New Owners - A good piece of advice.

[Doormouse]

I keep seeing posts in this part of the forum and on others where new owners have been sold either a young horse or one that didn't look that well and hadn't been in work.

DON'T!

Horses and ponies change completely when they feel well, are warm and comfortable and above all are fit. This is not a complete blanket statement but will run true at least 90% of the time. If you go to look at a horse and it is unfit the chances are when it gets fit it will be sharper. Maybe not naughty just a bigger and stronger ride which may not be what you were looking for.

Young horses are weak, they often remain weak and continue to grow for several years and how long they go on strenghtening will depend on their breed and how well they have been fed and worked from a young age. You may see and try a 5 year old who seems as quiet as a lamb but be aware, he could still be growing, he may not have been well fed as a youngster or been worked much as a 4 year old. When he gets stronger and you get him fit, he may no longer be the lamb you tried.

As a new owner avoid the younger horses and ponies, try to find something that has already been there and done it, it doesn't matter if they are older than you want, they will give you at least a few years brilliant service teaching you and giving you the confidence to take on a younger horse next time. The young horses are cheap for a reason, they are green and novice and need teaching their job. An older horse (above 12) will be cheaper than the middle years because he is considered past his prime, don't discount them, what is one man's meat is another man's poison.

When you go to see a horse, if it is covered in mud or very obviously lives out full time, check why, especially if most of the others are in and if you plan to keep it in and not out 24/7. If it is unfit, be wary.

Above all, take someone very experienced with you, do not make you mind up then and there and don't let your heart rule your head!

Good luck all of you!

 

[henmother]

Fantastic post Sugarmouse!! I'm going for a 30 years young part loan when I can ride/do jobs again. She fits into there been there and done that category for sure , hurrah!

 

[Doormouse]

Fantastic post Sugarmouse!! I'm going for a 30 years young part loan when I can ride/do jobs again. She fits into there been there and done that category for sure , hurrah!

Very glad to hear it! I hope you and her have a fab time together, I don't personally think you can beat the golden oldies, all the knowledge in the world and usually great characters too.

 

[applecart14]

Also get any new horse set up with a decent vet/farrier/physio and get your tack and rugs marked and your horse freezemarked. Keeping a diary or book with dates in it for shoeing, physio appointments and also which rugs and when were sent away for cleaning and reproofing is a brilliant tip otherwise come the following year you forget which ones were reproofed!

Also buy a small whiteboard for putting outside your stable with your horses emergency contact details down, like owner phone number, vet and farrier and also any requirements like must have wet hay, allergice to certain drugs etc. A board by your feed bins is great too in case you cant' get up to the yard in the event of unforseen circumstances.

A well stocked first aid kit (kept with your tow vehicle if you have a trailer and intend to go to shows, etc) and a torch is a must have too!

 

[Suec04]

This is a fantastic post, Sugarmouse. I had , up until joining this forum, thought that i needed to buy a younger horse (5-10yrs) for my daughter and myself (both novice riders) so that it would last us for a good few years, however, i have since been educated to the pros of an older equine of 14 yrs plus. I feel so much happier about looking at these types now and will certainly take on your (and other lovely posters ) advice.

Thank you also, applecart. I hadn't thought about the whiteboard outside the stable....

 

[hnmisty]

Thank you also, applecart. I hadn't thought about the whiteboard outside the stable....

We have one at our yard, you have to tick when you are then and put home when you've gone home and which route you are riding when you go out for a hack. It's not foolproof as you could change your mind half way round, but if a riderless horse comes back you have an idea where to look.

Golden oldies rule. My old girl always let you know if you were doing something wrong, but she was 100% safe.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Excellent post OP.

If only more people would show the good sense that Suec04 does. The other thing to add, is please don't start looking to buy until you have at least 2 yrs experience of lessons. There is a vast difference between being competent enough to ride a school horse, which works most of the week and is 'kept up to the mark' by better riders than you and being the one who is responsible for your own horse's manners.

 

[Suec04]

Excellent post OP.

If only more people would show the good sense that Suec04 does. The other thing to add, is please don't start looking to buy until you have at least 2 yrs experience of lessons. There is a vast difference between being competent enough to ride a school horse, which works most of the week and is 'kept up to the mark' by better riders than you and being the one who is responsible for your own horse's manners.

