Heart or head ... be honest

[Kikke]

14.1hh welsh cob muffin bought with heart, completely
17.1hh belgian draft turnip bought with both heart and head as he is my hubbies horsie
16hh welsh cob x clydesdale bought with head, completely I had to because I already had a horsie I couldn't use for what I wanted. Having said that I fell in love the first canter we had but definitely bought with the head!

And there buying was in this order, so as you can see we learned slowly. But totally worth it to buy with head though.
Hope I will not have to buy anything anytime soom but will never ever let heart rule again.

 

[DD265]

I took him on trial with my head. I bought him with my heart.

 

[minesadouble]

Heart every time. The only one I bought with my head I never really clicked with.

 

[Rapidash]

Heart- but my head agreed!

 

[Elsbells]

Heart of course x

 

[Hayjay]

Heart. I knew the minute I agreed to trial her, she would stay. She never would have passed a vetting and if I had left her at the dealers I think she would have had an uncertain future :-( I'm sure she has been a fantastic hunter for someone and is such a stoic mare I am also sure her good nature has been abused. She was completely switched off when I got her and although still distant she is starting to trust me I feel. She deserves a happy quiet life and that is what we will give her.

 

[Spot_the_Risk]

Harley was bought nearly 18 years ago with my heart... Hmm, maybe more on a whim. It all turned out okay in the end, but I had never even loaned a horse before, and he was a green five year old. I still have the scars.

Tinner was a weanling, and completely feral. He was in a barn with over 20 other weanlings, and he caught my eye. I evidently caught his too as he kept stareing at me, none of the others showed any interest. I was happy with his conformation, and I'm happy with him as an adult. Actually, I love the bones of both of them!

 

[Ellen Durow]

With my gelding, I bought with my heart BUT I had known and ridden him for some years and knew his medical history.

With my mare I also bought her with my heart because I knew her and wanted to make sure her retirement was a happy one and while I don't regret it particularly because of the medical problems which cropped up later and which I was prepared to finance, I shouldn't have done it..

However, if I was buying a "stranger" or advising someone else I would always choose with my head.

 

[Deltaflyer]

Heart every time. The only one I bought with my head I never really clicked with.

This. I bought my first horse with my heart and had her for 25 years and we got to know each other inside out. The next two were head and I loved them both dearly but never really developed that 'special' bond with either of them. The one I have now I bought with my heart and after only a few months felt that same bond I had with my first horse.

 

[Lucky788]

Heart! He just looked so fed up and miserable and he was such a sod but he was worth all the hard work, he's a diamond now and I wouldn't be without him

 

[Polar Bear9]

I'll go against the grain and say head. Bought her as a sensible first pony and still have her 10 years later. But she's never made my heart sing and 90% of the time I don't enjoy riding her. I think about her the same way I do about my legs, I don't adore them but I really couldn't do without them, they're a part of me.

I've bought a few since with the heart and have loved them but they've always had some issue which if I'd used my head would have meant I hadn't got them. I always revert back to my head pony, the only sensible buy I ever made. When she dies I will buy something from the heart that will make my heart sing

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Heart - I fall in love with pretty heads! Not one of mine doesnt have a nice head! If you have to look at it over a stable door every day then you may as well have something pretty to look at!

Jeff - because I held him whilst he died in front of me and promised to always look after him (not expecting him to last another 10mins) 10years and 15days down the line he is still my absolute soul mate. We will only part at the final goodbye.

Gray - the minute he stepped off of the truck and into the yard I marked him as mine when he finished racing. He was litterally breathtakingly stunning! Still is even if he is getting more flea bitten by the year ...

The natives - most bought sight unseen or bred at home. My fell pony I went to try. I had tried a few and was about to give up on the breed when I tried him. He was so honest and genuine yet so cheeky and lovable it was both a head and heart decision. One of the best I ever made.

My darty was bought sight unseen as an unbroken 3yo straight off of the moors and has been one of the easiest yet most frustratibg ponies I have ever owned! Wouldn't change him for the world! (Apart from his complete inability to gallop!) He was a head decision - I needed something bigger to ride after the shetties and he cropped up, up to height, moved well, very pretty head, the best of bloodlines! He is another who will never leave me.

