Unhandled youngster to buy or not to buy ?

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Shannenm99

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I have been looking for a project for a while and have found it difficult finding something !

I have been to my local dealers and seen a nice 3 year old gelding totally unhandled bar getting head coller on ! He's very shy really skinny no muscle at all ! I kind of feel sorry for this we man and want to give him a chance in life !

What do you'd think has anyone bought something along the same lines ? How did it go ? Do you have pics of the change ?
 
Have you got lots of experience and tons of spare time?
If yes, then go for it! You will find it immensly satisfying I'm sure.

Otherwise, think long and hard, it can take over your life if you feel as though you are constantly juggling everything to make enough time for your horse, and it can feel a bit like all work and no play sometimes.
 
I bought an unhandled 2 year old - it was a struggle - a lot of the time it was like 2 steps forward and 1 back and sometimes even 1 step foward and 2 back so disheartening times along the way. But with time, work and patience it paid off - when you feel like you are getting nowhere or had a bad session just find the positive in something to keep you going.
 
I have just recently (last couple of months) bought a 3 year old that sounds a bit similar, but a bit more civilised. Mine will tie up and lead and let me do her feet. She was underweight due to living out all winter.
She had never left the farm she had been bred on, never seen anything that wasnt there, so meeting cars for the first time was.. novel... :)

She is now so much more chilled. Still a bit underweight, but working on it slowly, and can now walk past cars without bothering. She leads nicely, from both sides and has had a bridle and a roller on.

Its taken only 2 months to get this far, so I cant wait to see what we can do in the next 12 months! :D
It is definitely worth it, if you have the time, patience and experience the rewards are phenomenal!
 
It would depend on basic temperament. Is he nervous but passive? Or nervous aggressive? My yearling is the second and it can get quite physical occasionally when she decides to try her luck and jump on me (work in progress!). An older horse has that bit more strength. If the former then should be a fun project once you have his trust.
 
I always like to buy mine this way. Like others have said if you have lot s of time and experience then go for it .
 
He's very sweet will come up to you in barn (if others don't chase him) nice wee face ! I have lots of time and my yard 2 mins from work so have early morning lunch and nights
 
He is not unhandled if you can put a headcollar on.:p:D

As others have said, if you have the time and infinite patience, can laugh rather than cry when it all goes wrong some days/weeks, go for it.
 
I think if you've got the time and a stable /facilities you'll be fine it can take alot longer if your doing it from a field especially if there not great to catch.
We often get unhandled 3 year olds at work they initially are stabled completely at first and handled alot usually after 3-4 weeks they are out in a small paddocks and by 6-8 weeks are lunging lightly backed can easily be caught in big feilds and can then be turned away again till 4 year olds when there brought back in for more work.
 
Spent 18 months working with a (when he arrived) 3 year old completely untouched NF a few years back.

If you have the time and patience it is the most rewarding thing to do. The sense of pride seeing a horse you saw as a scared, untouched gangly baby, do things like it's first jump or it's first time with a saddle on.....best feeling in the world :)
 
Shannenm99 said:
He's very sweet will come up to you in barn (if others don't chase him) nice wee face ! I have lots of time and my yard 2 mins from work so have early morning lunch and nights
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You haven't said what experience you have. If you are a novice, then it'd be silly and a big risk buying it. If you have plenty of experience with youngsters / backing horses etc. then go for it, but it doesn't sound like you do or you wouldn't be asking this question I dont think!
 
I do have experience bringing on youngsters as broke in my own when I was 12 !

The cob was a complete lie about everything - she was handed back as found out a lot about her !
 
Shannenm99 said:
I do have experience bringing on youngsters as broke in my own when I was 12 !

The cob was a complete lie about everything - she was handed back as found out a lot about her !
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That is not a lot of experience.

If you really like this little cob and are prepared for some hard work then yes it is very, very rewarding bringing one on from scratch. You sound quite young, find someone who genuinely has experience with this kind of horse and listen to their advice. Beware the loud mouth 'experts'
The most important thing to remember is that this horse hasn't been taught anything yet, everything from picking his feet up to leading from a rope will be a mystery to him, so keep this in mind when it all goes wrong. Feel free to PM me for advice if you get stuck.
 
Thereis no reason you shouldn't be ale to bring on this baby as long as you have experience or experienced help round about you and you are not against asking for that help.

You don't need to be the best at everything to have a youngster, but you do have to be able to accept and look for help when you get stuck, no shame in that at all. I have a friend who has had people say things about her having her first youngster and quite frankly she is the sort of person who will happily ask for help when she needs it and has experienced friends around her s she and youngster will do just fine.

