Help me find a horse!

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cazlol

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Hi, this is my first post so be gentle!

We have been looking for a horse to join our family for what seems like an eternity but is actually 7 months. We haven't seen any suitable and ones we have found have sold before our viewings!

Please help! We need:

A good all round family horse - my husband and 8 year old daughter will ride as well
Weight carrier - my husband is 6ft & 16 stone
Good with kids and dogs

Budget is up to 6k inc tack.
We are in Kent so would prefer the South East but would travel for the perfect horse.

Thanks
Caroline
 
It could be quite difficult finding a horse big and strong enough for your husband that is not too strong for a little girl. My husband is 6'4", but only 12 stone, and he has a 17 hunter type that is lovely, but his 13yr old son can only just ride him now (he's simply too strong for him) and he's already had two ponies, therefore working his way up to bigger horses.. Could you not consider a big horse for you and your husband, and a smaller companion pony that your daughter could ride? She could only ever really be on the leadrein on such a big horse, whereas she could be doing pony club etc and having fun on a small one. Your budget should easily cover both horse and pony, its just whether you could keep two...

Good luck, and welcome to the forum,x
 
What breed or type are you looking for?

And also what height?

What are you looking to do with the horse? hacking/dressage/bit of jumping?

i asume the horse needs to be pretty much bombproof?

i can help you look on horse and hound etc if you like?

i like looking for horses :D
 
I've been looking for a horse to share with my husband for a similar length of time, but i think to get something that you can also share with your daughter will be impossible.

My husband is much lighter than yours although a little taller, and he is happy to ride small horses, he currently rides a 15.1hh cob in the riding school, but I wouldn't dream of putting my eight year old nephew on the same horse, despite it being used to taking novices. Hubby really can't ride anything smaller, even on a round 15.1hh he needs swan neck spurs so that he can get his leg on without having his knees under his chin.

Unless your eight year old is huge for her age and your husband has very short legs you are going to really struggle.

You could look at cobs which may well be up to his weight at around 15hh but if they are the weight carrying type your daughter's legs won't reach past the saddle flaps. My nephew looks small on a chunky NF at 13.2hh, he normally rides 12-13hh finely built ponies and looks much more at home on them. In fact he could easily have a few years on a pony that size. There is no way he could safely ride a 15hh horse off the lead rein and it would be difficult for him to handle a horse that size himself.

I'd look for a maxi cob or ID type to share with your hubby and a small pony for your daughter until she is older and bigger. You can pick up nice ponies quite reasonably if you don't mind them being a bit older, in fact the charities often have ponies that are suitable for riding available to rehome.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Although the initial budget would cover a horse & a pony, our monthly outgoings wouldn't support 2 lots of livery costs. The livery yard have a pony that they said our daughter could learn on so it would just be the odd occasion on a lead rein that she would ride, although obviously the horse would have to be alright with this.

Breed & height not important, the main thing is the weight carrying ability. My husband has ridden many types from a 15.1 Morgan stallion to a 17.3 IDx so really not fussy there!

Haven't tried Avril - is she any good?
 
What do you want the horse to do? Just hack, or do local competitions, sponsored rides, etc?

I think you will have to accept that this is really a husband/wife share and leave your daughter out of the equation at her age.
 
We would like the horse to be able to pop a jump, hack safely and
eventually do some local showing.

I think husband/wife share is looking more likely (thanks for the advice) so - is there anything out there?
 
Your budget is fine.

Avril is lovely and will only sell if she is certain it is right for both parties. All the horses go through months of training and are fantastically well schooled (in the school and out on hacks both alone and in company).

She generally specialises in slightly smaller than you'd need (most seem to be around the 15hh mark) however she does occasionally have the bigger type in.

She has a waiting list (as she is so good), however if she has something in that suits you and not anyone else waiting then obviously you will jump that queue.

Definately worth a call as she is happy to discuss your requirements etc and offer advice. Or look on her website which lists some of the horses for sale and in training (website is www.mysafecobs.co.uk).

It should not be confused with www.safecobs.co.uk which is run by Avril's ex-business partner after they split the business a few years ago. Whilst equally pleasant etc, those horses are similarly priced but do not go through the same level of training and are more simply hacking horses.
 
CeeBee - thanks. Have been in touch with Clip Clop Traders and apparently they don't have anything suitable.

Have just looked at Avril's website & filled in the questionnaire so hopefully we'll hear something positive soon.
 
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