Saddlebred yearling. Is it a good first horse

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Bianca#1

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Hi I'm 26 quiet experienced in horses of all shapes and sizes . I've worked in private sj yard livery yards and riding schools since I've left school. Also my last full loan was an 18h ish X hunter who was cold backed n out of work I gave him back to his owner when I have my kids. No they have grown up and in school I have time in my life for a horse again. But I want a youngster of my own to teach it all too. I've never come across many saddlebreds and have googled it and spoke to the lady selling her (apparently like tb's but heavier and calmer) lady says the filly is very calm n sane headed and not fizzy like tb's and is easily trainable . Is this a good first youngster .. If you have experience of saddlebreds please help thanks 😄
 
I would recommend a New Forest, they are kind and sane, can carry weight, drive, jump, hunt and so on.
The don't cost a lot and you can buy at the sales where they have been shown, so you can get the best of the best for next to nothing, other advice is to buy two, then they can be pals.
Really not sure about saddlebreds, but I would not buy one, there are Cleveland bays if you want t a big horse, or Clydesdales, neither are particualty intelligent compared to pony type.
 
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Thank you very much. Any advice I'm greatfull for. Please tell me why you wouldn't buy one? Have you had them or know someone that has that had a bad experience or is it just because you don't know much about them? Thank you again X
 
If it's only a yearling you'll have years to wait to have some fun. Your kids are surely still quite young. Get something you can have fun with now, with an established way of going that you feel safe on. Having kids makes you reevaluate what chances you take. You aren't very experienced and a youngster in your situation will probably end in tears.
 
I woud not buy one because they are bred for a purpose to suit the showing people, therefore they are not bred either for temperament or for soundness.
For the same reason I would not buy a dog breed which has been bred to extremes.
What I like is a horse which will last a lifetime, therefor a leg at each corner, no obvious defects and the ability to carry its rider for a days hunting or adapt to any riding club activities., over the years circumstances change, and therefore it is better to have a general purpose horse with a good temperament.
PS not all TBs are fizzy, some you have to kickalong even when in race training.
If you buy a good young horse [of any breed] there is no guarantee it will suit you once broken, it might be too sharp especially in the first few months, or it might be frustratingly ploddy. It might be calm and amenable aged three newly broken, then turn in to a monster raving lunatic aged 6. Much cheaper to buy one ready made, much much cheaper. If you have kids much better to have something you can trust, a good pony for example.
 
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I know ills have time to wait till she backed and ready to bring on. I have no trouble waiting and think it will be nice for the children to grow up with the youngster.. My only trouble is I don't know much about the breeding or temperament .! ! ?? Knowledge of the breed will be a great help! Thanks lady's your all very helpful
 
I know one. Absolutely beautiful horse, very dainty and refined, but mad as a box of frogs! He excels at endurance riding, mainly because he doesnt ever seem to get tired. Hes also incredibly sharp. His owner has had a few and loves them, but she says they are all like that to some degree. I wouldnt have one as a riding horse for any money!
 
I have no knowledge of the breed but am experienced with horses of all types, my advice would be do your research, as you have started to on here, when you go and meet the filly make sure you also meet the dam, any siblings and any others at the stud, the sire is important but no so much as the dam/ siblings as a guide to what you will end up with, find out what others bred there have done/ are doing, follow up to check they really are sound, easy horses doing the job you have in mind, like any breed there will be good proven lines and those that are less good and the youngsters seem to end up doing nothing.

Most youngsters are sweet, appealing and if handled kindly and firmly are easy to deal with so don't get carried away with the first you see, finally do you have a really suitable place to keep a youngster, many yards are not ideal with limited or restricted turnout, often individual, most will benefit from living out 24/7 in a herd as they really require very little handling at this age and need the time, space to grow up physically and mentally preferably in as natural a way as possible, in the long term it will make for a healthier, happier horse.
 
Hi be positive .. I have been searching the perfect yard for a youngster and found one with decent turn out mares together not alone.. And they have decent winter turn out 9-3 ?? Thanks for your help
 
I am the proud owner of a saddlebred! Who is selling the filly as I'm a member of the ASS so may know the owner. Saddlebreds are not TB like. They are more Arab. And I've had both breeds. Very hardy live on thin air, usually barefoot. Yes they are well known in the endurance world but some excell at dressage and jumping. My saddlebred is very well schooled and we have weekly dressage lessons. She can be stubborn but very clever. Very kind hearted. Very much a one to one horse, so loyal. People look on YouTube and see the five gaited American Saddlebred in the show ring which should not be confused with the all purpose 3 gait saddlebreds your find for sale in the uk.
 
