how do you know which is the right horse

[immybrookstud]

i'm looking for a ridden pony, at the momment, how do you know which is the right one,

so different to buying my girls, where i look for breeding, and generally what i like to look at,

does looks really matter when looking for something for ridden?

my mind is a spin tonight

 

[lilym]

depends what you want!! breed wise and what activities you want to do, but to me, the most important thing in a child's pony is temprement, if you get a good tempered animal the rest will follow!!

 

[Skhosu]

looks matter to the extent of keeping it sound. after that-looks don't matter except to consider selling on-after buying and selling a wee bit it seems to me that looks do matter to buyers in whether they take that initial look.
look for something that looks after the child, has a good record and is well known

 

[immybrookstud]

woops looking for me not child she is only 4 month so have a while to wait for her yet

 

[PennyJ]

So far, I've just "known" when i see them if they'll be right or not. Not much help, sorry!

 

[FestiveFuzz]

Yea I have to say you just kinda feel like you've "clicked" when you find the right one.

 

[JadeWisc]

I ditto that temperment is most important but I also agree that it is nice to have one you "like the look of" too. It is nice to have a horse you are proud to show off!

If I had to choose I choose temperamnet over looks though as it is better to have fun riding a horse you trust than to look at a pretty horses picture from a hospital bed

You cannot see how hot they are when you are mounted anyway! lol


If you can have the best of both worlds though lucky you!

 

[Gorgeous George]

temprament - when I found George I just loved his temprament and slight cheekiness, and I forgave the fact that he was so tall and not as well schooled as I might have liked!!

 

[SO1]

i think it really depends on what you want to do with the pony, if you want to show then looks will matter, are you planning to keep it forever or will you sell on in a couple of years etc.

If you are planning to keep for ever and not show then looks are not important although bad conformation can sometimes lead to problems with soundness or performance at high levels.

I am an adult with a pony and looked at loads before I got my boy. I made a list of things that were important eg must pass vetting, good in traffic, forward going, easy to catch, gentle ect and only went to see ones that appeared to match the criteria.