Is it a stupid idea... buying a youngster?

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Always-Riding

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I have posted on this subject way before now, but having settled in at Uni and having been left a considerable amount of money - I'm re-thinking of buying a youngster.

There are plenty of places near uni for livery, one I've found and liked has youngstock livery and I have a place at home for the summer..

But is it silly thinking about this while at uni and the fact the horse will be moved to 2 yards a year?

For those who have seen my previous posts, I do currently have a horse on loan - but I'm so happy with the loaner I am very reluctant to get that mare back.
 
I bought a thirteen month old colt. I started with five minutes handling a day, every day - he was out at grass and occasionally stabled in massive box - and have built up over four months to forty five minutes a day. Grooming, loose schooling, mucking out round him, laying harness over him, rugging, telling him not to play with scissors, grazing in hand, leading in hand, gates, traffic, dogs, donkeys, sheep, cows, trotting up, and standing for vet/farrier type stuff. I also had him gelded, and nursed him through an injured stifle. Box rest, yay...

The plan was to show him in hand. He has decided to be overheight for native classes, and has garnered a few nasty scars in obvious places due to being set upon by another horse. So I have decided to try driving instead, and just do a few shows for the experience as we do not have any chance of winning.

Honestly, it is very repetitive, and you have all the chores/mucky jobs minus any of the riding. Plus they have to be taught everything and they learn fast. So you really can't afford to get anything wrong the first time around, iyswim. Be prepared for at least three people to ask why you bought a youngster, and ten to act as if it is a baby eating dragon. Someone else will tell you that it can be ridden at two, as that is what they do with TBs.

Meanwhile your youngster will be inventing new ways to escape, or hurling hoofpicks at your head. It will have incredible aim. Wear a hard hat, and expect to go through lots of sizes in headcollars and rugs within the first while. It will also try to play with you in the field. Do not engage, it is likely to trample you. Teach it manners, you will be glad and so will everyone else.

Try not to be upset when it decides it doesn't love you any more and much prefers the person with the polo mints. Resist the temptation to scream at the professional person who turns out not to be as advertised. Carry carrots to win back affection of youngster. Desensitise to everything, including planes. You will need turn out. You should still get it used to stabling and travelling. Get full insurance. Hide the scissors.

That's all I have.
 
Arizahn said:
I bought a thirteen month old colt. I started with five minutes handling a day, every day - he was out at grass and occasionally stabled in massive box - and have built up over four months to forty five minutes a day. Grooming, loose schooling, mucking out round him, laying harness over him, rugging, telling him not to play with scissors, grazing in hand, leading in hand, gates, traffic, dogs, donkeys, sheep, cows, trotting up, and standing for vet/farrier type stuff. I also had him gelded, and nursed him through an injured stifle. Box rest, yay...

The plan was to show him in hand. He has decided to be overheight for native classes, and has garnered a few nasty scars in obvious places due to being set upon by another horse. So I have decided to try driving instead, and just do a few shows for the experience as we do not have any chance of winning.

Honestly, it is very repetitive, and you have all the chores/mucky jobs minus any of the riding. Plus they have to be taught everything and they learn fast. So you really can't afford to get anything wrong the first time around, iyswim. Be prepared for at least three people to ask why you bought a youngster, and ten to act as if it is a baby eating dragon. Someone else will tell you that it can be ridden at two, as that is what they do with TBs.

Meanwhile your youngster will be inventing new ways to escape, or hurling hoofpicks at your head. It will have incredible aim. Wear a hard hat, and expect to go through lots of sizes in headcollars and rugs within the first while. It will also try to play with you in the field. Do not engage, it is likely to trample you. Teach it manners, you will be glad and so will everyone else.

Try not to be upset when it decides it doesn't love you any more and much prefers the person with the polo mints. Resist the temptation to scream at the professional person who turns out not to be as advertised. Carry carrots to win back affection of youngster. Desensitise to everything, including planes. You will need turn out. You should still get it used to stabling and travelling. Get full insurance. Hide the scissors.

That's all I have.
Click to expand...

One of the bests post I've seen in a long time and sooo true.


To add my experience, it will try to break into the electricity boards electrical box if you have one in the field, it will chase cows and jump a four foot hedge with a six foot drop to be with them, they will hate it and run through the bog in their field, all cows and youngster will turn brown and you will be in trouble.