Yes I re searched the gaitedness but can be tough and ridden English.. The hot surprises me tho after all my research it says there a calm and wmeasyly trainable !! Do u know any saddlebreds. Experience is great thanks
 
Ex race horse that's great on hands experience thank you. Anything more you can tell me about them would be a massive help thank you
 
Hi OP - I'm afraid I'm another that doesn't know much about Saddlebred's - apart from that they are hot. You may have more luck on a US forum for breed information.

I can understand why you want a youngster but it's not for the faint hearted, if you buy a yearling then, realistically it will be 5 years before you are riding regularly. There will probably be tears and tantrums along the way as well.

If it's a youngster you are interested in however why don't you look for something a little older - maybe 2-3 - still young enough for you to be very involved in the backing process but old enough that you have more idea of the personality of the horse when you are buying it.

I have a 6yo homebred who, quite frankly, was an absolute witch as a yearling - she would chuck a back leg as soon as look at you and at feed time she was just pure evil. As a 3yo she was a completely different animal because of the work we had done with her. I've also seen the other way - a beautiful PBA filly who was (is) very easy to handle, never been a moments trouble. When it got to the backing process she was fine for 2 weeks and then started decking riders - it took months and months and months (and lots of vet checks) to get her going under saddle - are you really prepared for scenario's such as that?

Personally, in your situation, I'd look for something well handled that is ready to back/bring on and maybe a native type or a native x.
 
Based on my knowledge of mine no no no .
He lovely, fun , spirited and kind but he's hot hot hot hot and as mad as a box of frogs .
His energy level are stratospheric he's very sharp and quick to learn and his engine has no off switch and his accelerator is slightly stuck on .
He's with out doubt the most alternative horse I have ever known he lives on planet Tatts a completely different planet and visits earth only now and again .
 
You can argue the pro's and con's of any breed of horse - all boils down to what you want to do with it when its older. I for example bought a British Warmblood yearling, because I want a horse that can go up the levels in dressage but not be quite as hot and silly as some of the European Warmbloods.

So what do you aim to do with the horse? Do you want an all-rounder? Or a competition horse? In which case you'll need to buy something suitable for the discipline you are interested in. My knowledge of Saddlebreds is that they are gaited so not totally suitable for your usual dressage/eventing/show jumping (I'm sure they'd have a go but wouldnt excel as they are not bred for that), but could be suitable for endurance or breed classes for showing - but wouldnt be suitable for your average hack/riding horse etc classes if you wanted to show.

Personally if this is the first horse you have ever purchased (sounds like you have loaned and ridden lots but never owned a horse?) then I'd go for something that's a bit more of an all-rounder riding school type. If you want a youngster something like a ISH or something with a bit of cob/clydesdale/shire in there, doesnt need to be a particular breed just a general sports horse type. These tend to have more sensible temperaments rather than a pure breed (the other posters have said saddlebreds are hot so you'd want to avoid that for your first youngster).

I've been really lucky with my yearling (he's now 2 and a half) as he's been super calm and sensible - he's my first youngster and they are a challenge enough without having to deal with something really hot. Even the calm youngsters still test you, you have to establish authority with them and ultimately youngsters are very accident prone so you'll always have some kind of drama with them. Hence why you want a sensible one, so if they do get injured (as mine did in the field) then they wont go mad on box rest and cause you too many sleepless nights.

So I'd say dont go for something pure-bred, like a saddlebred, unless you have a strong desire for that breed and a strong desire to compete in a specific discipline that requires a saddlebred. If you want an all-rounder go for something a bit calmer and steadier, dont bite off more than you can chew and never under-estimate how demanding owning a yearling is. Make life as easy as possible if you have young kids, a hot yearling and young children are a recipe for disaster and will be too demanding for you.
 
The filly is 2 in April so not far off your suggestion.. I had a lot of trouble re training the ish.. So I'm ready and would like to reep the benefits once she is ridden. (Amazing feeling)
 
Bianca#1 said:
Ex race horse that's great on hands experience thank you. Anything more you can tell me about them would be a massive help thank you
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Look on the Facebook page. My saddlebred was bred by Ann Blackaby. My 9 yr old son has been learning to ride on her. And I give lessons to another 11 yr girl on Indy. She's so laid back. She can be ridden English or western. I love the breed and they are becoming as rare as hens teeth over here as most are part bred.
 
I'm just looking for a English general riding horse. To love and offer a permant loving home ..! No shows or comps.. I like the look of finer horse tb's saddlebreds ish.. Don't like cobs there far too stocky !!
 
