New Horse Dilemma

[2FINNS]

Hi, just after some advice. After a long search we have just tried a very sweet 5 year old ID x ISH and fallen in love. BUT he has only jumped a few single small fences. My daughter jumped him over a couple of uprights (max 70cm), put something scary underneath - he didn't bat an eyelid and happily popped over (he did knock a couple of poles but was much better once she got a better canter going) however he wasn't really taking her into the jump. Just a very steady 'i'll do it if you want me to' and not a 'wahey this is so much fun' attitude. We are happy to put in the time and schooling but ultimately the horse we buy needs to be suitable for all PC activities including SJ up to 1m. Should we walk away as his SJ ability is too much of an unknown? Or would you go for it given his temperament and everything else about him is perfect - can a young horse grow to love jumping? Anyone else started out like this and ended up with a wonderful show jumping horse? Thank you in advance.

 

[ihatework]

Impossible to say. Most horses should be able to jump 1m if sound and trained well.
Sounds like a lovely temperament so that’s half the battle.
What you really need to do, if you aren’t used to buying young horses, is work with an instructor who knows your daughter well and see if they think the horse will be suitable longer term.

 

[2FINNS]

Impossible to say. Most horses should be able to jump 1m if sound and trained well.
Sounds like a lovely temperament so that’s half the battle.
What you really need to do, if you aren’t used to buying young horses, is work with an instructor who knows your daughter well and see if they think the horse will be suitable longer term.

Thank you for your reply. Yes, Ideally we would like to have our instructor at viewing but we are having to travel such distances to view it's just not possible and good horses are selling quick so feeling the pressure having to make quick decision

 

[Nari]

It's a rare horse of that type that won't be able to do a coure of 1m with suitable training and riding, and the training is going to be so much easier if he doesn't go "yeeha!" before locking on like an Exocet missile and jumping like a chaser!

Only you knowif you like him enough to ut in the work, but if he didn't work out I don't doubt you'd have a very sellable horse.

 

[ycbm]

How soon do you need him to be up to a 1m course?

I would be worried if you intended to try to get him there quickly, in case he is one of the slow maturing types and he breaks before he gets there.

It could happen a lot quicker, but if he really has done nothing so far it could take 2 years.

Also I had one I broke myself at three who at 4 and 5 didn't seem able to jump a fence without tapping it, and that wasn't fun cross country! When I felt he was strong enough to jump higher, he woke up and never hit another xc fence again. He simply couldn't be bothered with anything under a metre. I told the guy I sold him to not to jump under a metre and he phoned me later laughing saying he hadn't believed me. It wasn't me, he was assessed by Tim Stockdale as being "not quite international" in SJ potential. It was him, and very funny to see, so don't mistake early apparent lack of interest as lack of talent.

He sounds a bit of a gem, I hope it works out for you.
.

 

[2FINNS]

How soon do you need him to be up to a 1m course?

I would be worried if you intended to try to get him there quickly, in case he is one of the slow maturing types and he breaks before he gets there.

It could happen a lot quicker, but if he really has done nothing so far it could take 2 years.

Also I had one I broke myself at three who at 4 and 5 didn't seem able to jump a fence without tapping it, and that wasn't fun cross country! When I felt he was strong enough to jump higher, he woke up and never hit another xc fence again. He simply couldn't be bothered with anything under a metre. I told the guy I sold him to not to jump under a metre and he phoned me later laughing saying he hadn't believed me. It wasn't me, he was assessed by Tim Stockdale as being "not quite international" in SJ potential. It was him, and very funny to see, so don't mistake early apparent lack of interest as lack of talent.

He sounds a bit of a gem, I hope it works out for you.
.

Thank you. Definitely no hurry and happy to put the work in. Thanks for the positive story

 

[mini-eventer]

My ID x is the same, you have to get him thinking really forward to get him to take you into a fence. However he is such a sweetheart and never says no even if I do a terrible job getting him to the fence. He is so forgiving

He is not the most careful but as long as I ride forward he does a decent job. As an amateur I would take this 1000 times over something that is over careful as I find they can get upset easily if presented badly to a fence.

 

[SusieT]

Can I ask - what is it that this horse ticks box wise?
Have you got budget to buy something more established?
Kids at PC only have limited time, so you might waste daughters time on something that never gets going, or it could be amazing. Hard to know without knowing which criteria he does tick?

 

[Midlifecrisis]

I’d choose him if I was buying for my daughter. He is only young and he can be taught to jump properly rather than having a wildly excited youngster chucking his head in the air and towing the rider towards the jumps he sees.

 

[millitiger]

What does your daughter want to do?
Will she feel left behind at PC if she spends the summer on 'boring' strength work, slow hacking, poles and grids?
How will she feel if he never gets more enthusiastic and remains quiet to a fence?
It can take a lot of confidence to keep kicking to bigger fences if the horse never gives you a nice, positive, feel on the way in

He sounds lovely but if your daughter really wants to be immersed in PC activities, I would think hard if they are the right fit.

 

[RachelFerd]

Much much much much easier to razz one up a bit than it is to settle them!

 

[2FINNS]

I’d choose him if I was buying for my daughter. He is only young and he can be taught to jump properly rather than having a wildly excited youngster chucking his head in the air and towing the rider towards the jumps he sees.

