Horse history- what had your horse done before you got them?

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Lolo

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Just a pondering!

What did you set out to buy- a talented youngster, a happy hack, a low-level RC horse or a done-it-all schoolmaster? And what did you end up with?

We wanted a 15.2hh 'porse' who was good at BE Novice XC to give A some experience and confidence at that level. Dressage and SJ were mildly unimportant in comparison! We ended up with Reggie, who is 16.3hh and had point-to-pointed, done a front leg and chilled in a field for 18 months and then we accidentally stumbled across him. Definitely NOT what we wanted, but he's been a superstar so far and maybe one day he will be that Novice schoolmaster- albeit for someone else!!

Also, with more and more records being online and most competitions publishing their results so your unaffiliated results can be seen just as easily as your affiliated ones, are people bending the truth more or less about their horse's history?
 
It is interesting re. the records.. I have just looked at a lovely looking horses ad, who is up for a HUGE amonut of money, yet has a HORRENDOUS BE record with a pro...!?!

When I was looking, I wanted something that had done a bit, and would be ready to go out BE novice last year (!) However, everything I went to look at didn't fit the bill, and wasn't enough horse for the money IMHO. I ended up with a 4yr old who had done nothing, other than broken and started jumping. MUCH better value for money, and a lot more potential to go further than the more established horses I looked at would have...
 
Billy had done a lot of this:
23798_314990043282_314954333282_3546325_387281_n.jpg

(can you spot him? :p)

Before I bought him :p He was broken in last year before I bought him, so he didn't really have a record :)

Oh, and I went out not looking for a grey or a coloured...!
 
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set out to buy -

16hh-16.2hh RC/PC type horse

IDxTB type

suitable for mother/daughter share

good to hack alone/shoe/teeth/load/clip

something that had done a bit of everything who was very quiet ect and safe and sane


what i bought -

15.2hh TBxAppaloosa

He is 12 but hasnt done anything!

Was a difficult loader but we have sorted that now and he goes in first time

He is quite quirky/spooky opposite of what we intended


Although he is great when he started going to shows and was a little bit of a handful but getting better!

He is lovely to ride and I wouldnt exactly say he was a novice ride but I like a bit of speed for jumping
 
MONTY: we were looking for a schoolmaster after i came off ponies, and that is exactly what he was!! had done foxhunter/1m25 BSJA, Pre Novice BE and had hunted for a fair few years as a masters horse and whip in horse, but also in the field aswell. so he is a gem!! so trustworthy :D

DANI: we were looking for something for me to bring on a bit upto newcomers BSJA. ended up with Dani who had done some british novices bsja and a couple of pre novice BE events, but had time off for a few years so was great for me to bring on and back into it all, but he wasn't really talented enough to do newcomers.

BUGSY: we were looking for a talented horse to take me to foxhunter BSJA. he had previously got double clears in newcomers (also done novice BD too) and the owner claimed he had scope to do more than newcomers bsja, and he did seem to, so athletic. but unfortunately after we bought him we discovered she had massively over jumped and over phased him and his confidence was in shreds.. i managed to get him upto 1m05 BSJA after having to go back to 60cm twice with him as he had confidence issues... and have ended up stopping showjumping him and allowing him to be a dressage horse for my mum.
 
FRIZBEE: needed an 11.2hh 2nd pony, couldn't find any so bought a LR only (apparently!) Did pc, mounted games & upto 70cm jumping with her.

BAMBI: just looking for something bit bigger to carry on pc. Bought bam who was going knackerman due to unhandleable (again apparently). Did pc, mounted games, trailblazers finals & Bsja upto 90cm.

MAGIC: again needed something bigger that had done a bit already. Magic had done some novice XC & Bsja novice & discovery. Now doing 1.10m BS, puissance, eventing, dressage, qualified bluechip, scope, trailblazers, jumping & dressage! Dropped on with them all & lucky to have a daughter that's a natural!! xx
 
Serenity - before I bought her had spent her first 6 months roaming the hills on a station in Taumaranui, New Zealand with her mum & dad.

