Looking for my first horse - advice welcome

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Lb1105

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Hi, I’m new on the forum and was hoping to gain some advice around purchasing my first equine friend.

After years of working with horses, full loaning and sharing the time has come to finally consider having my own. I had a long break from horses to have my children who are now 7 and 10 and now I feel it could be the right time to bring an equine into the family. My children don’t ride so the new horse would be all mine to enjoy hacking and fun rides. I will be viewing all potential ponies and will be vetting. As I'm quite small and light weight I’m looking for something 13.2hh -14.2hh over 10 yrs old with a mid 4 figure budget. I was hoping there would be a few suitable ones but that doesn’t seem to be the case when looking at the current market. I’m currently kicking myself as a gelding who seemed absolutely perfect came up for sale locally but I was out of the country and unable to view and he was sold on my return 😭. I’m preparing myself for a long road of disappointment but any advice would be welcome. Many thanks
 
If you let us know roughly which part of the world you live in people local to you may be able to suggest reputable dealers who could look out for something suitable otherwise sign up for Horsemart, Whickr, H&H, preloved etc and make it daily routine to scan the ads. You get attuned to seeing certain horses turning up on many platforms and can see which sites have a good sales turnover. Over the years my horses have been found through all sorts of methods…some incredibly quickly and others took months to find. Be a little bit flexible with your height and age range as you have put yourself in a very competitive area. Good luck and keep us posted with your journey.
 
Many thanks for your replies. I’m located in the South in Hampshire so if anyone know of any reputable dealers that would be great 😊. I’m probably more flexible with age as I wouldn’t want to over horse myself. I currently share a 13.2hh cob and have been offered to buy him but unfortunately he is very bolshy on the ground and I’m a finer breed lover at heart. If I was going to describe my perfect pony it would be a 14hh bright bay Arab X, so if anyone knows of one please send them my way 🤣
 
Maybe check out NFED website

What you are probably looking for is a NF type but you will likely need more than 5k might be worth saving up a bit more money to get the right pony.


Lb1105 said:
Many thanks for your replies. I’m located in the South in Hampshire so if anyone know of any reputable dealers that would be great 😊. I’m probably more flexible with age as I wouldn’t want to over horse myself. I currently share a 13.2hh cob and have been offered to buy him but unfortunately he is very bolshy on the ground and I’m a finer breed lover at heart. If I was going to describe my perfect pony it would be a 14hh bright bay Arab X, so if anyone knows of one please send them my way 🤣
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There's quite a lot of good advice on this thread

Share your seller red flags!

We all know there are a LOT of bad apples out there, can you share the biggest icks and red flags you've come across when buying a horse? I'm now actively looking for my first ever horse and just a month in and I may already have a few. My favourite one is the seller straight up lied that the...
forums.horseandhound.co.uk forums.horseandhound.co.uk

I would also hang out on the dodgy dealer pages on fb as you will certainly get a feel for dealers to definitely avoid as well as ones who get recommended time and time again. You can also learn from the mistakes of others about common scams.

Good luck, I've been trying to buy a horse for 5 months and have a 20k budget - it's a jungle out there !!
 
nutjob said:
There's quite a lot of good advice on this thread

Share your seller red flags!

We all know there are a LOT of bad apples out there, can you share the biggest icks and red flags you've come across when buying a horse? I'm now actively looking for my first ever horse and just a month in and I may already have a few. My favourite one is the seller straight up lied that the...
forums.horseandhound.co.uk forums.horseandhound.co.uk

I would also hang out on the dodgy dealer pages on fb as you will certainly get a feel for dealers to definitely avoid as well as ones who get recommended time and time again. You can also learn from the mistakes of others about common scams.

Good luck, I've been trying to buy a horse for 5 months and have a 20k budget - it's a jungle out there !!
Click to expand...

Many thanks for adding this thread. I’ve been on the dodgy dealer FB pages for a while so feel pretty confident I know who to avoid and when to walk away if things don’t seem quite right. It all just seems such a mind field, ideally I’m looking for someone selling an outgrown family pony who needs a quieter life but this is what everyone seems to want. I’m still kicking myself and actually regret going on holiday and missing a lovely 14hh Connie X reasonably priced at 6k but I suppose it shows that although they are gold dust they do appear now and again. Good luck with your search 🤞🏻
 
If youre not fussy on type scope you might find something older or younger than the illusive perfect 10yo. £5k they might be quite green but depending on your support and their temprament you might be ok. You can always sell on if you don't click. Do your viewings and vet check then best not overthink! It helps to picture burning your mid 4s sum then anything over and above that is a pleasant surprise! What area are you I can have a quick look?