Ex race horse - So you would recommend them? This is lovely news to be teaching kids on her .. 😄 I really like the one I've viewed and she's lovely but everyone's saying the hot hot hot n flighty 😁
 
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Kc100-- I owned a pony when I first started out yonks ago.. I rode and have done horses near enough every day since I left school along side my full livery riding school job I full loaned the ish took him to my yard 4hours from original owner and did everything with him (included re backing him as cold backed out of work n previous nervous rider) this was an amazing journey. When she took him back she was most pleased he was riding perfectly, but yes I've only ever owned the pony then rest was loans full and part !! Thank you for you info and advice X
 
If you are anywhere near Herefordshire you could go to Monnington Morgans, where they also have some Saddlebreds and have bred foals and broken and trained - and taken to the USA to compete successfully.

I had an instructor from the USA once who said that saddlebreds are very trainable, althetic and she couldn't understand why anyone would bother getting a warmblood for dressage when they could have a saddlebred - this was in the USA of course.

Now, I don't know if they have exported the hot heads to the UK which gives them the reputation here.

From someone who observed the Morgan and Saddlebred youngstock turned out together growing up, on a daily basis having to care for them, they said that the Morgans were twice as bright as the saddlebreds, and a lot braver, but not everyone wants a very clever horse!

I think in USA breeding, bloodlines are important. You need to know the temperament of the dam and the stallion as some would be for showing pros only and others more as family horses (although I always wonder what they do with a retired show horse). Good luck OP.
 
I think it speaks volumes that the people who have them or are originally from the US (eg Coal Isla - so will have come across lots of them) are not just saying 'hot' but 'hot, hot, hot'.

They sound right up my street especially as they have been compared to arabs, which I adore.

Bianca, I have two arabs which I bought as yearlings. The mare who is mostly crabbet bred would have been perfect as a first time youngster for someone experienced with adult horses and with the right support. She would also be ideal for someone with young children as she is so easy going. She did have her moments when young though (mainly rearing in-hand) and I did have to train her as she just didn't know things when I first bought her. However she is trainable and learns quickly. Of course she would also learn things quickly that were wrong, so the training had to be good training to turn her into a well mannered horse.

The gelding would have been a disaster in your situation, bless him. He's so hot sometimes it's like he has nitro in his veins and you have to retain a Zen like calmness when he's like that. Hard to do if you have young children about or haven't delt with hot youngstock before.

So what I'm saying is that there could be a saddlebred out there that is perfect for you, but there will also be ones that would be terrible. I don't know if the filly is the one or not, but please put your sensible head on when viewing. If this one's not right, there will be other lightweight youngsters out there, that would suit someone like you. I would look for one that is already owned by someone with young children, as having one that is used to children would be pretty important in your circumstances.

I remember seeing a very, very pretty palomino PBA filly on preloved once, who was being handled by a young child in all the photos and all the wording in the ad made it sound like she had a very sensible head (if I was richer I'd have snapped her up if she was as described). They are out there.
 
I have no direct experience of Saddlebreds but reading your posts I was curious to know what about the Saddlebred breed has attracted you to them? As you seem fairly set on this filly despite what seems to be limited knowledge of the breed.

Also echo what others have said about getting something slightly older and ready to back for all the same reasons that have already been stated.
 
She is built like a tb instead of the heavier types that's all I've being seeing for sale lately.. She was the right price had the look I was after right age I was after could be delivered and the right size.. ( to mature to) thanks for your advice .. I prob won't get her now as you all seem to have more knowledge then me thank you X
 
Bianca#1 said:
She is built like a tb instead of the heavier types that's all I've being seeing for sale lately.. She was the right price had the look I was after right age I was after could be delivered and the right size.. ( to mature to) thanks for your advice .. I prob won't get her now as you all seem to have more knowledge then me thank you X
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Oh please don't be put off. My Saddlebed is sooo laid back, shes teaching my 9 yr old to ride for goodness sake! - I don't understand where all this hot hot hot comes from. As Ive said before, a lot of people see the footage of the American 5 gait and all their prancing in the ring. Unless they are 5 gaited, they walk and trot like any other horse. Everyone that has seen Indy, thinks shes a cob x! And there is an American saddlebred in England, who is doing very very well in dressage, they are strong and powerful when needed.
 
Ex race horse. She looks amazing. Bless her lovely markings too. I don't know how to add pictures on here or I'd show you the youngster I found. Is there a way to private message me or something if really like to chat further .. I don't understand where all the hot hot hot is coming from either I've googled high and low and not seen that anyway quiet the opposite X thank you
 
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