Taking a risk or stick to what you know?

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EquestrianFairy

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As a few are aware ive been looking for a RC allrounder to help solve my confidence crisis after taking on a horse that was simply too much for me after having my daughter.

Ive been to see a LOT of horses and all have been wrong in various ways, ive stuck hard to my criteria the whole time but for one reason or another its never been right.
I went to see a local dealer that had a horse in that sounded ideal but as soon as the rider got on i knew instantly i wasnt going to ride it and my very close friend also agreed it was far too spirited for me and very nervous.

The same dealer said she had a 4yo that might be suitable as she was very quiet- the mare got pulled in from the field, muddy and not having been ridden in around two weeks. Tacked up and went in the school, didnt put a single foot wrong and even though its never jumped it went over a little pole sweetly. I got on and nerves going crazy also felt quite happy on her, friend got on and agreed she was a lovely, well put together mare. Schooling was very nice and she worked naturally in an outline.
I hacked her out and again, not phased by anything at all, not jumpy or remotely bothered.
-however she is much much younger and greener than i wanted and the total opposite to my original criteria.

In the meantime my young 5yo horse came back unexpetedly from being on loan and whilst she is only 14.2hh (I need 15.2hh ideally) i had started to play with the idea that i could just jump on her from time to time or do some in hand stuff and look again in the summer for something that was originally what i was looking for?

How do i know what the right thing to do is? Im really quite torn.
 
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Im very much 50:50.
Im sat here thinking i should go for the 4yo but then in a few hours time i will be telling myself 'no, stick to what you were looking for'
 
I think you'd be making a mistake in purchasing a 4 year old. You have a horse, which whilst it may be a little small for you, presumably you're happy to ride.
 
amymay said:
I think you'd be making a mistake in purchasing a 4 year old. You have a horse, which whilst it may be a little small for you, presumably you're happy to ride.
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This ^^

Enjoy your 5 year old for now, by next summer your confidence issues may no longer be a problem and you may feel that the search criteria has changed again.
 
What happens when 4yr old sees somehting new and has a tantrum? CAn you manage that? Most 4yrs olds are sweet and do as requested as they haven't hit teenage stage yet. Some stay that way, plenty don't!
 
amymay said:
I think you'd be making a mistake in purchasing a 4 year old. You have a horse, which whilst it may be a little small for you, presumably you're happy to ride.
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I haven't ridden her yet but even if I'm not happy riding her I could do some in hand stuff with her to keep me busy (or that was my thought)
 
Hmmmm....a diffcult one.

The potential problem with a 4yr old is that they can change quite dramatically before they are 'established', and unless you have experience of youngsters, could throw up some issues you may not have the confidence to deal with.

However if you have a good instructor and friends that can help you out, I wouldn't discount it.

I have recently bought a 5 yr old - I always said I would never have a youngster but bought him from a trusted source, and to date has not put a foot wrong. With mine I feel very confident on him so if he does throw in some issues down the line, feel that I could deal with them, or take him to my instructor for some help.

Also if you did buy the 4 yr old what would you do with the other one? Have you the time, facilities and finances for two, or would you try and loan out the 5 yr old again? One youngster can be a lot to handle, but two would be a whole different ball game.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
Sidney said:
Hmmmm....a diffcult one.

The potential problem with a 4yr old is that they can change quite dramatically before they are 'established', and unless you have experience of youngsters, could throw up some issues you may not have the confidence to deal with.

However if you have a good instructor and friends that can help you out, I wouldn't discount it.

I have recently bought a 5 yr old - I always said I would never have a youngster but bought him from a trusted source, and to date has not put a foot wrong. With mine I feel very confident on him so if he does throw in some issues down the line, feel that I could deal with them, or take him to my instructor for some help.

Also if you did buy the 4 yr old what would you do with the other one? Have you the time, facilities and finances for two, or would you try and loan out the 5 yr old again? One youngster can be a lot to handle, but two would be a whole different ball game.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
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I've had youngsters before but my confidence wasn't like it is now.
We would loan out the 5yo, we actually have someone who wants her but I'm in no rush to palm her off straight away.
 
amymay said:
Surely you'd take a 'risk' with the youngster you have and know, rather than one you don't? ?
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In some way I guess, I've had her since she was born apart from the year she's been away so I know her very well BUT she's costing me no extra expense as she's already mine and if I don't want to ride her then I can just do some in hand classes and put her on loan to a friend who is desperate to take her on. It would be a risk that accumulates no extra cost for me- so less of a risk if nothing else but yes a risk nonetheless. So I get to chose from two potential wrong-un's.

I'm doing well!
 
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If you are undecided, how about going back to look at the 4yr old a few more times, maybe taking different people with you to offer their opinions too?
 
I went out looking for a well established 8/9 yo gelding and ended up with ...... a 3 yo just backed mare. On paper not ideal and we've had a couple of blips but she's been brilliant the whole time. I just fell in love and clicked with her. Personally I think that clicking with them is the most important thing especially if you have the experience to deal with a baby and the support to help out if she throws somethign up you aren't confident enough to deal with
 
EquestrianFairy said:
In some way I guess, I've had her since she was born apart from the year she's been away so I know her very well BUT she's costing me no extra expense as she's already mine and if I don't want to ride her then I can just do some in hand classes and put her on loan to a friend who is desperate to take her on. It would be a risk that accumulates no extra cost for me- so less of a risk if nothing else but yes a risk nonetheless. So I get to chose from two potential wrong-un's.

I'm doing well!
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So essentially your not keen on riding this one either. Definitely steer clear of anything younger.

