Is there such a thing as the perfect horse

Interesting discussion. Agree that people seem to want a lot for little money and it's been a buyers market for a while which is keeping prices down. Funny to compare all the Saint like horses for sale, with many posts on here about tricky horses. Almost directly opposite ��

I also think there isn't a perfect horse, but there are those who are perfect for their rider. The one I had that is closest to the op's description was sold to my sharer, never needed to advertise and had several people who wanted him. He was ace but he was less confident xc and by that stage he was a bit quiet for me. Many people thought I was nuts to sell but it was the right thing for everyone and he's happy as anything in a quieter life now.

I tend to have geldings but it does irk me that sexism in horses seems acceptable. I think you can get a lot more from a mare and they have bags of character, but being entire they do need a bit of understanding.
 
I have been recently horse shopping (6 months of looking) - wanted 16.2+ 6-10 capable of BE90 and decent dressage, good to hack etc. I had an £8k budget. Couldn't find one for love nor money unless i wanted to spend even more, more like £12K. All were quirky or not as described if they were within budget and the choice was limited as people don't want to sell this type if they are good. Ended up spending £4k on a rising 6 year old with a full seasons hunting under its belt, basic flat work and seen some coloured poles. Temperament to die for and fantastic to deal with. He is lovely and hopefully will turn into the horse i wanted in a year or so, and then i wont be selling! He is a gelding but when looking looked at both mares and geldings.
 
Yes - I own her :) She wasn't what I went looking to buy as was far from the experienced confidence giver that I was looking for (Although I feel very confident on her) but I wouldn't swap her for the world. She may only be a little coloured Irish bog cob but she has the heart of a lion, looks to kill, a gorgeous, floaty movement and will try absolutely anything with a smile on her face. She has the most extraordinary heart and is the greatest friend and team mate that I could wish for. She is a mare and is very opinionated and a devil to handle outside her stable when other horses are around and can be a madam to ride (I swear she is part tank and is as strong as an ox) but I wouldn't have her any other way.

You can go out with the best of intensions when looking for a horse but it is obvious when you come across something which maybe isn't what you are looking for but is perfect (For whatever reason in your eyes). I think that the market is saturated (To a certain extent) with Irish Sports Horse types that might not necessarily be talented enough to exceed BE100 but will do the lower levels and turn a hoof to RC activities, a bit of hunting, fun rides etc quite nicely (Most roughly in the £4-5k plus price bracket). There seems to be gaps of quality larger breed M&M types (What I was looking for initially) though. Something I have noticed is that mares do seem to command a lower price tag than a gelding which I don't really understand. I would personally much rather have a mare than a gelding! As they say though, one mans trash is another mans treasure and the same applies to horses - not every horse will appeal to every rider.
 
I have the perfect horse at home, unfortunately he's spread across two animals! A & M are complete opposites, and one's bad bits are the other's good bits so if you could combine the two you really would have the perfect horse. I'm trying to work out a way of cloning them into one!

To ride, M is incredibly laid back while A is stressy. If you could have A's natural forwardness with M's amenability you'd have have the perfect dressage horse. M is the perfect jumper and really looks after his rider but A can't jump any more. A is perfect in traffic but can spook at silly things while M is worried by big vehicles (doesn't do anything just freezes and shakes) but never spooks. A will hack out alone perfectly happily and although M will, it's obvious he hates it. He's on edge the whole time. On the ground, M is so easy to do but aloof and A is very cuddly but hates being fiddled with. In the field, M is a loner and vile to any horse who dares to come near him. A is everybody's friend and in the middle of everything. The list goes on. The only thing they share is a lovely temperament. Neither would ever hurt anyone deliberately.

If I were looking, Luci, that would be my criteria too but yes I would expect to pay a bit more for it. In fact an acquaintance is selling one exactly like that for £7,500. (if I were shopping I'd snap him up like a shot). I have to have a gelding as my yard is geldings only and I'm not planning on leaving it any time soon.
 
I have two perfect horses on my yard. They don't fit the OP's spec, and they're like chalk and cheese. But for what I want to do, they're near as damn it perfect.

But then, I bought them young and made them into what I wanted. It's a lot easier that way.

I do thing people have high expectations often not backed up by their budget, or their skills to maintain the horse they buy at the level they bought it at.
 
I'm more of a 'right horse at the right time' kind of person.
My first mare was perfect for me then but wouldn't be now for no other reason than she wouldn't do the things I want to do which, ironically, I want to do because of having her in the first place. She was as near perfect as they come for a lot of people but as a 14.3hh lw cob mare wouldn't have got a look in by most even thou I would have struggled to find fault with her.

My last horse was not perfect by any stretch but was good for me and taught me loads even thou he was a giant pain the the butt. He was on paper what people look for, good looking gelding, 16.2 jumped and had lots of talent. He was also the sort of horse that amateurs like me over horse themselves with, you make the choice of either selling or stepping up. I stepped up but there where times when I wanted to sell, he wasn't miss sold but I miss judged myself and ability.

