Herd of youngsters, which to pick

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Charla

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So I have been to view a herd of 3 year olds, a herd of mares and a herd of geldings. All are well put together, similar type breeding. Some do move better than others.... However, based on personality, (these are all minimally handled) would you go for the confident, curious one that comes straight over, in your face, albeit a bit nippy? Happy to be stroked, touched etc. Or the one you can’t touch or get near hiding behind others? Or the one that is intrigued but still wary? Conformation, movement aside. Based on personality only, what would you look for?
 
I have a youngster currently who is turned out with a lot of other youngsters, I wouldn’t be able to choose which I liked without spending a fair bit of time with them. If the owner will allow I would do a few visits and go beyond the which is shy vs confident etc.
Obviously I spend a lot of time with the herd just on my own in that group and what can appear shy one day can be super confident the next they don’t always stay true to form each time I go. If there has been a new one added that is shy it’s normally only a few visits before they are happy to get a scratch and aren’t bothered by you any more so that definitely wouldn’t put me off.
There is only 1 or 2 of the entire group that’s the same each and every time and has been for a long time the rest you watch their character change and adapt over a bit of time.
What I am saying is if at all possible try and see if you can do a view visits and just hang around them on your own so their behaviour goes back to normal rather than excited and inquisitive that a new person is visiting and the choice will become very easy for you, you will just end up drawn to the right one. X
 
I had the pleasure of seeing foals on a daily basis a few months ago (about 20) The ones that ventured over for a scratch and were curious were my pick. I may have inadvertantely put my name down for one! I would prefer bold and curious over timid and wary. I guess it depends on what you prefer in a horse.
 
I think the ones that come straight over are always going to naturally be the ones you are drawn to, but from my experience, in a group of youngstock that isn’t over handled, don’t get too hung up on it - if their handling/breaking is done right the shy ones usually come around pretty quickly.

Go for the dam line. What has she done herself? How sound was she? What have her offspring done? How well bred and proven is the mare line?

Of the bunch of hooligans I deal with regularly the 2 that are right in my face are the 2 I wouldn’t want. My favourite is one 2yo gelding who was exceptionally shy as a foal (ie you couldn’t touch him) but he is now perfectly friendly but has got this wise self assured aura about him - he is never the first over but equally is by far the most compliant (and beautiful of the lot) - unfortunately he isn’t mine!

My one has been a shy, over reactive twerp from day 1. At 3 I’m still the only one who can routinely catch him and if you came to see him he would be the one eyeing you up suspiciously from the back and spinning away if you went to say hello. I would very much rather he wasn’t like this!
But to be fair to him, I sent him away to be broken, with a big warning attached, and after a couple of weeks of being an utter twerp he knuckled down and came home with an A* report card. Time will tell with him, I’m still 50/50 if he do a good job.
 
I would echo all the above, but also say that I would choose one that mirrored my personality. I think it's important that we understand and like their character. Shy wouldn't necessarily put me off, it's often just a herd pecking order thing, try to get to handle the quiet ones whilst someone else occupies the confident ones as that will give you a better view
 
My mare (7 at the time, now 12) picked me! We had gone to look at a specific horse in the herd but got intercepted by her as we walked across the field. Turns out that she was probably the Alpha female. She's wonderful, and she knows that she's got her 'feet under the table' with us.
 
I once had the choice of two 18 month bay welsh geldings. Both had come from the Welsh sales, were probably Section C. We had to herd them into a barn, one plodded on,ears back and sulky, the other turned and looked at me with the sweetest expression. He was with me till I lost him at 23. Of all the horses I have had and bred, mostly far better animals than him, if I could have one back it would be him. Lost him in 91 and still miss him.
 
I like them to be curious and interested but not necessarily the most in your face ones, It can be the pecking order in the herd keeping them back and if you can have someone with you who will engage the bossy ones to keep them away then it's good to get the chance to better interact with the ones lower in the pecking order and see what takes your eye.
 
I find I'm hopeless at being scientific about it but when I look into a horse's eyes you can just tell who is an old soul and seems already to know the ropes and who is a new soul who will need the boundaries setting for them. Depends on how easy a job you want on your hands. Told you it was not scientific!!!
 
AdorableAlice said:
I would study temperament and confo of mare first, followed by same for sire, then confo/movement of progeny followed by character.
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I would also be influenced by the dam, character that is similar to your own is in my experience something that can work well, if you are a quiet person it can be harder to deal with the precocious type that is in your face and needs a very firm hand, if you are strong minded, in a noisy yard then then the more confident one may be a better fit but remember they could change when moved and lose their confidence anyway, it depends whether it is genuine or gained because they know where they are and have a group of weaker ones with them.
 
I have always chosen on whichever takes my eye first and always go with my gut instinct. They always must have a good eye, it’s the only must I won’t compromise on, has never let me down. The only horse we have had that’s been a problem is the horse hubby chose and he’s not got an nice eye.
 
Well we choose the one that hid behind his more confident friend in the field, although he was happy to be handled by us in the stable. I was drawn to him by his movement and by his breeding (consistent performers on both dam and sire sides). He is now a confident six year old who loves people and attention, so I am not sure that initial shyness/wariness of a minimally handled youngster in the field is much of an indication of their future temperament.
 
Personally I like the wary but inquisitive types, but that's just because it's personally what I like training.

