If you were me, what would you do?

K

kassieg

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 November 2013
Messages
1,451
Visit site
I will be selling my event mare at the end of the season once we actually get back out eventing due to jump saddle issues (but that's another story).

I am selling her because I originally bought her at 2 1/2 to sell as a 4 year old but then she showed some potential & it has always been a dream to BE but my parents could never afford it, now I'm funding myself I decided to carry on producing & now as a 6 year old we gave it a go :) She is a fantastic little grassroots horse, will give someone so much pleasure at 90 & 100. Her dressage is fantastic so will be competitive each time. BUT I have now got the bug & I want to do more.

I'm not planning on buying again till next spring as I have 2 3 year olds & last winter was hard with 3 so I just want 2 over winter :)

now here is the dilemma:

I am saving up for a mortgage, I have no choice because my parents are selling up & moving early 2017 to france and I will not rent because I will end up stuck in a hole & will never own a house.

So my instructor really wants me to get something that I can take up the levels as he basically said I am too talented to not (which is the biggest compliment coming from him!) and I would love love love to do this, but realistically it would be a squeeze to own a house for the first year which I am going to want to do up ( I want an old house, really don't like new 1s!) and afford to BE. I would always get a youngster and he knows this but he wants me to get a 4 year old that I can take onwards & upwards which would be amazing.

My plan was to get another "average" horse to bring on low level again then get a really nice 4 year old early 2017 so by the time it is ready to go out I will have the cash to BE again.
or get a really nice 3 year old in spring then it will be ready at the right time.

I have my yard with 4 stables but really only enough grazing for 3 decent sized horses plus i use the 4th for hay storage. I currently have 2 3 year olds as well as my event mare which will probably be sold end of next year when they have done a little bit so I will still have things to compete just not event.

My heart says I really want to carry on BE'ing & give it a bloody good shot but my head says wait a couple of years tide myself over producing nice alrounders then buy something I can really crack on with.

I just keep thinking it over & I can't figure out what is for the best!!
So I thought there are a tonne of wise people on here I will see what they think, so help !! :)
 
In life most of us have to take choices .
If I was young and fit and sound again I would not hesitate I would do the horse thing so you might end at forty with two nice saddles and not a lot else but it would worth it for the ride .
Good luck what ever you decide .
 
Goldenstar said:
In life most of us have to take choices .
If I was young and fit and sound again I would not hesitate I would do the horse thing so you might end at forty with two nice saddles and not a lot else but it would worth it for the ride .
Good luck what ever you decide .
Click to expand...

arghhh see this is what I think !! as ridiculously crazy as it is when I was 17 I got meningitis & had a brush with death (literally 30 mins away) & since then I've tried to do things for the moment rather than worrying about the future but then I figure I have to grow up & face consequences of life at some point :|

I am so tight with money so I think it could work but then I also hate being in debt so it worries me that I might get stuck

I officially hate being an adult haha
 
Hey kassieg would you mind pm'ing how much you would be looking for for your mare as I may know someone who would be interested in her if your selling? With regards to above after starting BEing 4 seasons ago Iv now got the bug and now can't stop! I'm lucky in that Iv found two good horses who are taking me through the levels and we are teaching each other as we go along, if I were you and you can afford to do it I would buy an average horse do lots unaffilated and then put 5/6 good grassroots runs on it then sell to afford your special horse in 2017, a good temperament and a few good runs will make good money! Hope this helps:)
 
Two years isn't long... In your position, if I was still going to get to produce a couple of all-rounders and would be better off for it, I'd do that. I had my very own near-death experience 5 years ago and empathise with the "you only live once attitude". But since you do only live once, might as well do it as stress-free as possible...
 
thanks !!
barnacle I like that way of looking at it !! :)

I don't like to make a big deal of what happened tbh that's in the past but it does make me think more about things.

Yeh see I love breaking & producing so I am really happy to do this for a couple of years, I suppose I am just conscious that 30 feels like it is getting closer & closer & I don't want to loose my bottle ! haha
 
personally I would take the two years out and stay low key then start up again when you are on your feet financially. So many of my friends have (as said above) a couple of good saddles to their name and we are knocking on 40, a couple still live at home with their parents. I got my mortgage at 22 and can only have all my animals now because of those first hard years, I'm not rolling in it but I do only have 8 years left on my mortgage!