Serenade & Fantasia - curled up nice and snug inside mum Serenity :D
 
well wasn't looking to buy when ended up with last two! But was same story basically for both. My current horse at time was broken and wanted to keep riding so started riding a friend's youngster. Broken horse didn't improve much and loaned then brought friend's horse! :p

Dan I brought when old horse goofy (also a youngster) permanently broken, Dan had done some SJing and showed talent but opinionated due to size and very little schooling work. 3 years later moved to uni and brought him from owner/breeder.

Dan then as 13yo started having lameness issues which caused on/off lameness. Housemate brought newly imported 4yo KWPN who was being errr majorly troublesome so as nothing to ride offered to help her. Ended up riding her more and more when Dan's sound periods came less and was ultimately turned out for 6 months and then dressage only. Finally brought Fleur (well all bar one leg which Housemate still owns!) about 2 years ago bit by bit from housemate as life was taking us in separate directions.

So both I have ended up with without looking but if I had been looking I would have brought a youngster anyway as like to make my own so to speak!

Records are so easy to check but doesn't stop people lying or bending the truth. Some people simply cannot be bothered or actually don't know how to check results fully so they get away with it.
 
Wanted a BE 100/novice schoolmaster/saint to go out and compete straight away.

Ended up with a just turned 5 very green ISH, he is a total dude though, and he does everything I ask and more!!
 
I never went out looking for anything, but I always thought to myself if I were to buy anything it would be around 16hh schoolmaster, ID type, or some sort of hefty draught, like a Shire, Clydesdale, Suffolk Punch etc.

As it happens Istarted working for a dealer in 2007 and stumbled across a little trotting horse, backed the year previously. He was a '14.3hh 5y/o Arab X Cob, with a tiny weeny bit of appaloosa, hence his spots and would be a rubbish jumper.' Or so I was lead to believe. The only experience I had ever had with horses was helping and riding at a local riding school, so I had no clue what a 'real' horse was, or anything about them. I later found out that Red had only just turned 3 when I met him (at 14.1hh), so was 2 at the oldest when he was backed, he'd been driving for two years, he is Connemara X Welsh Sec D and his 'spots' are scars from some sort of infection he had (i.e. rain scald, ringworm, or something similar) before I met him.

He is now rising 7, around 15hh and only the other week jumped a 4ft spread, at least 2ft6 wide, without even trying. He's a machine xc and he's so keen on the flat and has a massive personality and lack of brakes.

Don't believe everything the seller tells you!
 
i wanted a 14.2 to bomb about on (the child in me - i never had a pony :o ) and do some unaff showjumping....

i bought a 15.2 warmblood x with a nice attitude and now i want to do affiliated dressage (novice then retire :D haha)

:)
 
I had a 16.3h chestnut gelding, 11yo schoolmaster type who i could do pretty much anything with, my OH was looking for a horse he could take out every so often to jump and just play about with at home so we went to view a 17.2, 7yo, green as grass mare who had done a bit of jumping but was proving too much for current owner so had been turned away.

Needless to say first time I sat on her I loved her, she didnt really get on with OH but I totally clicked with her, she is now MINE(all mine:D) and I have sold my other boy as OH became to busy with work to have time for one of his own. I am aiming to do mainly dressage with my girly so it will be a long process but im happy to put the work in as shes not going anywhere.
 
I'd been out of the game for 15 years apart from the occasional day or two's hunting on friends horses so I needed something seasoned. I'm just 5 ft 2 so something little and manageable, and something older.... I ended up with a rising 4 yr old, which is now a good 16.2. But I have to say he's one in a million! We've had a few set backs but he's going so well and we're having so much fun. He's rediculously strong and can be a bit of a bull dozer but he's got us round a few BE's now and I couldn't be happier!
 
haha.. brings to mind my old pony..

we were looking for a 15-16.2hh horse happy hacker to get my confidence back and to just have some fun.. we had a £4k budget..

