horse hunting, anyone else have so much trouble?

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Cinders

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why is it that everyone else seems to find new horses really easily and its an exciting experience, for me its turning into a bit of a nightmare. When we first started looking for a new horse i was feeling super confident and couldn't wait to find a suitable new horse, where as now, 5 months later my confidence is rather low and i dont know where we're going wrong!

As you all know cinds is only 14hh and i ve not really ridden many horses and because i ve been riding just cinds for the last nearly 5 yrs, i m not really used to other horses and must admit i find the bigger ones slightly off putting due to their size!

We've tried 8 horses now complete mixture of different ones some 15.2, some 16.2, some young ones, some older ones, and a variety of different breeds from tbs to slightly heavier ones, so that i could find out what i really wanted.

With a budget of £4500 you'd think it wouldn't be hard to find a nice safe allrounder but we're struggling big time! We've always been completely honest about my ability and things when ringing up but yet we've still had so many wasted journeys. One horse got excited when jumping and started rearing with me, one went mental and jumped the arena fence and then bolted and i came off and the latest one started bucking and broncing and i thought i might hit the deck again!

All the above, said horses have been around £4000, am i being unreasonable to think that for that sort of money you should be able to buy a good safe allrounder?!

I think we're going to narrow our search down to non tbs and something around 15.2 as to be honest my confidence is disapearing fast and 16.2 just feels way to big after little cinds.

My dad completely doesn't understand why buying a horse is so much harder than buying a pony and neither do i! i would have thought horses would be easier to buy as they should have less bad habits than ponies as they're more than likely ridden by adults!
 
where abouts are u? i've looked for several horses and ponies with a budget of 500-1500 and i had little bother. but then never needed to find an all rounder, most of the bargain basement horses are either aged or young or in need of reschooling. i don't know about this places reputation that i'm about to post, but if i had a bigger budget when shopping for friends who want something safe i'd think about here.

http://www.bomb-proof.co.uk/forsale.php
 
I had a bit of a nightmare to when i was looking for a youngster. I dont understand why people cant be honest when you ring up. Its such a waste of time and money travelling to somewhere to get there and find its nothing like described! One i went to see was completely different to the video she had sent me and needed totally reschooling and another was lame! When i told the girl she didnt really acknowledged what i had said and a few minutes later asked me if i wanted to see it jump! As if you would want to try a horse that was lame!
 
luckily i havent found it too hard- bought the second horse we went to see. but we where VERY specific as to what we wanted, and we got it- it took alot of searching through ads, printing them out and putting them on a table and decide which sound too fizzy, too lazy, not good enough, too good etc. im sure you will find the right horse eventually
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I feel sorry for you, I looked at 20 before buying one and still ended up selling him after 7months. It's so upsetting, but you shouldn't settle for something thats not right. Your perfect horse is out there somewhere. I found mine 2yrs ago and wouldn't part with him for anything. Keep looking and I'm sure something will come along
 
I will hopefully be starting to look for a new horse in the next couple of weeks and to be honest I am dreading it.I also agree with what your say regarding horse prices.I am not sure I will be able to get what I want for the money I have.
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Good luck with your search anyway.
I wish I could get someone else to do it for me.
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I was fortunate that the second horse I went to see ticked all the boxes & I bought him. It's difficult to find the right horse when you're coming off ponies. Horses & Ponies are totally different animals. We took a friend who was a good rider to ride the horse for us in addition to my daughter trying him. This helped alot with the decision making.

We were also advised not to get too carried away with adverts on the internet as you can clock loads of miles travelling the country in your search. We decided that we'd set a radius of about 50 miles to search in & we found him within that distance. He was advertised in H&H. We negociated the price, agreed it, arranged vetting & that was it.

You can end up going miles to see a horse that is nothing like what he was described as. This happens even when you've asked loads of questions on the phone.

You should be able to find the one you want within a relatively close distance. Don't rule out dealers either, a good dealer, with his contacts, should be able to locate the right horse for you & you will have various guarantees that come with purchases from him.

Oh, you mention you find a 16h2" horse a bit daunting. Our friend refered to them like this, 15h2" is a big pony, 16h is a small horse. You really get used to a 16h2" quite quickly, honestly.