Everything, including your talent will still be there in a couple of years time. More and more people are taking up competitive riding these days well in to their thirties - you have years ahead, get your life sorted now and the rest will take care of itself
 
Any particular reason why you think the horse you have won't go Novice? Even if it cannot make the times, it might give you the experience at that level while you sort out the house, then after a couple of seasons you could go down the different horse route.
 
wkiwi said:
Any particular reason why you think the horse you have won't go Novice? Even if it cannot make the times, it might give you the experience at that level while you sort out the house, then after a couple of seasons you could go down the different horse route.
Click to expand...

I think in time she probably would, she has xc schooled some novice fences & jumps 1.10 happily in lessons but honestly she was never meant to BE never mind go novice & i don't think it would be fair to push her. It would be pushing her to what i believe would be her limits & I'm not sure that is fair just because it is what i want to achieve. I want someone to appreciate her for what she is not me try to make her into something she isn't.

I literally worship the ground she walks on & if i could afford to keep her as a fun horse & get something else i would but sadly i cant :(
 
She might surprise you. I had a black mare I bought to sell-on as a riding club horse at the same time I bought another to event (both TBs too slow for racing). The black mare never cleared fences by more than an inch; the chestnut showed immense scope and ability. Unfortunately the chestnut had a field accident. My instructor started putting the fences up for the black mare (gradually of course). She cleared them by an inch. Took her training eventing and ditto -double clears. Went Novice and ditto, double clears (ok, odd showjumping rail if i made a booboo, but that wasn't her fault). Even did a 3day with her (odd format - steeplechase) and she was an angel. All the scope in the world but didn't show it off unless needed. She taught me a lot about judging a horse's ability as I had always gone for the extravagant ones when possible. Had her for six years (before i lost her to a toxic fungal infection) as my 3 month project horse turned into a keeper. (She also spooked like mad, which was another reason i thought she wouldn't cross-country, but an advanced event rider told me not to worry about it and she was right - would spook at the ground colour and then pop over a horrendously large fence (ok only Novice but some of them look awful) without effort.
another horse i had I didn't think could jump above around 80cm and my instructor at the time (different one who had been on an olympic team) said aim for the wall (1m plus). I knew the horse had never jumped that high as i had taught it to jump. The horse popped over without problems and he too went on to do Novice - he jumped far better over the bigger fences but that was his limit for making the time though (sometimes he did and sometimes we had time faults) but i don't know if he could have gone higher or not as my circumstances changed and i had to sell.
Of course, it may be completely different with your horse but just saying that they can surprise you as to what 'they' think their limits are, and if she is doing the height confidently in lessons then maybe she will enjoy the bigger fences too. Maybe do some straight 1.10m showjumping and see how she copes in the higher jump-offs?
 
Sorry, don't know much about your present horse and capabilities but I did start eventing in my 30s with a full time job and mortgage in tow so am looking at it purely from that angle. Eventing is expensive, time consuming and addictive. It is also a huge learning curve even at grassroots level. If I were you I would sell your two three year olds and keep your eventer! (Maybe with a Shetland companion if needed). You will have much more time and money to dedicate to your event horse, get out to as many events as you can at BE90/100 level, invest in lessons etc. if in a year or two your horse has reached its limit, sell it to a grassroots home and buy your more scopey baby then. With the experience you have gained you will be in a much better position to bring on a baby through the levels, will not have stretched yourself as much physically or financially which (trust me!) makes life much more enjoyable and will not have had to put your eventing dreams on hold for 2 years, a lot can happen in that time!
 
Would you consider selling one of the youngsters? Or, as someone else said, why not try her at another level and see how she goes?
From the sounds of it, if you take a break from eventing you will really miss it, although it would give you the extra tine to do up the house I guess?
 
The more you do with her the more she will be worth surely? I agree sell the other two and crack on with her. If she doesn't make the grade she'll still be the best one to sell to fund the purchase of the new horse in the future.

Unless she's shown you she can't do it I don't think you should write her off yet.
 
get rid of the three year olds, continue to compete on this mare and look at renting 2 stables out for extra income, sell the mare at the end of next year and buy a youngster you feel has the scope you want-go from there with a bit more money behind you for the mortgage
 
I will always want 1 or 2 in to break & produce so that side of things isn't an option for changing really :) I'm not allowed to sublet my yard & tbh i don't want anyone else on there with me, i like having the place to myself :)

I was considering just having 1 to produce then my eventer (whether it be my current mare or another) & getting a mini so might consider that idea as will be cheaper on keeping costs.
 