 

[Luci07]

Head followed by heart. When looking the horse has to fit certain criteria. I wouldn't overlook a poor confirmation issue. Then I see how it is ridden and if it still meets my criteria, then I see how I feel when I ride. Only then does heart come into play. Horse has to have something that will make me want to smile when I see them over the stable door. My horses stay a long time, some for life and I don't have my own yard.... Means head rules first!

 

[Merrymoles]

Head first, heart second. I knew roughly what I wanted but was flexible within that. I had a reasonable budget, wanted around 15.2hh, aged between five and 12, didn't particularly want another coloured but it wasn't a deal breaker, preferred gelding but again, not a deal breaker.

I looked at quite a few, taking a good friend who is also my instructor with me. We both rode all of them. When I went to try the one I ended up buying, he was definitely not perfect, more forward going than I really wanted, had a large sarcoid on his face and did not seem to have much personality. However, as we left, the key question from my friend was "would you be willing to hack him out tomorrow", to which the answer was "yes" and by the time we got home an hour later, I could not bear the idea of someone else buying him! It has been successful, although not totally straightforward, and I would never part with him. He now has a huge personality!

There was one other we looked at which in retrospect (and after I bought current horse), we both wished we had bought. It was not a great environment for trying him out but he must have touched our hearts somehow! I still hope he got a great home.

 

[misskk88]

Heart. I knew the minute I agreed to trial her, she would stay. She never would have passed a vetting and if I had left her at the dealers I think she would have had an uncertain future :-( I'm sure she has been a fantastic hunter for someone and is such a stoic mare I am also sure her good nature has been abused. She was completely switched off when I got her and although still distant she is starting to trust me I feel. She deserves a happy quiet life and that is what we will give her.

My mare was exactly the same when I bought her... Previous competition horse, probably one of many who became surplus to requirements for whatever reason. No doubt that she had her good nature abused at some point. She was so robotic and flat and showed no signs of character and I sometimes wondered what I had bought, but my heart knew she would come through it. I have had her 4 years now, it is amazing what a bit of love, tlc and time can do, so wishing you all the luck with yours!

First horse, heart. From the moment I got on him, I felt safe and 'at home' and there are very few horses I have ever felt like that with. He is one of the most beautiful horses I have ever looked at and he is the definition of a true gent, although he really does need to trust in his rider. We had a great relationship and I miss him terribly.

Second (current) horse, head/heart. Head told me I needed to move on from my first horse, and was ready for a new challenge. She didn't tug at my heart strings in the same way like the first, but I felt she had a good soul, particularly when she took me around a course of fences with me terrified, just holding a neck strap!

I don't quite ever get that same 'at home' feeling I did on my first ever horse, but perhaps that is sentimental feeling too. Both have been joys to own and be around, I just hope when I look for the next my feelings don't fail me!

 

[MileAMinute]

Heart most definitely. He was a bit of an impulse buy but I got him for an absolute steal and he was worth every penny and more.

I think the only criteria he filled was that he was a gelding!

 

[B&J]

Head made me go and look, heart ruled over head when saw the state they were in. They both came home with me and a year later are different horses I don't regret it for a second even if my bank balance does!

 

[Serianas]

A bit of both really... He was the first one I tried, and then had a subsequent visit after I had seen a couple more. I had decided I didnt want him because I thought he was boring (!) but then he bucked me off so I did buy him. Apparently my heart likes them cheeky!

One of the ones in between still haunts me. She was a black sports pony, who had been beaten within an inch of her life, and the lady that had her hadnt got time to bring her out of it like she intended. The poor girl was in the stable sweating and eyeballing, and then her owner rode her out. She was afraid of everything. Then I was asked if I would like to try her so I scrambled into the saddle, and the girl told me I was the first to even want to attempt after they had seen how she behaved. She was a nightmare to ride, and as it was to be my first I just couldnt buy her in all good concience... She was sent through the sales that month, and I hope and pray she ended up with someone kind who would show her the world wasnt such a bad place. I still wonder a year on what happened to her.