Good Luck, you'll find the right one soon.
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I know just how you feel - I'm sure people on here are sick of me going on about my search for the perfect (chestnut) horse.

I first tried out a 7 year old 16.3hh chestnut horse last April and have been looking since then for one. For a while some of the search (like yours) was narrowing down and deciding what I wanted - I now know I feel happy up to 16.1 and no bigger and that 15.2hh or less is too small for husband.

But even when you find the right one (as I did in November) someone can pip you to the post! These dark nights and, being a teacher, no days off til half-term/end of term, means I can only view at weekend if far away. I find that people advertise on a sunday night and by the next weekend have been snapped up!

It's not easy but at least you now know what you're looking for. I think the market has also been slow last few months, especialy round Christmas, so we might be in luck shortly.
Best wishes in your search and hope all us wannabe horse owners get lucky soon!
 
You might have done this already, but why don't you go and have a few lessons at a riding school, riding a few different horses to get your confidence back? After the first incident it could be that the horses you tried were sensing you were a little bit apprehensive (not that it should have evoked that reaction in a horse advertised as 'safe' though).

For £4500 you should be able to find what you're looking for, although you might have to compromise on something (perhaps conformation, jumping ability or a stable vice) because truely safe horses seem to go for so much at the moment.

I've been looking for a new horse for 6 months, and only gone to see two. I'm willing to wait for the right one to come along, but I can understand that you want to get on with it, and it must be really frustrating.
 
noblehouse- i m in lincolnshire and literally about 10mins down the road from the dealer who's link you posted. Have never used them but i dont like the sound of them, their horses seem hugely over priced for what they are!

hunting_hunni- glad you've found a suitable horse, am very jealous as she looks stunning!!

CCJ1- thats how i feel, i ve just got this dreaded feeling we'll buy something that seems suitable and get it home and it will turn into a monster lol We've been really picky and to be fair i have ridden some lovely horses but they just haven't seemed like the right one for me

Roany_pony- everyone seems to get excited about looking for a new horse but i also have been dreading it and have been putting it off for years but am way to big for my pony now *sniffs*

Toby_Zaphod- hehe thats a good way to think about it, i m sure i would get used to a 16.2 quite quickly if it was the right horse but i m not overly confident anyway and a big 16.2 pratting around seems rather scary to me lol

WeeBrown- good luck finding a horse!
 
Virtual- thats a good idea and i have considered getting a few lessons on horses mainly just to get me used to riding something bigger. After riding the same pony constantly for nearly 5 years i sort of feel that when i go try a horses, they feel so big and different from my pony that i spend a while ajusting to their big stride lol

your right, i wont get something perfect but i dont mind compromising and it doesn't have to be a saint just as long as i feel happy and safe on it and dont feel like i m going to end up in the mud everytime i get on it lol
 
Me too!

All I want is something 15.0-16.0hh, not light of bone, quiet but not a dope on a rope (can be strong and fast but not rear or buck or be a general b*5tard!) thats 3+ but not older than 10....admittedly on a budget of 2.5k but gees! Think I need to go to the sales!
 
I am sorry you are struggling.
If I can make a suggestion perhaps go and have some training on some horses at somewhere like Talland.
For a horse to explode bucking and another one amost jump the fence sounds to me like you are not giving them clear signals and lack confidence.
The money would be better spent helping solve that problem before looking at any more horses.
Are you looking at the right type? Part natives such as connemara or highland often produce fun safe types. Are you looking at just broken unschooled horses?
Why not ring your local PC DC and ask if they know of anyone going off to University selling their horse. If you go to see a "known" one it's less likely to be a naughty one.
I think you have been looking at the wrong type which combined with inexperience of bigger horses has caused the problems.
Ask the trainer to assess you honesly and take their advice before seeing aything else.
There are lots of good horses out there, but sadly you are a long way from me or I would gladly help you. (I used to have a horse agency and specialised in fitting client to horse)
 
It is such a nightmare. We were on a fairly innocent lookout for a small safe first pony. OMG, we went to hell and back.

I must have viewed a good 15 ponies before I found what I was looking for. And by that point it was a case of I could look at a pony and almost have a 6th sense about them
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My son was bucked off, we looked at ponies which were NOTHING like they were advertised, saw ponies tank off with their owners/riders, saw hopping lame, saw bolters.......

