New hear looking for some help!

[Babygirl]

Hi Guys,

I'm new here however not to the horse world. I gave up horses in 2012 when my marriage broke down and i couldn't afford to keep my boy (My PRE) and my children fed. Broke my heart letting him go however the children had to come first.

Now i'm back on my feet married to an amazing guy who has suggested we get the 3 girls their first horse to share. They all ride, the are still beginners. This horse does mean i will get to ride again.

Now i have been looking around and came across meadow stable and willowbrook riding. I watched 4 videos on Meadow stables horses and spotted issues with each horse from flinging its head, to its breathing. some came hunting for reviews and came across this place. My husband complete nothing on horse telling me that ones pretty had no idea what i was looking for.

So Can anyone point me in the right direction. i'm looking for a horse that is a first horse. 14.2h to 15.2. I will be riding it as well as I can keep the fitness up etc. Ideally a Gelding as i have a thing for geldings However as long as it is Safe, Sound and as bombproof as any horse can get i'll be happy. I don't care about colour, or sex really. Just a nice safe Novice / first horse, a schoolmaster. I am currently in South Gloucestershire however have no issue driving for the right horse.

 

[debbielinder]

Its a bit far from you, possibly 3 hour drive, give or take but theres a place in the north west, cobs n plods, they have a huge selection of irish type horses we've filled a riding school with horses from them and have 20 odd liveries now with horses from there. They have a website and are on facebook but best to ring as they don't update them often. He does usually offer a trial and he has taken back ponies off us after 5+ years when we've wanted to give them a quieter life and sold them on to hacking homes brilliant people to deal with.

 

[Babygirl]

Thank you. Will take a look. As I said I don't mind how far I have to go to get the right horse.

 

[CMcC]

If you were looking at Meadow Stables in Essex don't go anywhere near them. Have heard awful things about them - horses sold as novice ride, bombproof etc all have terrible health or behaviour issues and are drugged/dehydrated for selling. Have gone on to injure buyers or cost fortune in vet fees, many then have to be destroyed.
Sounds like you maybe spotted that from the videos!!

 

[Leo Walker]

Join the dodgy dealer pages on Facebook, but bear in mind that at least one of those is run by the dodgiest of all dodgy dealers who that you wouldnt want to touch with someone elses bargepole! Dun dealers is the main one they use, but they change the name so often it makes your head spin! Her name is Kate Thurston, but she uses Katie at the minute. Shes definitely used fake names before. So try and keep your wits about you!

 

[Babygirl]

Yes the few I watched just little things one was a very blanten I don't want to head fling and front feet which they didn't cut off the video. That's when I went to look for reviews.

 

[VikingSong]

Duckhurst Farm (Kent), Prestwood Farm (near Gatwick airport), Shane Walsh Equestrian (Oxfordshire) and Southgate Farm (West Sussex) are all reputable dealers. I've only ever heard/read good reviews about them, particularly of Shane Walsh. A good friend of mine has bought several horses from him and she speaks very highly of him.

Meadow Stud/Stables and Elite Equine in Wickford are very dodgy dealers. So dodgy in fact that I'm amazed they haven't been arrested yet..

Funnily enough, I posted a thread only the other day asking if there were any good dealers in Essex. Curiously, the thread didn't get a single response. Not one. Zip. Not sure if it was a reflection of me or there just aren't many good dealers in Essex?

 

[eggs]

I've heard good things about Shane Walsh too although this is second hand.

 

[Dubsie]

I have friends been very happy with their purchases from Marsh Ponies in Alton, they do sell up to the height you need.

 

[Babygirl]

Thanks guys much appreciated. X

 

[FestiveFuzz]

I'd second Marsh Ponies 100%. They were fab when I started looking for my new horse. Sadly everything they had at the time was just a bit too ploddy for what I was looking for but the horses were lovely.

Personally I'd steer clear of Shane Walsh. I viewed several horses a few months ago and all were much greener than advertised, one in particular was meant to be a good all rounder and confidence giving to jump (I'm mostly a dressage diva) it napped horrifically towards fences and span and reared at a trotting pole that was a different colour to the other poles. Shane's response? "Oh he must just be having a green day".

The other ones to be wary of are NT Equine. Went to view one that on paper sounded perfect. It was ridden around with its chin on its neck and looked ready to explode at any moment. I asked them to give it its head and sure enough it began broncking and then reared vertically to the point it nearly toppled over. A year on it was still up for sale at a quarter of the price and a plea for no more timewasters which would have been fine if the horse in question was the easy, well schooled horse they were advertising!