we went to my friends house and she was like.. OMG look at this pony.. qualified RIHS WHP 14hh 8yrs and 3x the £4k budget!.. he did give me the best 2 years of my rdidng life..

it was just funny when my dad saw the pics of me trying him out and said "you've already outgrown him"


this one now, was exactly what we were looking for.. we managed to get the owner to keep him for us all winter :) .. just a bit small .. 15hh.. but i think he has grown :D
 
Went out looking for a 10year old + dressage school master, preferably dark colored mare (easier to clean!) came back with a just backed 4y/o grey gelding. Whoops! :p
 
I bought J as my other connie was broken and my little dressage horse semi retired, I was ideally looking for something ready to go out and compete but soon realised my budget would not stretch to what I wanted so I ended up with J, a 3 year old unbroken connie, oh and he is grey which I specifically didn't want!

I bought B as I was in Ireland looking for something for a friends son. I tried a number of ponies, one was perfect for the son and I fell in love with B, he was 3 and had been backed 4 weeks and literally sat on and hacked out a couple of times but I fell in love with his attitude, the last thing I needed was another horse but he was so cheap I could not resist!
 
Wanted 15hh-15.2hh gelding, about 8yo to jump up to 1.10m at local shows and maybe affiliate some day. Many hours of searching later revealed I would never get a decent horse to fit this bill for the cash I had. So bought a 17hh 4yo backed and turned away gelding who was green, weak, has a vice and had no record at all. He is still big and gangly, and a bit weak, but he is a good guy 90% of the time, moves well and hopefully has the scope to go well beyond 1.10. We ever affiliated, but given our record that was probably very silly! Ah well, at least I got the gelding bit right!
 
When I got j I just wanted something (anything!) on loan for riding club activities. He was a 7 year old Arab that had only ever done a few endurance rides.
Roo - was looking for a RC allrounder/hunter for my OH. It had to be brown (ie not grey!! Didn't mind chestnut/black/bay) over 16hh with a nice temprament. We looked at horses between 4 and 8 and ended up
with much more quality but rising 3! Oops!! But had very limited budget.
 
Mine had raced and evented so all on record plus his owner gave me his dressage test score sheets.

I wanted a grey ex racehorse which is what he was and he has gone on to far exceed the level I was aiming at, having been to HOYS and consistently won at high level.
 
Went out to buy a non TB safe and sensible horse, preferably not bay.

I ended it up with a bay TB who had pony raced and is far from sensible but is a little gem. :D
 
Went out looking for a 16 hh ID schoolmaster/happy hack, who was 100% bombproof and good to school that I could do a bit of dressage/sj and hunt on, plus the odd bit of xc schooling, a perfect first horse really. Preferably grey. Ended up with a 14.3hh black irish cob who was and still is a right old git. Spooky on the roads to start with, a bolter, and due to over use in the riding school I bought him from, a real bar steward in the arena. Was sold as a total novice ride and a dope on a rope, but I did not know he was never fed hard feed and was worked 4 hours a day in the arena. Once he realised I was a total numpty novice he took the pee out of me big time, barged, bit me and was generally obnoxious. 7 years on he is still a git, but he is good on the roads, loads without a fuss, does not bolt, still hates schooling, but he is mine and I love him.

We once bough a 14.2 hh ex JA for my daughter to event. We were lied to. We found out he had lost his nerve over coloured poles after a horrible fall. Only found out after he started refusing and blowing up at events. Sold him to a lovely PC home where he had no pressure.

With Mini TX's mare we knew everything there was to know as we bought from from our YO who also bred her. It was just so lovely to know there would be no horrible surprises, even the fact that she had sweet itch didnt put us off, and she's repaid her so many, many times.

It really is buyer beware.
 
I wanted a horse to have fun with - a few local shows and hacking.

Ended up with a nervous 15yr old that had previously spent 4 yrs as a field ornament. He is a non loader due to past experiences and has been known to nap. He's also a pain to catch in summer and has abit of a bromance going on with another gelding - they call to each other when separated and run round in a black beauty style when in the field. Cringe!