And I absolutely don't agree that 'clicking' with them is the most important thing. I've 'clicked' with plenty of youngsters. It doesn't mean a thing if you haven't got the confidence to ride them.
 
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how long has the 4 year old been backed and what has she done?

If the horse has not been ridden for two weeks and has not done much she might be completely different once she is fit. Do you know anything about the breeding of the horse some horses are slow to mature and suddenly wake up when they get older and become more feisty.

I was looking for an all rounder and ended up buying a 5 year old when I was looking for a more established 5 year old, however he did fulfil most of my criteria apart from being young. It has not always been easy and whilst he is a great pony and I have been very successful with him I think if I was buying again I would stick my criteria and buy a more established horse as it is so much easier as they do change quite a bit between 4-7 as they mature.

If you already have a horse and a daughter do you have the time to bring on a youngster as it can take quite a lot of time. By waiting longer could you save more money and have a bigger budget and more choice.
 
I have recently ended up buying a 4 yr old when I was ideally looking for some thing older. Just clicked with the 4 yr old and knew that I felt safe on him. I tried quite a few but he was the one. So far couldnt be happier with him. Go with your gut feel. Good luck let us know what you decide.
mynutmeg said:
I went out looking for a well established 8/9 yo gelding and ended up with ...... a 3 yo just backed mare. On paper not ideal and we've had a couple of blips but she's been brilliant the whole time. I just fell in love and clicked with her. Personally I think that clicking with them is the most important thing especially if you have the experience to deal with a baby and the support to help out if she throws somethign up you aren't confident enough to deal with
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I bought a 4 year old in a similar situation to you, wasn't meant to get one so young either. She's 6 in January and has done nothing but fill me with confidence from day one, after a blip in confidence on another horse! :)
 
Well I say stay away from the 4 year old. I know too friends that had 4 year olds that were lovely and quiet , by 5 there were monsters. Rearing, nappy you nane it

By 6.5 they settled down again but do you want to take that risk..??

Afterall they are still very much a baby at that age.

Have you never heard of the "terrible fives"

Horse start pushing there luck, there stronger and wiser and like to see what they can get away with before then settling down again.

If you have confidence issues just steer clear. A young horse needs a confident handler and rider to correctly install the basics. And nip any naughty behaviour on the bud immediately .

If you have not found the right horse just wait and keep looking
 
Daytona said:
Well I say stay away from the 4 year old. I know too friends that had 4 year olds that were lovely and quiet , by 5 there were monsters. Rearing, nappy you nane it

By 6.5 they settled down again but do you want to take that risk..??

Afterall they are still very much a baby at that age.

Have you never heard of the "terrible fives"

Horse start pushing there luck, there stronger and wiser and like to see what they can get away with before then settling down again.

If you have confidence issues just steer clear. A young horse needs a confident handler and rider to correctly install the basics. And nip any naughty behaviour on the bud immediately .

If you have not found the right horse just wait and keep looking
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I've had two youngsters and personally never experienced any terrible ages as they have grown up but I was more confident back then so it's possible they just didn't feel the need to argue with me.
My confidence grows quickly but it also disappears quickly (at the moment- I never used to be like this).

I won't discount my own youngster as I know her very well but I wasn't planning riding her as I was looking for a bigger horse.
 
I agree with others about steering clear of youngsters for now. Some can be a challenge for even the best of riders/ handlers. Some stay sweet and are pretty easy, but some can be monsters when they hit the "teenage stage"
 
well good luck EF whatever you decide... personally as a (rather older than you I suspect!) rider with less confidence than I once had, I would not suggest a 4 YO ID as if she does have a moment she will be a lot of horse to deal with! I was offered a 4YO and decided to go for a more established 8 YO instead... who turned out (once fed & back fixed) to have a mental age of 3 and is now for sale! Meanwhile I have subsequently ridden the 4YO again and fell off when she reared! So I am now looking for a 20 year old shetland pony that is up to 12 stone!! ;)
 
tobiano said:
well good luck EF whatever you decide... personally as a (rather older than you I suspect!) rider with less confidence than I once had, I would not suggest a 4 YO ID as if she does have a moment she will be a lot of horse to deal with! I was offered a 4YO and decided to go for a more established 8 YO instead... who turned out (once fed & back fixed) to have a mental age of 3 and is now for sale! Meanwhile I have subsequently ridden the 4YO again and fell off when she reared! So I am now looking for a 20 year old shetland pony that is up to 12 stone!! ;)
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That sounds about the same amount of luck I would have! Ouch!

I think I will continue my search, I was originally looking for around the aged 10 mark. The search continues..
Costing me a small fortune in livery as if I give up my stable the waiting list to get back is months. :(
 
My 4 yo was very sweet and willing and now she's 4.5 and suddenly awoken!! Turned into a bit of a witch and having lots of tantrums so they can change.

ETA Nelly is full ID too and definitely not a calm plod! We were doing laps in gallop round the arena on Saturday until she'd calmed down enough to do some work!
 
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It depends on how confident you are. If it doesn't work out you could end up with two youngsters that you're only doing groundwork on! I am also very sceptical about a dealer leaving a horse thats for sale in thefield unridden for a fortnight, more likely that it had been ridden IMO.

We rang up about a 8yr old horse that had been sold and ended up going to see a 4yr old for my husband's first horse. He was lovely as a 4yr old, but went through the teenage phase at 5.5-6 (not ridiculously bad, but would have put a more novice rider off perhaps?). He was actually worse with myself and the groom on him (who made him work more) than my husband who let him amble along and who was stronger if he did shoot off! An ID is a big strong creature if you let it get away with things..
 
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