And when I finally found the 'one' it was like "phew, no more viewings"!!

Have you tried www.safecobs.co.uk, don't know their reputation but...

I do know of a 14.2hh stocky NF not that far away (northants) but he's up for loan, if you're interested pm me.

also i think snowberry's advertising, though she's up north.....
 
henryhorn- thanks for your help! Where abouts is Talland?

I know i m not the best rider in the world and i lack confidence but my current pony is not reall push button and i have lessons weekly with a very good instructor so i m not sure that i m incorrect in the way i ride. i think we've been a bit unlucky. the one which jumped the fence with me, ironically was the one we were going to buy, it had been foot perfect on the first viewing and made me feel so safe. went back for a second viewing and it was very windy and he was fizzed up and spooky. basically he took off and i tried to stop him by using the fence which he actually jumped and then continued to bolt, really scary experience which i dont want to repeat!

the one that had the bucking fit in hind sight we probably shouldnt have ridden as it was a tb and messed the owner around whilst she was demoing him jumping. Its silly really as i had a bad feeling about him all a long but after you've travelled 2 hours you feel obliged to at least sit on the horse lol

We have been looking at a mixture of horses but the majority have ended up being tb which probably isn;t a wise choice for a first horse and they've been between 7 and 12. Will have a serious chat with my instructor on thursday and get her to honestly tell me what sort of horse we should be looking for according to my ability.
 
katy- glad you finally found a pony! unfortunately 14.2 is bit too small am looking as i m rather tall at 5ft9 also needing to move onto horses as i cant always jump my pony as quite a few places have restrictions on you having to be 16 or under to jump a pony and i m now 17.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Me too!

All I want is something 15.0-16.0hh, not light of bone, quiet but not a dope on a rope (can be strong and fast but not rear or buck or be a general b*5tard!) thats 3+ but not older than 10....admittedly on a budget of 2.5k but gees! Think I need to go to the sales!

[/ QUOTE ]

I bought one of that description at the end of last year who's now rising 4 and very sensible - they are out there.
 
Just looked at that website think it looks truly awful theres no way i would ever advertise horses in such a derogatary way!anybody who agrees to sell a horse unseen has to be dodgy- having bought and sold plenty of horses i know that one of the main priorities is that rider and horse click and that only becomes obvious when the horse is ridden.
I really feel for you moving from ponies to horses is a big step and it can be frustrating when nothing suitable turns up. Theres a lovely chestnut mare for sale in my yard 16.1 conemara x tb a quiet lovely horse i also know of lots of nice horses for sale but im in Ireland!!
 
You have my sympathy. I have been looking for a mum daughter share for my Tall 15yo daughter and myself since October. Horses are so strange after our 14.1. We have a top end budget of £3.5. We ask all the right questions and are honest about what we want, however they are always bigger, smaller, have blemishes, standing martingales, rear etc etc.

On a couple of occasions we have been phoned and the viewing cancelled, once we were almost there! The one horse we did like was snapped up before we had a chance to arange vettings etc.

I have set up a 50 mile limit because other wise we would just have no weekend left and we cannot view during the week due to darkness and work.

Good luck - my thought are with you. BTW I am in Norfolk - not too far from you. If I should come across any decent dealers I will let you know.
 
hey,
I can completely empathise with you......!
I have been through a lot to eventually finng the right guy for me...and I went from a 16.1 TB to a 14.2 coloured Cob!!


Have you looked at this place?
I have only ever heard good things about them ( but have no personal experience), but they seem to have an honest approach and some nice looking horses??

http://www.stubleyhollowfarm.com/


They also have links to private ads on there too.....

Good Luck!

BlC
xx
 
Yes.



Forget what I said in previous post. Owner sold her under my nose this morning. *gutted*

So if anyone has a 15.2-16.2 allround competition horse then pm us. Back on the market.
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BobbletLeCoblet- I could hug you! thanks sooo much for that link, am so excited now as there's some lovely horses on there and also that place doesn't seem too far away from me!!
 
I know of a super 15.1hh connemara x tb who is a great safe allrounder, it is miles away from you though, if you would be prepared to travel down south PM me, the owner may well be able to get a video clip done for you.
 
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