My first youngster!

[nwwig123]

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice please! I’m considering getting a warmblood youngster next summer, something around 3/4 yr old, as my future dressage horse. Unfortunately I can’t afford to buy an already trained/broken in horse (I think a lot of people understand being in this position?!) but before I really seriously consider looking for him/her I’d like peoples opinions pls!
I will be 18, the horse will be mine (I have the money waiting now but am reluctant to buy just before winter!) and I have my own transport. I’ll be getting someone else to break it in for me professionally. I’ve had horses on loan/my own since the age of 11 but it’s now time to move on from my current, so am confident looking after them.
So, my questions are:
1) I will still be at college, is it possible to keep a horse on DIY livery and still do OK at college?
2) How far would you be willing to travel for a yard if you had a horse on DIY? (providing they had all the facilities you wanted)
3) How much would you consider a reasonable amount to pay for DIY a month (in Hampshire if that helps) as I’ve got a few figures in mind but would like to check!

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[gnubee]

I have no responses to your livery questions, but some things to consider on getting a youngster having done it myself:
- you don’t get to try before you buy. You can see confo and paces, but when it comes to ridden attitude and way of going you get what you’re given. If you have a real ‘type’ of horse you enjoy this may mean that once it’s backed you find out it’s not really what you would have chosen.
- once you’ve had the horse professionally backed you will want to keep up regular work to maintain/ increase it’s training. From your livery questions I get the impression you are worried about how much time you will have available, and this may only get worse after college when you’re looking at uni or a job. Older, more established horses IME remember their training even if they lose fitness during a break. Younger ones are quicker to forget.
- at 18 with presumably no income, you have a certain level of budget for a horse. At 20 after working for a couple of years your budget is likely to be very different. If you buy a 3 yo now, at 20 you’ve got a 5 y o so still a young horse that you are committed to bringing on etc, that you committed to on an 18 yo budget and not necessarily of the same quality 5 yo that you could buy on your new budget. You’ve spent 2 years with a young horse not able to do everything you wanted st the level you wanted, and at 20 wish you had something else. It sounds like you are more into the idea of having a good future horse than really into backing/ training your own, in which case it might be worth finding something already going well to loan for a few years now and enjoy whilst you’re young and have time, then spend the money later on to buy one that is already backed.

If you really want to train a youngster it’s very rewarding, but there is nothing wrong with accepting that you would prefer a horse that is already established and saving up for that in the future.

 

[TGM]

To be honest, once you have factored in the running costs (livery, feed, vet costs, farriery etc) of keeping a youngster to the stage you can go out and compete, and the cost of having it professionally broken, plus lessons for you and the youngster after breaking, then if you waited and saved the money instead you could probably afford the ready trained horse you seem to really want!

 

[blitznbobs]

I would concur - a dressage warmblood is no project to take on if you are worried about time. There is a distinct (likely) probability that it will need riding every day to maintain its sanity - if you are worried about time it’s not the project to take on. If they are any good these are big , hot horses and because you can’t try before you buy you have no idea how hot.. also if you’re buying from the continent most of the time you will have to teach them everything not just the riding bit but the ground manners, loading, what a stable is, how to lead from the field etc etc... it’s all very doable but it takes a lot of time and consistency which means only experienced people will be able to handle your horse at first... tbh unless you’ve got loads of time a young warmblood is a dangerous idea.

 

[eggs]

To be honest, once you have factored in the running costs (livery, feed, vet costs, farriery etc) of keeping a youngster to the stage you can go out and compete, and the cost of having it professionally broken, plus lessons for you and the youngster after breaking, then if you waited and saved the money instead you could probably afford the ready trained horse you seem to really want!

This with bells on. A well bred dressage youngster won't be cheap to buy either.

 

[SpringArising]

I don't want to be a Debbie Downer but I think you are going to struggle time wise.

With regards to your other questions, I drive about 20-25 mins depending on traffic to my yard. Some months I go full livery and others assisted DIY, assisted DIY costs me about £480 a month. That includes nothing but them turning out and bringing in for me.

One thing to consider is are you going to be able to get yourself to and from the yard before and after college? Especially as some yards will require you to bring in/turnout at certain times.

 

[FestiveFuzz]

Generally I think the reasoning for buying an unbacked dressage horse (or any youngster really) should be based on wanting to have a solid input in their education, rather than to cut costs. More often than not as others have said the running costs and backing/training amounts to much more than it would cost to save up and buy something established...and that's assuming everything goes to plan and you don't have to fork out for injuries or worse in the process! So it's definitely not necessarily the 'cheap' way to do things, especially if you're as unlucky as I was and find yourself PTS your "future dressage horse" before their sixth birthday.

That said, I think depending on how experienced you are, it can be done if you've got lots of time and can be super hands-on with the backing and training process, but trying to do it on a budget when you don't have much time is just a recipe for disaster IMO.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

What do you intend to do when you have finished college? Might you be going on to further study? Or moving away from home for a job? Tbh I would wait until you have finished the next stage of your education before committing yourself to a youngster. From the age of 18, life often changes at a fast pace and where you thought you would be when you are 25 is not where you find yourself. I suggest that you don't limit your life choices with a young horse, which you won't realistically be able to do much with while you are at college but wait until you know what you will be doing after that - which will possibly entail waiting again, sorry.