Get yourself an OH who can perform a double act with the youngster trying to get said youngster back in his own field, oh will fall in the mud whist closing the gate and the youngster will sneak back to where it shouldn't be, this will happen repeatedly and the neighbours will laugh.

Your youngster will become proficient at football and chewing up tub thugs. If it's a colt it will become a fly kicking ninja when it's balls drop any you can then have the smug satisfaction of seeing its balls fed to the jack Russell on the yard after you watch them being removed, he will then get up and whilst sedated wobble around eyes at half mast.... This is funny to watch.

You will need to keep anything that is not feed, feed bowl, water, hay and bedding out of the stable, anything left in there will be his property to play with, chew, trample on or eat. He or she will undoubted freak out at some point and try (failing epically) to jump a wheelbarrow, just for kicks and giggles, hopefully the horse will not be broken, but you will need a new wheelbarrow.

Get a good older horse to kick the monster into touch and teach it that it's a horse, not a flying ninja.... Good adult mares (especially) do half the work for you.
 
Arizahn said:
I bought a thirteen month old colt. I started with five minutes handling a day, every day - he was out at grass and occasionally stabled in massive box - and have built up over four months to forty five minutes a day. Grooming, loose schooling, mucking out round him, laying harness over him, rugging, telling him not to play with scissors, grazing in hand, leading in hand, gates, traffic, dogs, donkeys, sheep, cows, trotting up, and standing for vet/farrier type stuff. I also had him gelded, and nursed him through an injured stifle. Box rest, yay...

The plan was to show him in hand. He has decided to be overheight for native classes, and has garnered a few nasty scars in obvious places due to being set upon by another horse. So I have decided to try driving instead, and just do a few shows for the experience as we do not have any chance of winning.

Honestly, it is very repetitive, and you have all the chores/mucky jobs minus any of the riding. Plus they have to be taught everything and they learn fast. So you really can't afford to get anything wrong the first time around, iyswim. Be prepared for at least three people to ask why you bought a youngster, and ten to act as if it is a baby eating dragon. Someone else will tell you that it can be ridden at two, as that is what they do with TBs.

Meanwhile your youngster will be inventing new ways to escape, or hurling hoofpicks at your head. It will have incredible aim. Wear a hard hat, and expect to go through lots of sizes in headcollars and rugs within the first while. It will also try to play with you in the field. Do not engage, it is likely to trample you. Teach it manners, you will be glad and so will everyone else.

Try not to be upset when it decides it doesn't love you any more and much prefers the person with the polo mints. Resist the temptation to scream at the professional person who turns out not to be as advertised. Carry carrots to win back affection of youngster. Desensitise to everything, including planes. You will need turn out. You should still get it used to stabling and travelling. Get full insurance. Hide the scissors.

That's all I have.
Click to expand...

That is so this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7AzBIJoI
 
Queenbee said:
One of the bests post I've seen in a long time and sooo true.


To add my experience, it will try to break into the electricity boards electrical box if you have one in the field, it will chase cows and jump a four foot hedge with a six foot drop to be with them, they will hate it and run through the bog in their field, all cows and youngster will turn brown and you will be in trouble.

Get yourself an OH who can perform a double act with the youngster trying to get said youngster back in his own field, oh will fall in the mud whist closing the gate and the youngster will sneak back to where it shouldn't be, this will happen repeatedly and the neighbours will laugh.

Your youngster will become proficient at football and chewing up tub thugs. If it's a colt it will become a fly kicking ninja when it's balls drop any you can then have the smug satisfaction of seeing its balls fed to the jack Russell on the yard after you watch them being removed, he will then get up and whilst sedated wobble around eyes at half mast.... This is funny to watch.

You will need to keep anything that is not feed, feed bowl, water, hay and bedding out of the stable, anything left in there will be his property to play with, chew, trample on or eat. He or she will undoubted freak out at some point and try (failing epically) to jump a wheelbarrow, just for kicks and giggles, hopefully the horse will not be broken, but you will need a new wheelbarrow.

Get a good older horse to kick the monster into touch and teach it that it's a horse, not a flying ninja.... Good adult mares (especially) do half the work for you.
Click to expand...