Thank you Pearlsacarolsinger. My daughter has been riding for 2 years in a riding school and has confidence issues and I have also been riding for the last year and a half after returning from a 10 yr break. I used to own, work with and ride horses up until I had my daughter 13 years ago but now consider myself a novice rider again because my balance is all over the place and i have lost a lot of confidence. I find my head knows what I should be doing but my older body doesn't respond how it used to! a nice older, been there done it type will suit us perfectly. I also feel that although RS is good for teaching the basics, you only really learn how to ride properly on a 'normal' horse/pony, with lessons from an experienced instructor of course. I was bought a pony when I had only been riding for 6 mths and thought I could ride. She soon showed me I didn't know a thing! but I had a fantastic instructor and re-learnt how to ride and I suspect that is what will happen to us again. Also my daughter has picked up some bad habits that have only just been spotted and they are now trying to correct :/ please be assured I won't be rushing to buy the first one I see. I will take my time to find the right one for us and thank you for your advice.

 

[henmother]

Excellent post OP.

If only more people would show the good sense that Suec04 does. The other thing to add, is please don't start looking to buy until you have at least 2 yrs experience of lessons. There is a vast difference between being competent enough to ride a school horse, which works most of the week and is 'kept up to the mark' by better riders than you and being the one who is responsible for your own horse's manners.

depending on the school/pupil/instructor, 2 years may not even be enough. The amount of people that own horses but have never had a lesson, is possibly in equal proportion to those owners that have taken lessons? Whether they've grown up around horses, or had a few rides on a mates horse so they think they know it all.... I don't think you can ever underestimate a good support network, whether that's a rs instructor, a helpful yo, or a team of fellow liveries that will chip in when needed. There is so much to consider, still , there are, all the gear no idea types, many horsey fb pages are littered with questions from the idiots!!

 

[oldie48]

Thank you for starting this post. When I read a post that says "I'm a new rider with a sweet 5 year old that's starting to become a bit of a problem" my heart sinks! when they then say they are in to "natural Horsemanship" and clearly have no understanding of what that means except they don't know how to train a horse in good manners either on the ground or ridden, I just really feel for that poor horse! Young horses are cheaper for a reason, it's because they need proper training from an experienced person and that costs money!

 

[Ptolemy]

Part of the problem is that often you go to the websites and you see "schoolmasters" at 5-7 years old. Horses described as safe, steady, good for novices, and they are all very, very young.

It's a shame that the web sites in question don't offer such advice.

 

[Morag4]

Excellent advice...mayhap make a good sticky!

 

[luckyoldme]

Its a real problem isn't it?
Some of us on here have learnt the hard way about the pitfalls of buying a first horse.... I was the ultimate in naïve first time buyers. I turned up at one of the dodgiest dealers ever in a brand new car swooning over every horse I saw.
The dealer in question must have been clapping his hands when I paid for my horse ( did somehow have a happy ending)
the problem is you need to get to the prospective buyer before they go shopping.........If I had googled the name of the dealer I would have swerved big time when I saw bbc watchdog mentioned!
I can honestly say I put more thought into buying my car than I did my horse and spent quite a bit of time in a and e wondering how I could be so stupid.

 

[Cowpony]

It's probably worth adding don't overhorse yourself either. If the yard you are on is full of 16h TBs and KWPNs it's tempting to think that you need to buy one too, but (whilst trying not to make sweeping generalisations, ducking the storm of responses that are now going to come flying in from TB owners saying theirs is an absolute saint!) a native or x-breed is often more suitable for a novice. My first horse was a 5 year-old TB and after 6 months I was seriously thinking I would have to sell her as she was difficult to handle in the stable, a nightmare to hack out and getting stroppy to ride in the school too. Eventually the decision was made for me when she was diagnosed with kissing spine, but I learned from my experience and bought an 8 year old 14.2 welsh x who is the sweetest thing to handle and, although forward to ride, is very honest over a jump and rarely puts a foot wrong.

Do I feel a bit self-conscious on my little coloured pony when I am hacking out with my friends on their big bay KWPNs? Yep, but I'd rather be safe and happy than terrified any day. And I've had fewer injuries/medical problems to deal with than a lot of others on the yard.

 

[henmother]

Part of the problem is that often you go to the websites and you see "schoolmasters" at 5-7 years old. Horses described as safe, steady, good for novices, and they are all very, very young.

It's a shame that the web sites in question don't offer such advice.

There are always ads just as you describe on this site to the right!