Bought second horse so I could actually do as I'd initially planned! She loads, comes to call, loves hacking and is inquisitive. She just needs work on her schooling.

The way I see it, you don't always know exactly what you're buying til you've bought him/her!
 
With my current horse, I went out looking for a nice young horse (4 / 5 yo) who had an honest outlook (having just sold a horse who hated jumping) to do RC stuff. I saw an ad for something which looked sweet but green, travelled 3 hours to see him and arrived to find a very thin, very furry and depressed looking horse who's coat had gone curly from sweat and he had a fresh over-reach cut (I think he'd been bad to catch that morning!). I felt so bad for him as he looked so nice natured. Rode him which consisted of walk and a little trot only as the sand school was frozen solid and decided I had to have him - he was incredibly green so probably a mad decision! We had him on a 5 day trial and bought him. He was full of worms so that took a bit of sorting and it took a good year for him to come out of his shell. But he turned into a superstar. He's taken me from RC stuff to jumping my first double clear CIC* last year and jumping 1.20m classes BS which I never thought I'd do. For such a little, unassuming horse who my dad called "the donkey" he's far exceeded my expectations!

I've had about 12 horses/ponies to date and never really gone out looking for something totally specific. All I usually wanted was a specific age (normally 4-5yo as I like bringing them on myself) and something which had a really nice, willing temperament.
 
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First pony; went out looking for a native that had to be well behaved for showing, not too young, a gelding and NOT grey!....ended up with a 5 (I think) year old, dapple grey, welsh sec b gelding who was the naughtiest little sod ever! So cool though.

I'll miss out Murphy a Palomino TB as he was actually PS's pone who was passed onto me.

'Second' pony; went out looking for a youngster to do SJ with who couldn't be grey or a mare. Came back with a 4 year old connie straight from Ireland, who was pure white...!!!

Bruce was originally bought to SJ but then due to injury was put out to rest brought back and is now playing DR with me :)
 
Lill was a ex racehorse who hadnt had any reschooling at all, she was brought to sell....shes still here and not going anywhere!

The babies grew in one of my mares tummys so they didnt do anything before!!
 
Wanted a 15.2 gelding gypsy cob type as a project to bring on and sell during my gap year. Ended up with this: 16.1, selle francais mare with an attitude problem who is still with me far too many years later (and looks a darn sight better een if I do say so myself!)!
196692_1007502082666_1678350003_9166_8498_n.jpg
 
I wanted a 15hh-15.2hh Irish horse, around 6 who was easy as pie and a genuine jumper to go out and have fun straight away on.

I got a 4yr old ex-racer. He raced once but was a tricky colt who used to chuck off all his jockeys so they gelded him but then he was too slow! He was chucked out for a year to become a bag of bones before his old owner was gifted him. She did 6 months of hacking, some schooling and did 1 showing show.

I got him and hit the ground running! 3 months after I got him he was placed in his first ever dressage test at BD. He jumped clear round his first showjumping and we went on from there! He wasn't what I thought I wanted at all but he's my dream horse! He can be sharp and cheeky but he is 100% on my side, he makes me smile everyday and he makes me feel like we could achieve anything we put our minds too. He wants to do it all as much as I do! He presents his own challenges as most horses do, he's no Irish plod but he's amazing, straightforward and I literally worship the ground he walks on.
He's as good as it gets for me :).
 
I hadn't really been looking at anything. I had just decided that the pony I hadn't was not suitable for what I wanted. My mare was found in a swimming pool! :P haha, well my aunt got asked "do you know anyone who wants a 15bh-ish, horse?" by someone else in swimming club.
She was 15.3 pushing 16hh, hadn't been worked for 18months, almost 7yrs old, done a fair amount of flat work & apparently had started working over jumps before going lame with a foot abscess that went up her leg?
She actually hadn't even looked at a pole & we never really found out what happened to the leg :/ .. but had on loan for a year & she only cost £1500! She's a great horse, I wouldn't swap the fatty-mare for anything haha.
 
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