Personally, I don't see why you need to sell your mare.... Particularly if you just plan to buy another "average" horse. Like others have said sell the youngsters, which will not only make you a bit of money but also save you money in feed and training. Your mate may surprise you, with training her confidence will grow and as others have said if you are just aiming for novice then get yourself started at90/100 and try a novice. If you then really don't feel like she is capable you can sell her and potentially for more with her extra experience as a grassroots horse. You could have fun and maybe qualify for the badminton grassroots.... Great fun and achievement as well as adding to her value, thus giving you more money for an "upgrade". Good luck whatever your decision 😀
 
Wow, you are in a great position - but you are right that it comes with difficult choices.

Something to bear in mind is that house prices do go up every year. In London I think it's by about 30% a year, and in my city it's not far off! I expect if you are out in the sticks the prices will be more stable, but it's worth researching this and looking at old listings on estate agents' sites to get an idea of the annual increase. So generally it's wiser to get on the ladder as soon as possible.

If you can get your mare really solid at 100, and safe enough for a teen or adult amateur, you can ask a very good price. I know someone who had something similar and he went for 15k. So I would continue with her, and really brush up on your riding, and then look at expanding your horizons once you're secure in your house and can ask a very good price for her. Riding lots of different horses will help, even if they're not classy. You could think about having some schoolmaster lessons, in dressage and possibly jumping.
 
Buy a property but rethink what you want. You like older properties, but they take maintaining which takes money, and you probably want to spend your spare time and cash on horses. Buy new, off plan if you can so you get a great deal (as you can wait over a year easily), buy the right type and size of property too... My first house was a one bed starter home which was fine, but really a flat would have been fine, I resented having to take care of a garden!
 
I will never get a new house, no offence to people who live in them but I hate them. I get that they are cheaper to heat etc but there just boxes to me there is nothing there. Yeh I'm lucky, very far away from london & although prices do go up a little they haven't moved much over the last few years :)

The whole point in selling my eventer is to save some of the money towards a deposit & then invest the rest back into a horse, so she will be sold at some point, its just when! Depending on how she goes when I get my saddle sorted though I might consider keeping her till next season & doing a bit next season. Re getting another average horse I break, produce & sell & if I sell my eventer this year & get another average horse I can turn 1 round before I buy my house giving me a bit more money to play with & potentially then re-invest it in a really nice youngster. I want to keep doing this even when I get my house. I know I can do it & do it well & make money which will give me a bit extra to pay my mortgage off etc. But I am thinking maybe only do 1 other than my eventer.
 
There are a lot of talented people.
Talent doesn't pay the bills especially if you're just doing it as a one horse hobby.
What happens if you sink your money into it and the horse goes lame? No horse, no house.
Talent doesn't go away so if you have a deadline to move out I'd get the house sorted and event after- you have 3 horses so you could alternatively sell three, buy one and be financially easy??
 
I'm not actually clear what your dilemma is? The house and at least one youngster are non-negotiable, so is your debate whether to buy the nice youngster now or next year?
 
Jo_x said:
I'm not actually clear what your dilemma is? The house and at least one youngster are non-negotiable, so is your debate whether to buy the nice youngster now or next year?
Click to expand...

No dilemma is do i get a really nice youngster next spring that will hopefully take me novice & intermediate in the future but that i would need to start BE'ing in 2017 when i buy house = a lot of expense
Or
Do i buy another "average" youngster next spring to break produce probably event unaffiliated then sell & get a really nice youngster once i am settled into my new house, more sensible but will have delayed things by 2 years probably depending on what age the really nice youngster i find is, ideally a 4 year old but i would still want unbroken
 
Prioritise the house - as others have said, horses can break but you'll always need a roof over your head and they are only ever going to get more expensive! Don't worry about "wasting" two years (which you won't be anyway if you're bringing something on) - I know you mentioned being worried about approaching 30, but honestly life goes on after you pass that milestone and you'll still have exactly the same drive and ambition! We're incredibly lucky in our sport that age simply isn't a limiting factor in the way it is for other sports.
 