How confident or shy a youngster seems doesn't necessarily translate to being spooky or not the way you would expect. My gelding was one of the most in your face youngsters that you could meet, but when you started working with him it became obvious that that was largely compensation for a naturally insecure type of personality. He's a wonderful easy horse now, but boy did he take a lot of work as a youngster. My youngest mare by contrast was scared of her own shadow, but with a bit of work has become very brave and straightforward.

I think what type of personality you get on with is quite personal, so try to spend a bit more time with them and to find one that responds to you in a way you think you can work with
 
Tricky. I’d say I’d rather the confident one, but does that mean they’ll be too independent/clever? We’ve had this with the dogs, the OH chose the only one who’d worked out how to escape the pen and ran straight to him. He’s been tricky! In terms of hacking and new experiences, I’d go for calm, sensible, not shoving others out of the way.

Have you narrowed down between a mare and a gelding?

Peregrine Falcon said:
I had the pleasure of seeing foals on a daily basis a few months ago (about 20) The ones that ventured over for a scratch and were curious were my pick. I may have inadvertantely put my name down for one! I would prefer bold and curious over timid and wary. I guess it depends on what you prefer in a horse.
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Have you now?! Any pics?
 
based on personality only I would go for the one that had the "wow" factor for you when you first walked into them. The one you were attracted to and stood out from the rest from your POV. I wouldn't over analyse and I wouldn't look for one it would just stand out as being a horse I instantly loved. A horse confident in the herd may not be the same on it's own. One who is a follower hidden behind the rest may become a star when he is on his own with human attention. I would make a conscious decision between mares or geldings but after that the actual horse would be based on what I instantly fell for.
I bought my foal based only on a picture of his head on the internet. I just instantly knew he would be kind and we would click. Gut instinct. If you analyse when picking one then when you get the horse home and he does something wrong you will always re analyse and wonder if you had got one of the others it would have been a better choice.
 
One of my midgets was a wary baby and the other an in-your-face-nibble fest. They have their plus points and their negatives - it depends what you like in a horse. I tend to buy the one I "like" - there's always one that I just want to come and live with me more than the others. I have my eye on a baby highland right now (that I won't buy, I can't have another), but I know that out of all the babies currently available (or available in recent years), that one is the one I'd want.

And yes, the in-your-face-nibble-fest was an absolute bugger to keep in a field when he was younger. Now he's older and working he's easier - and he's been super easy, keen and bold to work so he makes up for the years of frustration!
 
Follysmum said:
I have always chosen on whichever takes my eye first and always go with my gut instinct. They always must have a good eye, it’s the only must I won’t compromise on, has never let me down. The only horse we have had that’s been a problem is the horse hubby chose and he’s not got an nice eye.
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Agree with this , a youngster has to have a kind eye, trainability is everything , and you can usually tell the little devils looking at the eyes.
mare also more important than sire so also agree with look at the mare line. Also go with your gut instinct it’s rarely wrong.
 
Based on everything else being equal , I like them inquisitive. Sometimes the ones that are in your face have been handled a bit more , maybe even over handled . We bought 2 foals unseen about 4 weeks ago , one had been shown and was a doddle to do in every way . The other hadn’t been handled . I’ve spent th last few weeks getting her to do the basics . She’s so easy now , and is the first to whinny and coming running over , but is a bit more respectful of personal space . Bit of blue pipe is being used on the other one to remind her that you don’t barge through gates !

She’s also very bold , nothing fazes her
 

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First one over, in your face etc doesn't really show how they are in general I don't think. My 4yr old is always first over to say hi and will regularly try to "help" me poo pick, sort fencing etc...but generally she is super insecure and worried about everything!
 
My pony has the most amazing big eyes that are so kind. I bought her as a weanling as she kept following me around when we looked for a friend at a stud. she was a little sh&& the breeder couldn’t do much her never mind get a halter on. We ushered her on trailer into a stable when we picked her up.
I had to take a chair in the stable to her as she would try and kick me, took 3 weeks to get a halter on and for her to trust me. 15 yrs on I have the most amazing, brave honest pony you could ever meet.
 
When I got my gelding as a yearling he was the type to be interested but behind the safety of the other more inquisitive and bolder ones.

Skip forward to him now being a 5yo and he’s confident and bold.

I’d go with your gut (obviously once you’ve narrowed down the gelding/mare choice).
 
I tend to buy foals, and then put them in a herd at youngstock livery, so I get a lot of time to see how they interact in the herd, but only after I've bought them! If I were choosing from the herd, my first very unscientific thought would be to go with my gut, I'd buy the one that caught my attention, who had the look in their eye that I like, simple as that. If not one of them grabbed me in that way, I'd look very closely at conformation, and go back to the dam line, its so important, see what else she has produced and if possible find out a bit more about her character. The character of the foals in the herd is not set in stone, it changes with handling and experience, a friend of mine owned a very nervous foal, virtually untouchable and always in the back of the herd. He was very easy to back once he had one on one kind handling, and is a happy confident horse under saddle.

The first time I saw my now 11yr old in a herd, he was happily mooching about in the middle of his herd, not interested in being boss, but equally not scared, happy to be touched if you went to him, but not at all in your face. He is the easiest horse to deal with, very straightforward to back, unbelievably easy to train, and has been a confident, cheerful soul throughout, he is more in your face now, but in a nice way.
 
I bought my NF pony out of a herd in the field of the breeder. There was a choice of four plus the mares. One was too expensive, one was just a year too young, one had rather a sloping quarters so that left just my wonderful, never to be forgotten Sunbeam. Bought at four, unbroken, and kept all her life. She had looks, attitude, talent and personality, was the bravest pony you could find.
 
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