How long did it take to find your perfect horse?

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Echo24

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I've been searching for nearly a year and a half and after trying 19 horses, two failed vettings, quite frankly I'm ready to give up. I would love to hear about some positive stories on how long it took you to find the right one and how many you tried before you found them. I hope I'm not the only one who is taking this long to find the right horse!
 
I tried about 4/5 before the horse I have now , he's the best horse in the world to me :D. Possibly you are either over estimating / under estimating yourself when you read the adverts and then think it's the horse for you , then you turn up and it isn't ?
You need to be realistic as to what you want the horse for etc . E.g. Buying an eventer as it looks good when really you mainly do hacking.

Private message me , I can give you some advice if you can give me a bit more info :D
 
Thanks horselove. Not looking for a world beater, just something to do local shows with. Main thing is it's good to handle and a forward going but safe ride but I imagine horses like these fetch a premium! As my budget isn't great I think that is why I'm encountering so many inappropriate horses :(
 
I wasn't looking - the horse I had been sharing (and fallen in love with!) came up for sale and I had to have him! I believe it was fate - I was very fortunate and don't envy you having to search! Fingers crossed your perfect match will show up soon. Keep us updated :)
 
That's lovely to hear Dumbo! Sometimes it's just meant to be and I'm seriously thinking it's a sign I should consider a new hobby!
 
If you are looking for a happy hacker and something to do the odd show here and there I would be looking to spend £3500 max. if you have a small budget you do tend to end up with finding horses with quirks . You haven't said your budget price so it's hard for me to tell you what I think you could get for it .
I paid £2800 for my 4 year old ISH. He wasn't proven but he has turned out to be the most amazing horse and most trusting . I wouldn't swap him for the world .
 
Hi horselove, should have sent you a PM :)

Budget is £3,000 max but I can't seem to find anything right in this price range :(
 
If you've been to see so many unsuitables then you maybe need to re-think what you need/want.

Also, Mr Perfect often doesn't exist and you need to go for 'Mr Fits The Bill'. Why were so many unsuitable? Are you being overly-fussy. Your budget will give you plenty of choice.

Also consider a less schooled horse for a lower price and £1000 will get you a LOT of professional schooling/lessons.

The really good, easy, nice natured horses usually sell as youngsters then don't come back on the market for many years.
 
I looked at loads of ads, phoned up about a few but Smudge was only the third horse I went to look at and I found her within a couple of months of starting my search.

I only had about half the budget you have so I was realistic about my options which left me looking for a young green horse to bring on.

It wasn't something I had any experience of doing although I have friends on my yard who do which helped and I would do the same again.
 
Joe was the first I tried. He fitted the bill and was on budget at 1000. For that he was/still is green and learning. But the main thing was that he had potential and was safe. No major quirks or vices, just inexperienced.

It's hard work, but every day he's making huge improvements and is constantly learning, so I feel as though I'm moulding him into my perfect pony :) Having something that keeps me on my toes really helps my riding too!
 
First pony was one I'd backed for a friends friend...Dad surprised me one day and put an offer in for her, then she was mine.

Second pony, was a little 'cheeky' one I'd ended up riding for a ladies daughter in my instructors group at pony club camp, ended up doing a free week of XC on him and then carried on riding and hunting him after for them to try and help sell him - cue me ending up buying him. :o

Third, was my beloved big lad, may he RIP, he belonged to my best friend who needed to rehome him - so I jokingly said I'd take him as I moved with my old work 5 hours away....never seen him before properly really, had a little ride and popped him up on the lorry and he came with me. :o

4th and current is baby coblet, who was a very nice, surprise present from his breeder 2 summers ago.

Pony 2 got resold as he was a bit of an impulse and I really didn't have a need for a 13hh NF! He got resold on shortly after as went to a pony dealer which I wasnt aware of, but after a bit of FB stalking is now in a long term home.
Sadly pony 1 who I got 8 years ago, I had to sell in order to move back home this January in order to keep Big lad and Baby coblet. She was bought by a friend without even advertising her fully and couldnt ask for a better home for her and still keep in touch and welcome to ride her whenever which is lovely. Sadly less than a week after selling her, I lost big lad and just left with baby coblet, so he is needless to say my treasure in life now.
 