Oh god yes, get an older mare! She will save your sanity :) Sunscreen will merely be regarded as food by the youngster. And it will throw the tube at you.
 
Youngsters are a pain in the proverbial lol BUT I have personally put my riding horse up for sale in order to concentrate on my baby horse. I have had him a year and he is now 3.5 years old and has come so far in that time. Right now we are working on his manners as he is approx 16.2hh, very strong and knows it :rolleyes3:
 
Arizahn said:
Oh god yes, get an older mare! She will save your sanity :) Sunscreen will merely be regarded as food by the youngster. And it will throw the tube at you.
Click to expand...


Oh another thing, invest in lots and lots of lead ropes, babies do not need you to lead them, just stick the other end of the lead rope in their mouth to chew... This is appropriate use for lead ropes with youngsters. Infact, if you do not provide them with a the end of the lead rope to chew, Armageddon will commence.
 
Is the money likely to run out before you get some more? enough to maintain the animal? If so I would go for it. I don't think you have to go overboard on handling youngsters - completely wild ponies can be brought round and make nice mounts in a matter of weeks so if you're time poor at the moment I don't see anything wrong with simply turning out and then sending to a good professional one day for breaking.
 
I suppose it depends whether you want to be able to ride at the moment! How young a youngster are you thinking? They are a pain in the neck quite frankly, my current one is also 16.2 (at two!) and going through the chewing everything stage. That said, he's my third youngster so they can't be that bad.

Thinking back to my own uni days, I would personally buy an older horse because I'd have got a bit fed up of traipsing to the yard to spend a few minutes doing ground work. But you may not feel the same. Just make sure they have 24/7 turnout available even if it is youngstock livery.
 
They are hard work but it is very rewarding. The big decider really is if your prepared to wait to ride, its a bonus if you have something to ride in the meantime so you are not out of touch when it eventually comes the time to start backing your baby. I didn't bother riding much when I was bringing my own youngster up and I found my confidence wasn't as great as it would have been if in had continued. It can be done though so good luck with what you decide :)
 
If you have the time and money ( you will need a lot of these!) Then I don't see why not.

I had my horse with me while at uni. In all honesty my uni work suffered as I spent more time at the yard than in the library, and she was no youngster, field kept, and was not always worked every day!

In my experience, both being at uni with a horse, and having bred my own youngster who turned 3 this year (whilst not at uni!) I would not advise it at this stage in your life.

The amount of time and money that I have ploughed into my youngster already without even being able to sit on her yet leads me to think you would be wise to wait until you have finished uni. That being said: I doubt you are looking to buy a weanling so the expense and time would be considerably less than I have invested so far.

If it were me... I probably would go for it, but then I sacrificed my degree for my horse already, so you should do as I say... not as I do! ;)
 
how young are you looking for ? as the amount of time, money and facilities you need will vary tremendously.

I loved every minute of having young ones, teaching them everything, its very rewarding. However, the expense and time really kicks in when you start the groundwork and backing.
 
bonny said:
If you can afford it and have the time, then why not ?
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This /\
I bought my young mare, she was 2.5yrs approx, sold as 3yrs! I was looking for a 3-6yr old, something started preferably but needing bringing on, well she was not started at all, and not handled that much, after a tough start I now feel incredibly rewarded with a cracking young mare who I have brought on very slowly, seen her progress from being pretty nervous at times and bad with her feet to a fab happy hacker is great, though she is of course very much is inexperienced in life and riding and behaves like a baby (she is just 4), but she is coming along very nicely It can be so rewarding bringing on a younger horse for sure. I kept my beautiful late mare at a University Livery years ago,though I did not study an equine related degree(was allowed to be at yard as I was a local :)) lots of students kept their horses and brought them to and from home each term, and they seemed to manage time wise and do their studies well
 
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I buy youngsters all the time and apart from hay, grass and time there is very little you have to do. I would buy the best you can afford as it costs just as much to keep a bad un as a good un and find a livery where they have young stock, so they are set up with fencing, turnout etc, where people will not feed them titbits and treat them like dollies.
I only do a lot with them when they are shown, the rest of the time they are allowed to be horses. Some need more hard feed than others but you have to be careful they do not grow too quickly. It not a cheap way to get a horse but you can up with one that you could never afford to buy as a four year old.
 