This is exactly how I am feeling and it really is his temperament which is so appealing - I also want to be able to hack out and do a bit of schooling too and i'm too old to be picking myself up off the floor too often!! At the same time i'm concious of not wanting to gold my daughter back. Either way though she will gain experience in other ways whilst producing him

 

[2FINNS]

Much much much much easier to razz one up a bit than it is to settle them!

Definitely rather have it this way round!!

 

[2FINNS]

What does your daughter want to do?
Will she feel left behind at PC if she spends the summer on 'boring' strength work, slow hacking, poles and grids?
How will she feel if he never gets more enthusiastic and remains quiet to a fence?
It can take a lot of confidence to keep kicking to bigger fences if the horse never gives you a nice, positive, feel on the way in

He sounds lovely but if your daughter really wants to be immersed in PC activities, I would think hard if they are the right fit.

Thank you for your reply - yes there are so many things to consider and this is the very conversation I have had with my daughter. Ultimately she has got to be 100% sure - I don't want to be doing this too soon!!!!

 

[2FINNS]

Can I ask - what is it that this horse ticks box wise?
Have you got budget to buy something more established?
Kids at PC only have limited time, so you might waste daughters time on something that never gets going, or it could be amazing. Hard to know without knowing which criteria he does tick?

Thanks for your reply- we have got a good budget of around £15k max and have travelled miles viewing what sounds like a perfect fit only to get there and it's not what we were expecting at all. This horse has been the only one (apart from one which we loved but missed out on) which ticks all of boxes apart from the jumping being an unknown entity. He has hunted once and as I say he has popped single fences sweetly - plus as an added bonus he isn't going to completely break the bank unlike others we have viewed. At the moment my daughter feels she is missing out by not being at PC as her current pony is out of action and completely outgrown and we are just seening month after month pass by searching for what seems to be the impossible. Sorry to waffle but it's helping me think clearer

 

[IrishMilo]

If your daughter is the type with fragile confidence or doesn’t love the fizzy types then he sounds perfect for you both. Just don’t buy something you might want to sell 6 months down the line because he’s not sharp enough.

Some horses just aren’t and no amount of gee-ing them up changes them. If you don’t love how he is NOW, then don’t buy him. Don’t buy something you are hoping will change!

 

[SEL]

I'd snap him up and see how they go over the summer at PC rallies. If he's safe and reliable then you'll find a buyer even if he's not the horse for her - but its a big jump from ponies to horses and easy to loose confidence with a hot youngster.

 

[ycbm]

Ah, I see this horse is to move onto from a pony. If he's a pony type little horse, ignore the rest of this. But if he is a proper horse, read on.



In that case I would say don't buy him, buy something which is already established jumping.

The Pony Club world is littered with girls (particularly girls, the boys seem to cope better) who discovered that it's a whole different ball game to ride a long striding horse to a fence than a pingy pony. Many of them give up riding completely.

And it's a very big ask for her not only to change to competing a bigger equine, but also to train it to jump.

Sorry, however lovely he is this would, for me, be asking too much.
.

 

[Asha]

id be looking at it a different way. Hes 5 , hes ID x and hes only popping small fences. To me thats fab. What you dont want at 5 , is something thats done tonnes of jumping.

We bought our daughter a 5yo ID from ireland, he was the same. Would knock fences down, almost walk through them. But his attitude was fab, was never offended. We still have him 10 years on and hes an absolute legend. My daughter has done all the work and enjoyed every minute. So id say snap him up. My only caveat being if your daughter wants to do PC showjumping teams now. If she does he probably isnt for you. But if shes happy to go to rallies and camps then to me he sounds ideal.

 

[myheartinahoofbeat]

Did you take a video of your daughter jumping the horse at the viewing? If you did, maybe you could send it to your instructor. If not, could you ask the owners to send you a video of him jumping that you can pass onto your instructor for her opinion? It might help you make up your mind or go for a 2nd viewing?

 

[Squeak]

I think from the extra information you've given I'd say no. If she's already feeling left out at PC and wanting to get on and do things then she'll still feel left out when she gets the new horse except for being able to join some flat lessons.

Has the horse been out and done much? If not she'll have a slow couple of months getting him used to going out to clinics and small shows before even really getting to the point of jumping away from home.

Also agree with YCBM that it would be a big jump from a pony to a green ID x ISH.

You hopefully should have a good enough budget to get something for your daughter than can go out and do the job she wants straight away. Hopefully more should be coming on to the market in the spring. Are there any things on your horse requirements that you can be flexible on such as age, height, distance from you etc that might give you more options?

 

[dottylottie]

I'd snap him up and see how they go over the summer at PC rallies. If he's safe and reliable then you'll find a buyer even if he's not the horse for her - but its a big jump from ponies to horses and easy to loose confidence with a hot youngster.

was going to say the same!

 

[LEC]

Not sure where you are but I have one going on sales livery this week as just no time for him. Within your budget 16.2hh and 6yo gelding. All basics in place pops round 90cm for fun and nearly ready for 1m. Evented, hunted, beach etc all with no drama. Really is anyone’s ride. Still needs some more educating but lovely person. I have had 12yo kids to 65yos ride him.

 

[SusieT]

I'd be very surprised if for 15k you can't get something with a wee bit more to him than hunted once and jumped single fences. Unless you have previously brought on horses it's hard to explain the leap that needs to take placed from 'slow baby' which can often present as 'quiet' to will canter and jump fences cleanly at multiple venues horse.
I honestly from what you have said on here, would advise against or if he's really the one, pay your instructor for the day to come see him