Knobberpony was the 3rd one we tried and has been perfect for us.However,our luck ran out after her and we spent 17 months and viewed goodness knows how many ponies to find the right pony for my youngest daughter.I think we must have seen over 20.

The pony we ended up with was everything we didn't want,had only been broken 6 months,was 6,hadn't hacked,hunted,been to PC was scared of traffic,hadn't seen farm animals,was a reluctant loader,had never been in an indoor school,could barely canter or jump.But he has such a lovely nature,my daughter just loved him and his owners were completely honest and couldn't have been more helpful.We are loaning him and he is just amazing,takes everything in his stride,my 8 year old loads him,has spent this week teaching him gymkhana games,gallops him around the fields,has taken him to PC,mock hunting,rounds up the sheep on him.We love him and he was well worth the wait.
 
charcoalfeathers said:
I've been searching for nearly a year and a half and after trying 19 horses, two failed vettings, quite frankly I'm ready to give up. I would love to hear about some positive stories on how long it took you to find the right one and how many you tried before you found them. I hope I'm not the only one who is taking this long to find the right horse!
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Nope, not the only one. Took me over a year - had a budget of 2.5k for the 1st 6 months and 4.5k for the second half of my search. Was told several times I wouldn't get what I wanted (gelding, 15-16.3hh, suitable for very amateur rider, must be safe on roads, must hack, must be able to do a prelim dressage test, must pass the vet) for the money.
I found that at the lower half of the market the decent horses were selling by word of mouth and the ones that were staying on the market weren't selling for very good reasons. My idea of decent basic schooling to a level where you could go straight out and play at prelim was a lot higher than some sellers! 1st horse I put a deposit down on I took some video and the vet looked at it and strongly advised me not to waste money having him vetted!
Finally found my boy via a wanted ad on preloved... very nearly didn't go and see him as he's section D x TB (ie the 2 breeds I'd been warned off) and had had 2 years in the field so his BD record was very out of date. Went by myself to the 1st viewing (had got sick of wasting husband/instructors time looking at blatantly unsuitables). He behaved well schooling in the corner of the field so jumped on and hacked out down road in company. The horse were with had a decent spook and Boxer just stood there so went back a couple of days later for second look. Planned to do a 20 minute round the block to see what he was like hacking alone, after 40 minutes realized I'd lost track of time ambling round the countryside so phoned seller to say we were alright and heading back then phoned vet to book appointment for vetting. I made an offer before I dismounted (significantly below budget).

I've had him 6 months now and he has TOTALLY been worth the wait. We were 5th in local dressage on Friday evening, I've had a hoon round the fields today in the sun and already looking forward to sitting on him tomorrow. When I bought him I told the seller it didn't matter if he couldn't step over a pole and somehow I've found the enthusiasm to start some low key jump lessons.

Don't give up ... the right horse is out there - the more exacting your requirements the longer it's likely to take but I'm so, so glad I didn't buy the 'nearly, but not quite' right I saw a couple of months before my boy.

Good luck
 
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I was blessed I think, I tried one who was totally unsuitable and then the next one I tried was the one I bought. Buying Loki has been one of the smartest things I've ever done, he is my perfect horse and I count my lucky stars that I found him so quickly and have had such an easy time with him so far :D

Good luck with your search OP, don't give up hope, the right one is out there for you and what's meant to be won't pass you by!
 
When I first started looking, my horse was advertised and I decided I didn't want to see him as he was too dear and too small. After a couple of months of looking and getting no where, I went to see him, got him for a much lower than original price and he's since grown (a bit :D ).

I can pick little faults with him but he's near as perfect a horse to me as I think its possible to get. Perfect, as in absolutely faultless doesn't exist, even for insane money! I hope you find your perfect horse OP. :cool:
 
amymay said:
19 horses? It may just be that the horse you're looking for doesn't exist.
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I saw 35 horses when looking for a different horse a few years ago. This was due to a mixture of starting with a rubbish budget, not having very specific criteria of type/experience/what I wanted it for to rule out many from the adverts, being very set on getting nothing showing signs of any physical issues at all - which you can't tell without viewing, wanting something I really enjoyed riding and just because I like going trying out horses.