 

[southerncomfort]

I'm not sure if it's head or heart...perhaps it's more instinct & judgement for me.

I think you know if they are right for you or not and you need to listen to that instinct and know that however much you might wish they were the one, if they have issues that were really a no-no when you wrote out your list of what you wanted in a horse then you know you've got walk away.

OP - given the injuries you sustained after your accident, do take your time with this search. This one really needs to look after you.

 

[eahotson]

Sorry to be boring but definitely head.My best one I didn't think was very special at all but I was advised to buy him, I did and was so glad I did.My current and staying one.Yes I thought he was sweet and calm looking and quite pretty but nothing extrordinary but I wanted a confidence giver.Instructor said yes.I bought him and am so glad I did.

 

[webble]

First one heart current one head

 

[ljohnsonsj]

Heart always. Two times i've gone with my 'head' on two geldings and i couldn't of made a worse choice!

 

[FairyLights]

Both, went to an auction with a check list, bought horse one then bought horse 2 with my heart. Love him to bits would never sell

 

[milliepops]

Heart for me though I had known her for 18 months before i took her permanently. I wanted a 16.2+ TB gelding, and got at 15hh cob x mare. But I couldn't fight it, we are meant for each other and I wouldn't change a thing.

And heart with little Kira, the project too. I kind of knew it was a bit of a silly thing to take on a project when I'm so busy, but I love her to bits and it will be hard to part with her.

Eta as a kid, my ponies were definitely bought with the head. My first pony was a very sensible purchase. She was the ultimate kids pony saint, though she wasn't what I would have chosen. I was 10 though, my non horsey parents were very wise not to let my heart dictate what we bought!

 

[starryeyed]

Heart every time, despite my best intentions! When I went to see my mare I tried very much to go with my head as the last horse had not been the best decision I've ever made and I couldn't go through all the heartache again (he had every problem under the sun). When I first saw her climbing the walls of the stable with wild eyes and sweat pouring off her I thought "not in a million years!!!!" and nearly walked away there and then. Tried her with my "sensible hat" on, loved how she was to ride (if a bit of a lunatic) and loved her attitude towards jumping but realistically told myself that she was too neurotic and would be a nightmare to own and handle on a day to day basis. Then couldn't get her out of my head for a few days and ended up taking her home and falling head over heels!!

Should have listened to my head as she is exactly how I thought she would be and now has the added bonus of various complicated medical issues which weren't spotted in the vetting but I do love her to bits. And she's so beautiful...

 

[stormclouds]

Heart for me. I walked away once thinking he's too young and too Welsh, but two weeks later he was still for sale, and my head quickly got left behind.

 

[Crugeran Celt]

When I bought my welsh cob I had always wanted a full sect d, I had had two part breds and he was from the same lines as them so that was the deciding factor so heart definitely. Then my first miniature was just two months old when I first saw her and knew I had to have her from the moment she left her mum and run over to me to be made a fuss of. Never even thought of owning a mini before and even though we had stayed at the campsite for years and knew the owner's daughter bred miniatures I had never even looked at them so it came as a bit of a shock that I just had to have her no matter what. So that was definitely heart in a big way. Then feeling sorry for my one mini on her own bought her mum a fornight after buying the first one and a year later it was my husband who saw a palamino mini filly whilst we were at the campsite again and his heart really ruled my head when he bought her! So now have three minis that were all very much heart led.

 

[weesophz]

heart! he had been starved and abandoned before i got him. i had just sold my first pony as id outgrown him and was totally heartbroken and i think in a way he helped eachother get better!

 

[DJ]

Thank you all for your very honest heartfelt replies ... I have seen one, who did everything right, but who I just didn`t click with somehow ... (on paper and in person)

I have seen 2 horses that have made my heart flutter and giving me that "oh wow" feeling ... I`m going to see them both tomorrow ... :-0

Thank you for caring Southern Comfort, I`m being good, I promise ... Lots of padding and my trusty racesafe BP too x

 

[Tern]

Heart, Should have bought something else.. I only went to see the one horse and bought her, Over priced and came with more baggage than expected.. Head next time.