TarrSteps
Well-Known Member
As pretty much everyone has said, it CAN work, depending on the horse, the person and the support network.
BUT . . . I've seen so many people buy young horses in an effort to save money, with no thought to affording the horse's education and the above mentioned support system. They just like the idea of buying a well bred/fancy/impressive horse for far less than what they would pay for the same horse with a couple of year's training on it, without thinking not only what those few years cost literally but what sort of experience it takes to have them go well. I presume they think they will do the work themselves (irregardless of not understanding what that work might entail) and have a wonderful horse at the end of it but in my observation that is usually not the way it works out.
Now that's not the same thing at all as someone wanting a young horse specifically to have that experience and learn from more knowledgeable people along the way. I still feel it's probably not the best "first choice" (it's hard to teach a horse something you don't understand yourself) but if there are other people involved in the horse's education it CAN work out okay. (As a note though, I suspect very few horses reach their real potential through this route - too many blind alleys and wrong turns - but that doesn't mean they don't have a good life.) All with the qualifier that some horses, no matter how "loved" will never be suitable for novice riders, and certainly not at the outset of their ridden careers.
BUT . . . I've seen so many people buy young horses in an effort to save money, with no thought to affording the horse's education and the above mentioned support system. They just like the idea of buying a well bred/fancy/impressive horse for far less than what they would pay for the same horse with a couple of year's training on it, without thinking not only what those few years cost literally but what sort of experience it takes to have them go well. I presume they think they will do the work themselves (irregardless of not understanding what that work might entail) and have a wonderful horse at the end of it but in my observation that is usually not the way it works out.
Now that's not the same thing at all as someone wanting a young horse specifically to have that experience and learn from more knowledgeable people along the way. I still feel it's probably not the best "first choice" (it's hard to teach a horse something you don't understand yourself) but if there are other people involved in the horse's education it CAN work out okay. (As a note though, I suspect very few horses reach their real potential through this route - too many blind alleys and wrong turns - but that doesn't mean they don't have a good life.) All with the qualifier that some horses, no matter how "loved" will never be suitable for novice riders, and certainly not at the outset of their ridden careers.