Edit : Also sort your yard spot asap
 
Thanks everyone again for responding. I’m still looking for my perfect partner but am not rushing and only viewing ones that aren’t too far away and from sellers that are known to friends (I’ve heard so many horror stories). I’ve had a couple of unsuccessful viewings and am viewing another at the weekend. One was advertised as 13.2hh but must have been around 12.2hh 🙈 they tried to convince me to ride her as she rides bigger but I politely declined. I then saw another who was actually 13.2hh and lovely but he just felt really short backed and had a tiny saddle which I didn’t feel secure in which resulted in me falling off him 🤦‍♀️ I was so embarrassed. So now I’ve realised I need something 14hh+ so I am off to view a 14.1hh 7 year old Connie, a grey which isn’t a colour I was looking for. He also has mild sweet itch which is the reason why he’s within my budget, he is being sold locally by a friend of a friend and looks and sounds such a lovely boy. I didn’t want to write him off just because of his sweet itch as these ponies all need a home. I’m just hoping I don’t fall in love with him 🙈
 
I wish you all the best in the minefield which is horse buying. Sorry I can't be more positive, I've been looking for a good 2 years, probably the last 6 months seriously although having a break atm.

But I'd 100% recommend getting a full vetting once you find one.

Also (and this is nothing to do with my last buying experience) but if you see something you like but you're having a warning bell going off in your head, make sure you pursue your initial reluctance and have the courage of your convictions.

You don't need to give the seller a reason, just something along the lines " thank you for your time, but I don't think he/she is right for me, i hope you find him/her a nice home' is adequate. I've done it with the last four I've seen.

It's hard not to feel pressured but you mustn't.
 
Birker2020 said:
I wish you all the best in the minefield which is horse buying. Sorry I can't be more positive, I've been looking for a good 2 years, probably the last 6 months seriously although having a break atm.

But I'd 100% recommend getting a full vetting once you find one.

Also (and this is nothing to do with my last buying experience) but if you see something you like but you're having a warning bell going off in your head, make sure you pursue your initial reluctance and have the courage of your convictions.

You don't need to give the seller a reason, just something along the lines " thank you for your time, but I don't think he/she is right for me, i hope you find him/her a nice home' is adequate. I've done it with the last four I've seen.

It's hard not to feel pressured but you mustn't.
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Thank you for the advice. I do worry that so many people still seem to buy unseen or without a vetting that sellers might see me as a time waster.

I’m generally pretty cautious in life so feel I will listen to my gut instincts. I assumed all my friends would warn me not to even view this Connie but everyone’s seems to think he’ll be perfect for me. Even a hacking friend with a mare who has pretty bad sweet itch said I should try him.

I’m sorry to hear you’ve been looking for two years but I wish you all the luck on your horse buying journey, I’m sure our perfect equine partners are out there somewhere waiting for us 🤞🏻
 
Lb1105 said:
Thank you for the advice. I do worry that so many people still seem to buy unseen or without a vetting that sellers might see me as a time waster.

I’m generally pretty cautious in life so feel I will listen to my gut instincts. I assumed all my friends would warn me not to even view this Connie but everyone’s seems to think he’ll be perfect for me. Even a hacking friend with a mare who has pretty bad sweet itch said I should try him.

I’m sorry to hear you’ve been looking for two years but I wish you all the luck on your horse buying journey, I’m sure our perfect equine partners are out there somewhere waiting for us 🤞🏻
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I think that people who put 'no timewasters' in their adverts can sometimes be the type of people who will put pressure on genuine buyers simply because the buyer then feels obligated to try the horse even though it might not be what they like when they see it in the flesh.

The buyer feels they can't admit they don't want to try the horse because they don't wish to appear to be a time waster After all, they were warned before they came out 'no timewasters'. Imagine if shops put signs in store saying no timewasters! Bet their sales would soar! 😉

It's a bit of crafty wording, designed to suck you in!.
 
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Lb1105 said:
Thanks everyone again for responding. I’m still looking for my perfect partner but am not rushing and only viewing ones that aren’t too far away and from sellers that are known to friends (I’ve heard so many horror stories). I’ve had a couple of unsuccessful viewings and am viewing another at the weekend. One was advertised as 13.2hh but must have been around 12.2hh 🙈 they tried to convince me to ride her as she rides bigger but I politely declined. I then saw another who was actually 13.2hh and lovely but he just felt really short backed and had a tiny saddle which I didn’t feel secure in which resulted in me falling off him 🤦‍♀️ I was so embarrassed. So now I’ve realised I need something 14hh+ so I am off to view a 14.1hh 7 year old Connie, a grey which isn’t a colour I was looking for. He also has mild sweet itch which is the reason why he’s within my budget, he is being sold locally by a friend of a friend and looks and sounds such a lovely boy. I didn’t want to write him off just because of his sweet itch as these ponies all need a home. I’m just hoping I don’t fall in love with him 🙈
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For the type you are looking for I think you are right to stay fairly local and have some sort of personal connection, even if tenuous. Those genuine small types just aren’t found in your budget with the good dealers.

I also think in a mid 4’s budget there will need to be a compromise somewhere and as a first horse I wouldn’t suggest young/green as that compromise.

Sweetitch, whilst it can be a pain to manage, I think could be a reasonable compromise if other things about the pony are right. Discuss with the sellers what they do to manage it and be prepared to replicate that. If the pony is really covered with weepy scabs or seems particularly stressed when unrugged/worked then it’s probably not worth the SI gamble
 
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