The perfect horse... but its just not "you"

McNally

McNally

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Would you still have it?

If say, like me you have spent the past god knows how long riding but not enjoying a very sharp TB (because TB's are my thing, I love the them mine was just too mad)
Then along comes a big heavy Hunter type about 16.2 of pure hulking horse but you get on it and love riding again, he's easy to do and lovely temprement.

......just not "you" not the sort you fall for but the kind of horse you see and maybe slightly turn your nose up at (if you will admit to that!!) Or it could be something like its much smaller/bigger etc, anything

What would you do? would you still buy if in a way it was all wrong but otherwise all right?
 
no i would keep looking til i found one i really clicked with, i tend to lose interest with a horse if i dont get on with it really well, i have only had 2 horses that i have really gotten on really well with (1 owned and one on loan) out of 7 or 8 (mostly short loans anyway) that ive been riding in the last 10 years. i wouldnt buy (or keep) a horse if it wasnt right, not fair on either of you.
 
As my beloved and much missed riding instructor used to shout at me 'SMILE IT'S SUPPOSE TO BE FUN!!!'.

So yes if the horse suited me and I had fun riding I wouldn't care less what it was or what it looked like.

I've just bought a TB..never wanted one, never ridden one...but she needed saving so I did just to offer her another chance. Riding her for the first time this weekend and if she suits me then there's a good chance I'll throw all sense out the window and I'll find a way to keep her rather than loan her out as planned...I adore my cob and he's 'me' 100% in everyway but if Jade and me click I won't turn her down just because she isn't what makes my heart instantly jump...I mean how many times have we found our perfect partners in life in the people we'd overlooked??? My longest relationship was with a flat mate who I'd seen every day for 3 years as a friend and then one day it changed and we became..more than friends!!!;):D
 
IMO the horse isn't 'wrong' because you said yourself that you rode him and he gave you confidence, etc. So it sounds like he would be perfect for you! Just because he isn't what you are used to, that doesn't make it the wrong horse for you.
 
Well, its sort of like men really - we know the gits are fun to have around when they are nice but horrible when they are nasty and mean but because they are fun and perhaps good looking we go for them... On the other hand, after 2 failed marriages I finally found Mr Right in an old mate that would never have fluttered my arches if you know what I mean.... We have great fun, love and care for each other and I although he can be a selfish git I know he will never bugger off with a newer model....

You need to make the choice but personally, if you feel unsafe on the TB type - keep the hunter - they can be tarted up too you know.... also, when you are hurtling clear around a cross country course and the TBs are disappearing in all directions and going lame at the drop of a hat then who will be laughing...
 
Well if you dont want the big boy I'll have him!! Been looking for one for a while. I know what you mean though, having not found what I have been searching for I started thinking that I should maybe look at cobs, but I cant just bring myself to buy one (no offence to Cob owners:D) I'm just used to riding big chunky MW/HW boys and even though cobs can be chunky I can't get used to riding something smaller!!

I think what you really need to do is be honest with yourself as to what you want to do with the horse. There are sane TB's out there, dont go for the big boy because he is safe if in reality you want it to perform as a TB.
 
Do you look forward to riding him again? i
If not then he's not for you. I just got back into riding after a break and tried lots that were perfect for my '2nd time around' status but although I enjoyed riding them all once nothing made me want to get back on them again.

Until a friend found a loan horse (was looking to buy) that seemed on paper and looking back WAS a bit too much for me, but I loved riding him so much that i got my fitness back quickly and worked on his quirks and he surely become 'perfect for me' i get excited just thinking about hacking him out never mind taking him to a show!!!:D:eek:
 
don't mind me, I'm just shuddering at the thought of owning a TB... that would be out of character for me! I guess if I really fell for a WB-type I might sway as far as that but I don't think any horse could be awesome enough to make me want a TB. Aside from anything else, it just makes me think tuberculosis...
(No offence to TB owners, I'm sure yours are lovely :P)
 
I love my tb types but after some experiences where i lost my confidence i decided to go for something abit more sane. I went out looking for an irish sports horse type 15hh to 16hh. I ended up with a 16.3hh tb x shire (A type i would never normally of looked at but hes the perfect horse for me now and has restored my confidence and now riding is fun again. Exactly the same with men!the best ones for you are often the ones you previously over looked x
 
If you secretly covet another type, then don't buy the big boy. My horse is the most beautiful beast in the World, this is how it should be.
 
If you asked me my ideal type of horse I'd say a chunky but athletic ID x TB, really laid back, potentially a bit of a plod.

What do I have? A skinny, prancy WB who is easily excited and would like to do everything at speed.

If he makes you happy then go for it and don't get too hung up on whether he's "the one".
 
I've read your post twice but I still don't think I've understood it properly. Do you like riding this new horse but look down on him because he's too chunky? Is it just his looks that are putting you off or do you think that there is something that a TB could do that a chunkier horse couldn't do :confused: Please can you explain a bit more? Thanks!
 
I wouldn't turn it down.

When I was looking I said no TBs, not older then 10 and easy to do. I ended up with a 12yo TB who is the most akward horse going as he has to be kept in his routine or else he freaks out.

Would I have it any other way? No probably not, I love the little guy and I really really enjoy him.

Don't turn him down if you have fun on him.
 
See, i am not sure - I have seen many 'perfect' on paper horses but i just didn't click with them and it wasn't due to them doing anything wrong (well not all of the anyway! lol), they just weren't. Based on that I would keep looking if I was you. TB or not TB I still believe that you know if a horse is for you.
 
