Recommended age of first competition horse?

[bigchief]

Hello all,

Sorry if this has already been posted somewhere throughout the forum.

I am searching for a first horse, I would like a working hunter/eventer horse. I have been riding for several years and realise that each horse is different, but I have heard many people quote: "It takes an experienced horse for the inexperienced rider and an experienced rider for the inexperienced horse". I fit somewhere inbetween this saying....Although Inexperienced in the sense of not owning a horse before although I know the theory I haven't had the opportunity to put it to practice.

I have been holding back on purchasing and fitting in as much lessons as I can as I read I'm not exactly sure what I'm after. Which is always a good start!

My plan is to purchase something that has been there done that to give me some conifidence in owning a horse and competiting for 2-3 years before investing in a more expensive horse with more competitive scope when I'm ready.

I was thinking of purchasing a 8yr as I would be able to keep such a horse for a few years and sell it on again, my fear if I bought a horse at 10-12yrs is that I would loose a lot of money after it hit 14/15yrs and it may be difficult to sell? I do realise that a horse of 10-12 would be a lot more experienced, a real been there done that confidence booster but it is trying to find a balance is the problem.

Can you please give me your opinion and experience of first horses and if it is more difficult to pass on a horse horse?

 

[Onyxia]

IMO,it is only eople who go into ownership without admiting their own strengths and weaknesses and/or dont/wont have help that have trouble,whatevr they buy.

You sound like you have thought it through very well,and I dont see why you would have any issues with the type of horse you describe as you're first esp if you keep up the lessons

Have fun horse hunting and keep us updated!

 

[cazmoreton]

Sounds a good plan, but i BET you wont be able to part with your first horse in a few years. lol

 

[Daisychain]

My advice buy the right horse, dont worry about age to much, there is no guarantee that an 8yr old horse is going to stay sound until you want to sell it, and why would you want to sell a good horse on anyway!

 

[gummybear]

As long as it has got a good track record and has been out and done stuff, dont think age matters. You could get a 6yr old, that has been out since 4 and done well, which would be fine. Agree with you though about possibly not getting something 10 or over, as if you do want to sell it may be a bit of a problem.

 

[bigchief]

Thanks everyone!

Yes I understand theres no guarantee with any horse only better odds with age on your side, well I hope. I'm going to take my time, hopefully I will be able to pick up a horse around 8yrs thats done a lot and come from a competition home. I know theres a vast difference in horse through their Cv, they have proved themselves rather than the "great potential for future eventer" type horse.

Caz I'm laughing at you saying I won't be able to part with my first horse after a few years, that is one of my great concerns as I've been animal mad from a kid, an grow attached to them like people as strange as that sounds, they all have their own personality lol

I just need to find a horse thats got a fairly decent cv with some more potential if pushed and balance that with age and price. This itself is ok in theory but could be hard to find. I am setting a budget of about £4.5-6k for a horse and £1,000 for tack. Does this sound realistic for what I'm after?

 

[burtie]

[ QUOTE ]
Agree with you though about possibly not getting something 10 or over, as if you do want to sell it may be a bit of a problem.


[/ QUOTE ]

You see I really do not get this, if the horse is good why would you sell it on anyway, and if it's no good your not going to add value. Added to that the fact that everyone seems to put they won't buy over a certain age because they may need to sell it on. So who is going to buy YOUR 10 year old when you do sell it on after 2 years?

I answer to your first question I'd look for one around 12 years but not discount anything older or younger if it fits the bill. If it passes a 5 stage vet at 12 it has as much chance if not more of staying fit and sound. The more experience the horse the better for you and most likely more fun too.

 

[bigchief]

[ QUOTE ]
esp if you keep up the lessons

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes Anima, Plan to obviously cut down my lessons, but keep on one lesson per week and a private lesson every 2-3 weeks, hopefully that will be enough to keep me on the right track.

 

[bigchief]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Agree with you though about possibly not getting something 10 or over, as if you do want to sell it may be a bit of a problem.


[/ QUOTE ]

You see I really do not get this, if the horse is good why would you sell it on anyway, and if it's no good your not going to add value. Added to that the fact that everyone seems to put they won't buy over a certain age because they may need to sell it on. So who is going to buy YOUR 10 year old when you do sell it on after 2 years?

I answer to your first question I'd look for one around 12 years but not discount anything older or younger if it fits the bill. If it passes a 5 stage vet at 12 it has as much chance if not more of staying fit and sound. The more experience the horse the better for you and most likely more fun too.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes Burtie I can see where your coming from. It is something I think that will have to be balanced, but IMO I feel it is more to do with a riders expectations/goals/criteria. I may turn down a 10-12yr old as I would be concerned about not being able to sell it on, whilst another rider may not have that concern and be happier having a more mature horse and keep this horse for the rest of its life. Prob a situation which takes balance between what the rider wants from the horse and what the horse can offer. I have ambition to event/SJ 1.30+ in future years and want something to take me on to the next step giving me confidence and some experience along the way. This is why I would like to sell on the horse after 2-3years. Yes the horse maybe an excellent horse at the level it is competiting, but maybe limited at a higher level. I know with my budget I should be able to pick up a half decent horse, but not expecting an olympic horse lol Just a fairly decent horse to boost my confidence and put some of my reading into practice.

 

[Booboos]

Sounds like you are being very sensible about all this! I would agree with others that around 8-9 years is an ideal age, provided the horse has the right competition record. You may need to go closer to £6,000 for a more straight-forward horse, but on the other hand people are having trouble selling so this seems like the right time to pick up a bargain!

Do let us know how you get on (with pics of possible candidates!!!).

 

[Daisychain]

If your looking to jump 1.30m classes your budget is going to need to be about 25k + for an 8yo which is experienced....