 

[Maesto's Girl]

Do you have to buy from a dealer?

I personally prefer private sellers as most I've seen are so much more about the new home than getting a sale

 

[Babygirl]

No I'm not just looking at dealers. If I can buy private I will also buy private we are starting from scratch so a horse that's private that had all its tack etc will be even better for the budget.

 

[VikingSong]

Do you have to buy from a dealer?

I personally prefer private sellers as most I've seen are so much more about the new home than getting a sale

In some ways, you've got more of a legal leg to stand on if you buy a ned from a dealer rather than from a private sale. There are dodgy dealers, but there are also just as many dodgy private sellers too. This is without mentioning the whole "you must add me on FB, text me/phone me regular updates about MY boy/mare and let me drop in to visit constantly...even though I've sold the horse to you and am no longer his/her owner." It drives me up the wall. A friend of mine was stalked and harassed by her horse's former owner (who had to sell her horse because she lived well beyond her means to the point she went bankrupt). In the end my friend had to get the police involved.

I've been lucky in the fact that all my horses so far have been sold to me by people I personally know. I have looked at horses via private sales and it was an expensive, miserable process (nearly all of them failed the vetting). Should I buy another horse at some point in the future, it will almost certainly be from a reputable horse dealer.

 

[Maesto's Girl]

Have you signed up for alerts? They are always handy and getting to new/updated ads.

Also, i found a lot of sellers are willing to include tack even if not advertised which helps with budget. I'm buying a mare that comes with a full wardrobe but that took a lot of searching. Horsemart and HHO became my best friends

 

[Maesto's Girl]

In some ways, you've got more of a legal leg to stand on if you buy a ned from a dealer rather than from a private sale. There are dodgy dealers, but there are also just as many dodgy private sellers too. This is without mentioning the whole "you must add me on FB, text me/phone me regular updates about MY boy/mare and let me drop in to visit constantly...even though I've sold the horse to you and am no longer his/her owner." It drives me up the wall. A friend of mine was stalked and harassed by her horse's former owner (who had to sell her horse because she lived well beyond her means to the point she went bankrupt). In the end my friend had to get the police involved.

I've been lucky in the fact that all my horses so far have been sold to me by people I personally know. I have looked at horses via private sales and it was an expensive, miserable process (nearly all of them failed the vetting). Should I buy another horse at some point in the future, it will almost certainly be from a reputable horse dealer.

I think wherever you buy from has issues. I agree you have to be more careful with private sellers and I'd always advise having a contract in place (I used BHS drawing up mine) which gives more piece of mind. I suppose I have just heard more stories about dealers which has put me off....mind you I am in Essex which seems to be a hotspot for dodgy dealers

 

[VikingSong]

I think wherever you buy from has issues. I agree you have to be more careful with private sellers and I'd always advise having a contract in place (I used BHS drawing up mine) which gives more piece of mind. I suppose I have just heard more stories about dealers which has put me off....mind you I am in Essex which seems to be a hotspot for dodgy dealers

I agree. Another thing about dealers is at least you can research their history to see whether they're dodgy or decent. You can't quite do that with private sellers. I know what you mean about Essex. I posted a thread on here the other day, asking if there were any reputable dealers in Essex and, despite the thread having over seventy views, not one person replied.

 

[be positive]

I think wherever you buy from has issues. I agree you have to be more careful with private sellers and I'd always advise having a contract in place (I used BHS drawing up mine) which gives more piece of mind. I suppose I have just heard more stories about dealers which has put me off....mind you I am in Essex which seems to be a hotspot for dodgy dealers

I think you have to take care wherever you buy but my main question when looking would be why has a safe first horse of the type hard to find ended up in a dealers yard, if the dealer can answer and give what sounds like a genuine history, backed up with a check on the vaccinations records in the passport then maybe it could be the horse for a family home, 9 times out of 10 the more established horse of the type the OP wants will be there for a reason that will mean it is unsuitable for the OP.

Buying a green horse to bring on is totally different, you are buying young, hopefully unspoilt and are expecting to put in time and money to make the horse, so a dealer could be ideal to but from.

I would always try to buy/sell a horse to a similar situation to the one it is going to, family home to family pony life, busy comp yard to busy comp home, hunting every week to being kept active, it is not a foolproof method but at least gives you some idea of how it will be when it moves, buying a once a week happy hacker from a pro dealers yard where it has been ridden hard every day is likely to end up with problems more than buying from a family where it has only been ridden at weekends and then increasing the work is likely to.