Andrew Nicholson, 54, aiming for seventh olympics.
Mark Todd won Badminton at 55
Ian Miller did his 10th Olympics in London, aged 65 (and at that point was intending to take the same horse to Rio). - showjumping
Mary King - 51 at the London Olympics, and regularly competes against her own daughter.

EVentingconnect used the title "Like fine wine, eventers get better with age"
But if you start to feel that the falls are getting a bit much after retirement age, then Japanese rider was 71 when competing in London Olympics. in dressage
Plenty of time, and there is hope for us all yet...
 
kassieg said:
No dilemma is do i get a really nice youngster next spring that will hopefully take me novice & intermediate in the future but that i would need to start BE'ing in 2017 when i buy house = a lot of expense
Or
Do i buy another "average" youngster next spring to break produce probably event unaffiliated then sell & get a really nice youngster once i am settled into my new house, more sensible but will have delayed things by 2 years probably depending on what age the really nice youngster i find is, ideally a 4 year old but i would still want unbroken
Click to expand...

If you are planning on having a couple of horses when you buy your house then one of them may as well be a nice one? Even if you don't BE in 2017 you can be getting the horse really established ready to hit the ground running when you do have the funds. And you never know how things will go with the house, you may find one that doesn't need too much work or is well within budget.

If I misunderstood and you were thinking of selling all the youngsters and an 'average' horse when you buy the house then I'd be tempted to do that and sink your spare time and money into doing up the house, get that done and then crack on eventing again
 
Thanks to both of you that is really helpful!

I suppose i see it as wasted years because i won't be getting further in competition but it would give me some breathing space & enough money so that when i get something good i can really put everything into it without worrying. I am also doing management training at work so would hope by that point i will be getting paid a lot more too !

Think i probably do need to do the "grown up thing" for once & get myself sorted & a good grounding before pursuing the eventing properly.
 
Two years is no time at all. As others have said, a roof over your head is way more important (that being your own roof). You'll thank yourself for it in the long run.
 
I'm similarly a bit confused as to what the dilemma is. But if you're thinking of buying a house soon, factor in that interest rates are very likely to be going up soon (= more expensive monthly mortgage payments). If you're buying a house to do up, factor in the time that takes out of your day (and it's likely to be double your estimate!). If you work full time, have a (small) yard full of horses, and you have to get home and think about grouting the bathroom, you may well find your desire for BE wane slightly. Having worked full time, had a horse on assisted DIY and done a (small) house up alone, I can vouch that there is a distinct lack of hours in the day - and this wasn't even a competition horse!
As someone else said - talent doesn't go anywhere. Eventing isn't an age-constrained sport, and you may find that focusing on achieving it a bit later when you have more time and money for training will be more successful.
 
Life is a compromise and sometimes it is the figuring out where/what/when and still live with it. Very few have it all so you may need to compromise in areas which at this point in time you say you don't want too but circumstances may force you to. Being driven and ambitious is a positive thing but also sometimes when you are so focused on this, common sense takes a lesser place.

Having a secure home from which to base yourself is sensible whether that is the older property you love or the new square box that you hate. However, remember it is the only first step on the property ladder in the grand plan. Property can make you a whole lot of money too if you busy wisely and prepared do some work.

Best of luck with whatever you decide but my feeling is that property prices are more likely to increase at a higher rate than horse prices
 
Jnhuk said:
Life is a compromise and sometimes it is the figuring out where/what/when and still live with it. Very few have it all so you may need to compromise in areas which at this point in time you say you don't want too but circumstances may force you to. Being driven and ambitious is a positive thing but also sometimes when you are so focused on this, common sense takes a lesser place.

Having a secure home from which to base yourself is sensible whether that is the older property you love or the new square box that you hate. However, remember it is the only first step on the property ladder in the grand plan. Property can make you a whole lot of money too if you busy wisely and prepared do some work.

Best of luck with whatever you decide but my feeling is that property prices are more likely to increase at a higher rate than horse prices
Click to expand...

Thanks,i suppose i am seeing the house as my not forever house but long time house as I'm not in a relationship & tbh can't see myself getting into 1 anytime soon but i suppose i can move for me if that pleases me so maybe i need to look round & be more open minded :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top