My only concern would be what would happen if your other mare was suddenly returned? Could you afford to keep both whilst in Uni? Its always a risk when you have a horse out on loan, and could cause major problems if you have bought another, no matter what its age.
 
Mm, it would be a good idea if you had someone at home who could do the day to day work, and you could do more in the holidays, but if you are going to be going up and down once or twice a day my "parental" advice would be no. It isn't about the money, it is about the time needed. You are just about to start uni, which isn't just about studying, but about doing different things. What about if you have to miss a field trip over a weekend because you have to look after your youngster, or you get invited to stay over a weekend and you have to say no because of the youngster?

I would say, put the money aside and concentrate on the uni. They will probably have a riding club anyway where you can keep riding (maybe even Polo).

But I would say that, wouldn't I, being a parent!
 
I havent read all the replies but as someone who adores young horses and always has at least one about,its easy peasy! Get a nice youngster,handle it occasionally but WELL and provide it with really good 24/7 turn out in a small herd in a large field and you will be fine! Dont buy one if you want to keep it on your average livery yard with limited and small acreage turnout with no other youngsters and expect it to be easy though!
 
I moved my then 18 month old from her all she knew yard to one with better grazing/company and she settled extremely well, I think youngsters can be more adaptable to change than older ones so I wouldn't worry about moving about.
 
The voice of reason here (you might prefer not to listen though :wink3:).
I haven't read your other posts but I assume that you put your mare on loan for a good reason - to allow you to concentrate on your Uni studies. As other posters have said, youngsters can be very rewarding, (we have 2 atm) and can be left pretty much to get on with it UNTIL something goes wrong. One of ours is on box-rest with an abscess because she cut her sole on a can thrown over our wall from a footpath. This has necessitated moving all four horses into different boxes, because of the set-up of our yard.
It is a nightmare, she has learned that having your foot touched hurts and naturally enough doesn't want us to do it. She is of course taking more work than usual, she has to have a companion staying in with her, who is also taking more work than usual. I haven't got the vet bill yet but I'm guessing it will be astronomic, with 2 vet visits both needing lots of sedation and anti-bs.
My advice would be to save your money somewhere secure, vow not to touch it until you've graduated, take stock when you know where you will be after Uni and get your youngster then, when your older horse can help you to bring it up.
 
Unless you are a mature student studying something totally undemanding, I am afraid I am going to make myself thoroughly unpopular by advising you to forget horses for a few years and concentrate on your studies.

When you have finished university you will not only be wealthy but wise which will qualify you to choose an even richer and wiser partner so you can own a whole stable full of youngsters and the staff to look after them. Then you can just swan around all day doing the interesting stuff while others muck out, groom, feed, etc.

But then I'm old and boring!

Sorry, haven't got time to write further as I need to go and do a bit more with MY youngsters! And, yes, it is rewarding but it won't get any less rewarding by delaying until after you are qualified. Waiting will give you time to look around and make the right choices. I know I am glad I waited.
 
Gosh, what a lot of things happened to other people: I had a phone call one morning to remove my mare as she was no longer any use to loanee due to there being two not one!
We loaded fine, travelled fine, went everywhere with MUM............ but MUM said "I don't want to lose my Baby, you will never get her, she is mine" .........., so apart from worming [cue very large strong agile man], we were not able to catch her, even with a foal slip on, even in a stable.
This went on for four months, I sat in that stable reading books and so on, no difference...... one day Baby popped her nose over stable door, and I got a rope on her, as I did not eat her that day, she rapidly became my best mate, and was totally user friendly, and is to this day, [sold to another fan].
She was great fun to have around, went out for walks, even did a big Safari down a river, when the whole herd went under a road bridge.
She did get a bit uppetty once or twice, but I gave her a rap with the lead rope and she got the message straight off.
She walked to a local show, got a rosette, no noisy shouting, took it all in her stride, she tried a little harness on, gave a wee buck, then decided there were lots of other things to see and do that day, so just accepted it as yet another strange idea of mine.
Fantastic.
But I do think they need to run with their own kind, I had Mum and also my own fairly young horse, they spent loads of time out in the fields, being horses, in a herd.
 
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