Don't feel bad about trying lots of frogs OP, when you go shopping for anything else there's no restriction on how many pairs of shoes you try on or cars you test drive, etc. Have fun looking until you find your prince (or princess) :)
 
I owned my perfect horse (and definitely a contender for 'horse of a lifetime' status) for a couple of years before I knew she was my perfect horse. I bought her as a very young potential broodmare not a riding horse. I bred her eventually and she had her foal (who is now 2 years old). I did not rebreed her after foaling as I found out that although she was a fabulous mother and an incredibly beautiful, well bred and nicely put together mare, she actually wasn't broodmare material, at least not for my breeding programme.

So what to do with her, well I decided that I'd have her as my event horse instead. And she was absolutely wonderful. She gave me that buzz that I haven't had for at least 20 odd years since my last horse of a lifetime died of old age. My goodness I had just the best time with her for almost 2 years and then she was stuck down with torsion of the caecum in March this year and there was nothing could be done so I had to have her put to sleep. I was devastated by her loss and I still feel very raw over it.

The day my mare died my daughter gave me one of her horses, a horse I bought for her 2 or 3 years and he's a nice horse but I can't bring myself to ride him yet. I have plenty of other horses who I've owned for many years and I ride them but I don't know if it's because he was given as her 'replacement' I just haven't felt ready to ride him. I do spend a lot of time with him in the field and he's very affectionate so I'm thinking once the broodmares are all settled into their pregnancies I'll have much more time to ride again and I'll probably take him out at some point in the next few weeks. I doubt I will have the same connection as I had with her - she was lively, full of life and a total buzzy speed demon to ride. He is sensible, quiet and really quite the opposite of her.

Sometimes it takes a while to find 'the one' OP. I own a lot of horses but most of them are not 'the one' for me. Bide your time and hopefully you'll find your perfect horse :)

PS. My beautiful perfect horse is the foal in my avatar
 
You're not alone! I tried out 46 when I was looking for Pip :o I too found my absolute ideal horse, a real schoolmaster, took him on loan with view to buy, but he started feeling uneven almost immediately. Persevered with him for months, and many scans and x-rays (and a LOT of money) later he went back to owner with inexplicable lameness. He was destroyed three months later when the lameness degenerated past a point where he was comfortable in a field :( Was quite traumatised and delayed looking for a while, eventually found a second horse I liked, a schoolmaster similar to the first but to a higher standard. He failed the vetting on something fairly subjective, but I was too worried after the first to pursue it.

I sort of gave up looking at that point, until my instructor said that she knew of a pretty horse belonging to a friend of hers that I might like. (pretty was important! :o) He wasn't at all what I was looking for (scrawny ex racehorse, completely green, never done anything) but I went to see him, felt safe trotting up a road (the others I had tried out extensively before committing to anything) got him 2-staged, and he came home. Best thing I ever did :D

This is him last week, little star that he is.

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Moral of this story is, you'll find 'the one' when you're least expecting it, and try not to discount anything, having a look can't hurt and you may be pleasantly surprised!!
 
40 years and still looking. I am not actually sure exactly what my idea of perfect is.

I freely admit that it isn't the horses that are not perfect but me ;)
 
i bought him 3 years ago as a 3 yo and its jsut now hes 6 that hes turned into my perfect boy
...been hard work though!!
 
I looked at 21 before buying my pony- who turned out to be unsuitable, far too green for me at the time! But she taught me a lot and I still have her 5 1/2 years on as a very different pony!

I never really clicked with her though, and I decided this time last year I was going to buy another horse, as I would be nice for me and my sister/other family and friends to hack out together. I saw a horse I would never normally go for (a coloured ISH), the advert was only 2 hours old! I rang up, viewed him and bought him- I hadn't even looked at another advert let alone another horse :o . He's turned out to be amazing and I'm so glad I went to view something different.
 
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