New horse I have no idea, too new to know but I like her and hope that she will do the thing I want and become my perfect horse in time. I know more thanks the the last horse and had a better and more realistic idea of my ability when I went looking
 
I really don't understand the mare thing. I have known equal numbers of horrible mares, geldings and stallions. I do think it is the world in general at the moment to want everything for not a lot of money. People have always overestimated their own ability, but do seem to be a lot quicker to blame the seller. In the past people would say they over horsed themselves, now they were miss-sold a horse.
I had almost what you described and sold her 18 months ago.
The only bits that didn't fit were mare and limited XC experience, but had jumped ditches, water and skinnies and was always good, but she was only 6. She could easily have gone out and done a BE90 with scope to go further and I sold her for more than 4k though.
I got her as an unbacked 4yo and for what ever reason never really clicked with her. I never got off and thought ugh that was cr*p, but also never got off floating on a cloud. She was always "good" and "reliable".
Some of the people who came to look at her were ridiculous though. One teenager said she wanted to she her jump, but was too scared to jump herself due to a fall so I popped her round a 1m course in the field. Girl gets on and goes in the school and jumps a cross pole and cries because she hasn't jumped for over a year. 20 mins later she is jumping 80cm course in the field, smiling from ear to ear. After she gets off mother says she isn't worth what I was asking and would I take £4500!!!!

I used the money to buy an unbacked 3yo who I adore. She has almost none of the traits you mention except she is good with traffic and to hack on her own, but god help you if livestock start running towards you! Her talent and scope should take her far beyond 90cm or elementary. There are times when I get off (or pick myself up ;)) and feel frustrated, but more often I get off on cloud 9. If I were to sell her though (which I am not!) she would be way more than 4K.
 
JFTD said:
I have two perfect horses on my yard. They don't fit the OP's spec, and they're like chalk and cheese. But for what I want to do, they're near as damn it perfect.

But then, I bought them young and made them into what I wanted. It's a lot easier that way.

I do thing people have high expectations often not backed up by their budget, or their skills to maintain the horse they buy at the level they bought it at.
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You've hit the nail on the head with this entire post. I could not agree more.
 
If I had written (and then stuck to) a wanted ad, I wouldn't have got any of my horses - yet all have been or are perfect for me. Turns out that I like sensitive mares! What it has taught me is that the 'right' horse can come in all different packages (gender, age, size, build, type). It is how you 'click' with each other that matters. I also got all of mine through word of mouth (I wasn't actively looking either) and was flexible on budget. I don't think the 'perfect' list highlighted can be bought for that little.

This reminds me of when my best friend at school got a decent inheritance and went off to shop for a good PC pony (she was a good rider and on teams on difficult ponies). Went out looking for a 14.2 gelding, bay or chestnut, gelding, 8-10 y.o., proven dressage/SJ record. Came back with a four year old, mare, grey, 15.2, no record, just off the boat from Ireland (and a strong dislike of dressage). Turned out to be her horse of a lifetime - despite being grey (friend hated having a dirty looking horse).
 
stormox said:
one persons perfect horse is another persons nightmare!!
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Completely!

My current horse is perfect for me at this point in my life. He is perfect because he is very low-fuss to look after, lives out, very rarely ill or injured, sound barefoot, can be safely led with a toddler holding the other hand, hacks alone and is totally non-spooky, and copes with sporadic work and most winters off. He would be a total nightmare for some people though since he refuses to make an effort jumping anything that falls down (what's the point?), has basically no neck, and is in general extremely talented at subtly avoiding work whilst avoiding a direct confrontation.
 
My old man is the perfect horse in my eyes. He's old, somewhere between 22 and 25, and semi retired now - just a slow potter out once a week, which he enjoys, and I'll never be able to replace him, ever.

He's 16.2, a complete gentleman in every way, he would jump anything and everything in his day and definitely must have had some dressage training at some point in his life. He would hack out with no dramas, alone or in company, and in the nine years that I have owned him he has never put a foot wrong. He's a beautiful bay Gelderlander with a lovely big blaze and three white stockings. He's my hero!
 
Hmmm the perfect horse. For me it would be:
Around 15.2-16hh
7-10yrs old
Liver chestnut mare with 4 socks (yes I am mad)
Well schooled so I can learn
Got a good calm jump and bold xc
No vices and easy to hack

Vs what I actually have:
15.1/2 hh
6/7 yrs old?
Confused chestnut (grey mane)
Hopeless at stressage when I got her she looked like a trotting horse
Best jump I've ever sat on and adores xc
Is a cow to load and naps and used to rear so badly that most people are scared to ride her when she's not cooperating including intern. Event rider who is my YO. She also has a huge buck on her and has bitten.
Needless to say I love her to pieces even when she drives me insane. She has an adorable face and will happily follow me to the ends of the earth. She is so talented I love it when things go right so it helps me to forget the bad things. She would be many peoples nightmare as she is a real challenge to ride and get going correctly and she can have a bit of a temper and is typically stubborn. However she is exactly what I wanted and I would always choose something with things to work on than a made horse. I just don't do boring
 
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