When I first started riding my mare I didn't even really like her, thought her a plain Jane with no real personality, but she was great to ride. Well schooled and sane - and that was what I needed. I'd bought all my previous horses with my heart not my head, and decided this time I should take the sensible route - she was the sensible route.

Now I think she's beautiful and I understand her personality I think she has bags of it. It wasn't love at first sight but she is a real grower and I think in time will become the horse I always should've owned... like others have said - sometimes its like men - I tried trading my OH in a few years ago - we split up for 2 years because I thought there were 'more exciting and romantic things' out there for me (I was only young). We're back together now - because I've realised there aren't!!!

T x
 
My newbie & also both the project horses are just not me at all.
I wanted a Highland or a Traditional Gypsy Cob mare of 14.2hh that I could show.
My friend brought my horse for me and to be honest I wouldn't even have gone to look at him. He's a gelding and a cross between the two breeds I definitely didn't want (Welsh D x TB)
He is the best horse I have ever ridden, he makes me smile, he's straightforward to ride and has given me masses of confidence.
He is perfect for me although he's not what I'm used too or what I wanted.
Don't rule a horse out because he's not what you wanted on paper, if they make you smile then that's all you need in my opinion.
 
I fell in love with a friend's big, beautiful ID mare and when I went horse hunting that is what I was looking for. I ended up with a chunky little grey 15.1. I didn't like the look of him at all, he wasn't what I wanted but when I sat on him he just felt right, I can't explain it. He turned out to be a little sod but we get on just fine now and I have totally fallen in love with him and all iberians and wouldn't swap him for anything.
Just because the horse that 'feels' right doesn't look like what you imagined your new horse to look, rest assured you will fall in love with him eventually!
 
When I read the first post i thought it would have a slightly different perspective from the title.

Like everyone else has said, does it make you happy to ride? Would you have a good time with that horse? Just because you like a certain type doesnt mean you cant love others.

I've seen loads of horses that I love and get on well with and think are fantastic, that other people would hate. Same as some horses which everyone would eem to be perfect, I haven't felt the same attachment.

It's just finding a horse that you get along with, not what they are.
I have a small atheletic TBX.. but one of my favourite horses to ride ever was a similar height but chunky, fluffy, nappy, head shaking, clumsy cob, and although very different in breed and nature.. what they have in common that draws me to them, is they are both kind, hard working, intelligent, easy going, responsive horses.

x
 
I went to view a horse who was very nice, I liked her looks & liked the way she went when the owner showed her for me but as soon as I got on I knew she wasn't for me. I only sat on her for a few minutes & didn't even jump her, so I said to the owner that she wasn't for me.
I said I was sorry for wasting his time, she should have been perfect as she was just what I was looking for but sometimes you have to go with your gut feeling.
 
This is a really difficult one. I wasn't after a hairy when I bought my boy - however I didn't really have a type in mind - although I had been used to hunters prior to him. When I met him he made my heart smile and from that moment I was hooked. 14 months on he still makes my heart tingle everytime I see/ride/cuddle him. IMO this is what every girl needs.
 
Ok here's the real story!
It was a hypothetical question about something i thought MIGHT happen in the future. I work as a non riding groom at a Race yard but recently the owners wife who is a nervous dressage diva! decided her horse was to be brought back into work and maybe she would ride again.
That job was given to me! He's not a dressage horse but is loving life at the moment hacking round every day with me, and i have surprised myself at falling madly in love with this hulking horse and i love riding again.
For me riding was something i had to do and used to give myself the weekends off as a treat if i rode every day in the week (how crap is that really!)
Also my main riding is done with my little girl on her pony, I have to borrow a quiet horse to ride with them- This horse would be great for that.
This horse i am finding myself offering to go in on my day off to do him myself (!?)

However today (my day off!) I went in and was told by the trainer who is also in charge of the "family horses" that he is not going to hold up to dressage and he is going to recommend to the owner he is given to me as we are getting on so well (apparently he spins and naps but has never put a foot wrong with me)
The negative i can think of is that he wont "hold up" to the level of dressage the owner rides at, he go's slightly lame but is good to hack, jump and hunt lightly.

Dilemma!! Now my horse has just heartbreakingly had to go and i was not planning on getting anything else til at least summer but.... He go's to me or someone else and i loose him completely.
 
AshTay said:
Does he make you smile when you ride him?
Click to expand...

This is the key! and do you think about him when you're apart?! and look forward to seeing him again? My horse is a bit small, spooky, on the forehand, but I wouldn't swap him for anything - he makes me smile all the time x
 
McNally I am far too old and nervous for a sharp TB and love middle weight hunter types, currently have five pure and one part-bred Cleveland Bay. A joy to own and ride.

If you like him don't let him go. Lots of TB's around this chap might be special for you.
 
Go for it! If he'll do most of what you want & you're actually enjoying him then what have you got to lose? Also dressage training, particularly at higher levels, can be very demanding & just because he isn't coping doesn't mean he's a crock.

I've got two horses. One is as close to perfect for me as I could wish for, yet he doesn't do it for me & I always feel slightly guilty about him as he'sthe sweetest lad. I lend him to a couple of people that I trust, mainly to see him get some fun & attention - truth told I get as much pleasure seeing him come back with a smile on his face as I do from riding him myself. The other lad is so wrong for me in theory - too big, too sharp, unpredictable, opinionated, it's a wonder he hasn't killed the pair of us on occassion. Yet he's the one that has my heart, that I love to ride & always brings a smile to my face.

Sense doesn't come into it sometimes, if the connection is there then perfect becomes meaningless.
 
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