.... i always think that projects are much more fun than ready made horses anyway

 

[EquestrianFairy]

MC - do I like her? Yes, she is sweet and has a lovely temperament.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

MC - do I like her? Yes, she is sweet and has a lovely temperament.

I was once offered twice what I payed for one of my neddies. Everyone said that I should sell as I used to compete and I would have been able to afford a decent competition horse. Anyhoo, I really like my little horse and I decided to not sell. I've never regretted it and I still look forward to seeing her everyday.

Just a thought, as I've seen so many people struggle with horses that frighten them or that they simply don't get on with. Some things can be worked on (eg schooling) but other things cannot be changed.

 

[EquestrianFairy]

MC- I have one of those horses He's the reason I've loaned and not bought because I just can't sell him, he's perfect but too small and I cannot let him go. He's on loan to a girl up my yard ATM.

It's so hard knowing what to do for the best.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Can you see how it goes with her for a few more weeks before you decide?

 

[Pearlsasinger]

One question. Do you like this mare?

If the answer is 'yes' then get a different saddler and put the work into her schooling.

If the answer is 'no' then give her back and look for a different horse.

^^^^^^^
This.

I also wonder why the horse's saddle didn't come with it. If I were ever to loan one of mine out (very unlikely), I'd want to send her with the saddle and bridle that I knew fitted her.

 

[EquestrianFairy]

She literally came with the rug on her back and that was it, I've had to buy everything all again.
The owner has a few horses and uses a changeable saddle for them all, same with the bridle.

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

Hi there. I have a 16.1hh 11 year old TB that I got in August on loan for a year and we have had some real issues on the ground with him and with a couple of our other horses. He is a complete thug at meal times and is not adverse to taking a sly swipe at you with his back feet. I have discussed his problems a few times with his owner (who is abroad) and made plans to send him back twice. However, I have a soft spot for him and have stuck it out, I may even buy him next year..!! It all depends on your gut feeling, if your gut says yes, then keep her and work at what you can...otherwise send her back. Its not fair on the horse or you if she becomes a daily chore

 

[EquestrianFairy]

HHH- maybe I'll stick it out for a little longer and see how we progress