(Long) I'm getting a horse next year...

diamonddogs

diamonddogs

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... and I think it's going to take me longer than a year to sort it all out! I don't remember it being this hard work first time round, but maybe that's because I had my long suffering parents helping out then, along with lots of horsey friends.

1. The horse itself
Or will it be a pony? I've brought one on before, a long time ago, so one idea is to buy an unbroken youngster, break it and school it, assess its potential and hope I can bear to part with it when I know what kind of owner will help it fulfill its potential (I'm sure I'll be able to, since I did it once before, having left school and no longer had the time or money to further its education).

Or do I adopt an older (healthy) horse, whose background is known? If I'm honest, I'll probably end up doing light hacking and schooling, which is one of the reasons I'm thinking about a youngster, so I suppose I'm looking for a three to four year old, or a 15+. I really like the idea of a rescue, and I have lots of contacts who'll see me right so I don't end up with a unsound psychopath.

Mare or gelding? Not fussed if it's an older horse, but are young mares a bit of a handful? I've only ever had geldings.

I'd love a pony, but I see conflicting arguments on here about how big you can be to ride a pony - though I'm talking no smaller than 14hh.

2. Where will it live?
I'm trying to decide if it might be a good idea to keep it near where I work. I live on the edge of a small town, and there is OK hacking, but you have to look hard for it, whereas I work out in the sticks where there's a lot of lovely yards and beautiful hacks, and I work with loads of horsey people who could probably help me out in emergencies if I had the nerve to ask! Keeping at home is sensible in the sense that family are on hand if I absolutely can't see to the horse, but if I keep it at work I can visit early mornings and evenings after work and I could even ride in my lunch hour!

Your thoughts on this aspect please!

3. When to buy?
Is it best to get horse in the summer when you've got long days and you can get into the habit of early starts and late finishes while the weather's not bad, or in winter, when you're in at the deep end, with crap weather and higher running costs?

Or maybe I should just buy this and keep it in the shed!
 
Well I reckon that'd be cheaper than a real one!!
Seriously, if you've had a few years out, I would NOT go for a young unbroken horse. It's amazing how your confidence can be dented by just having a few years out (I bought a 4 year old straight after finishing uni when I hadn't ridden much for 3 years and now wish I hadn't as you really need plenty of experience and good facilities to give them a good grounding) and there are a lot of horses out there already who haven't been given the best/ most professional of starts to life!
Size-wise depends how big you are to a point, but generally the smaller they are the easier to keep and do they are (eat less, tend to have less stupid injuries!)
Hope this helps, good luck!
 
It's nice to see someone going through all the aspects of keeping a horse, and giving it proper thought
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My advice? Get yourself something older and sane, so you can get back into riding and enjoy it without having to worry about bringing it on and educating it. Especially if you just want to hack and school.
Keep it near to your work if that is convenient, but bear in mind that you will still have to travel out there on your days off!
Personally I think it's nicer to get something in the spring so that you can enjoy the summer with it before the long slog of dark winter. That way, you'll remember all the fun you have had in the summer when your picking fields in the snow and rain, and getting out of bed in the pitch black!
Good luck! x
 
Good luck and enjoy! I came back to horses after a long break (twenty years): bought a three year old for novice daughter (a long story); then a ten year old for other daughter; and went looking for a four or five year old gelding and came back with a three year old just backed mare. Whilst life has been interesting with the two youngsters, and I've found I don't bounce as well as I used to, and confidence levels are not what they were, it's been the ten year old that has caused most angst - he's obviously had something go on in the past, and whilst my girly is hard work (her straight line is that of a snake), it's very rewarding. On the other hand, I do sometimes think it would be nice to have a horse I could just get on and plod out on a hack without being slightly nervous about how it's going to go. As to pony v horse: I think ponies can be more challenging because they seem to ask more questions than horses do, also easier to handle from the ground (may be important if you're small enough to be considering a pone). I suggest you go and look
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horses are usually a bit cheaper to buy after the summer, have you thought about going back to riding school, trying differnt sizes and types to see where your capabilities are at and your confidence, that should give you a realistic view on what you would be looking for, then you could always look for a loan or share, its much easier to give up riding school horses and loans than it is to buy and sell on should the horse not be right for you. good luck in your quest.
 
Yes, I intend to use the year to book up lessons while I try to save!

TBH the OH isn't at all keen on the idea at all, and makes out it's about cost, but his best friend's wife has had appalling bad luck with horses, sustaining serious injuries more than once, (and in one accident the poor horse threw her off on to an iron gate opening out on to a main road before jumping over it straight on top of a car full of old ladies coming down the road) and I think he thinks that this is how it is. However, he's agreed that if I can save the running costs every month for the next year, I can go for it. (This is where the year comes in - he wants me to get in front, and it also reassures us that we can actually afford it).

I'm really drawn towards a rescue horse/pony though - I've even got my eye on a couple already! Aside from the altruistic side of it, if anything happened to me, my non horsey OH won't have the responsibility of selling - it's enough hassle if you know what you're doing, as we all know! And if my dream horse turned out to be a nightmare, most rescue agencies will take them back with no hard feelings, and some won't even make you pay again for a replacement.

Ho-hum! If I'm this bad now, what will I be like when the dream becomes reality!
 
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