Think long and hard OP but if your willing and have help id don't see why not.
 
Black Beastie said:
Thereis no reason you shouldn't be ale to bring on this baby as long as you have experience or experienced help round about you and you are not against asking for that help.

You don't need to be the best at everything to have a youngster, but you do have to be able to accept and look for help when you get stuck, no shame in that at all. I have a friend who has had people say things about her having her first youngster and quite frankly she is the sort of person who will happily ask for help when she needs it and has experienced friends around her s she and youngster will do just fine.

Think long and hard OP but if your willing and have help id don't see why not.
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Agree with this.. Some of the best horse women I've known are naive teenagers with open hearts and a willingness to learn from others... I've seen older more experienced people try and 'force' education and end up in tatters. It's all down to the person, a little bit of experience and knowledge, a lot of instinct and heart in my opinion
 
The mare in the picture below is rising 6, she was completely untouched until she was 3 1/2 bar being fed from the back of a quad bike, she was then taken into a shed, loaded onto a lorry via gates and unloaded in another shed at a yard where they managed to get a headcollar on and leading, she was then dropped back in a field for a year. I took a shine to her last winter and it took over a month just to get a hand on her, but I worked away on the ground for almost 6 months before backing her in August, this pic was taken at a at arena event training day at the beginning of this month, she has turned into the most giving, generous mare with a really sensible head. Although she has never had any 'bad' treatment as such which must count for something! I know of six 4 year old mares who came from the same stud as she did who are untouched and currently available at minimal money, if I had the time I would do it all again!
 
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Unfortunately unhandled and 'unhandled with a headcollar on and gelded' are not the same at all. The latter may well mean manhandled and traumatised. I often find that a pony that has had a head collar forced on to it is ten times more difficult to bring round than one that has never had a head collar on at all. It can still be done but it will take more time, patience and skill than a totally unhandled horse would. You need to ask whether you have got all of those things...
 
When I was younger I loved buying unhandled ponies to train. I find it a much better experience taking something that has never been handled to dealing with something that has been messed with and either been frightened or learned to be a brat.
 
nicnag said:
The mare in the picture below is rising 6, she was completely untouched until she was 3 1/2 bar being fed from the back of a quad bike, she was then taken into a shed, loaded onto a lorry via gates and unloaded in another shed at a yard where they managed to get a headcollar on and leading, she was then dropped back in a field for a year. I took a shine to her last winter and it took over a month just to get a hand on her, but I worked away on the ground for almost 6 months before backing her in August, this pic was taken at a at arena event training day at the beginning of this month, she has turned into the most giving, generous mare with a really sensible head. Although she has never had any 'bad' treatment as such which must count for something! I know of six 4 year old mares who came from the same stud as she did who are untouched and currently available at minimal money, if I had the time I would do it all again!
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She looks lovely, what breed is she? And what breed are the other 4 year olds? I *might* be interested
 
Think about the fact that buying a youngster means no riding for some time. If you like your riding then you may need to consider this carefully

You are effectively paying out every cost you would do for a ridden pony (apart from tack of course) but getting no riding

I have two youngsters one of which is very feral and very quickly realised I was in way over my head, he is coming round now but my goodness we have some way to go and I'm going to have to pay out for professional help at times.
 
Re-reading my post - I understand that riding isn't everything and some people are happy not to ride but if you are indeed quite young you may find that watching your friends ride and go off to riding club or shows without you may be hard
 
Hi Ridefast, sorry I can't quote from phone. She is actually pure TB although a very chunky one who is regularly mistaken for a warm blood. Mares are currently in Yorkshire but when I say unhandled they really are untouched! Give me a PM if you want more info.
 
I bought my youngster last year when she was 2, she was the worst horse I have ever traveled with on the day we picked her up, she was constantly rearing and getting her front legs stuck over the breast bar, did it multipul times and had to stop regularly! It was the longest/most nervous half an hour of my life! Once she was back at the yard she was still difficult! Especially once she was living out! Catching her was easy, making her walk was the hard part!

She had clearly had barely any handeling at her previous home, I considered selling her multipul times, as she didn't seem to be getting any better with me! She would refuse to do anything and everything!

But now she has finally learnt and is one of the sweetist ponies I've ever had

Today we had our first walk out alone in traffic to get to her first show and she was foot perfect on the roads! Massive improvement from last year!

I'd say go for it, if you're wanting a challenge!
 
It will be a huge learning curve, satisfying, disappointing, frustrating, painful, temper testing, I could go on..

OP, have a flick through the thread 'My Next Equine Project' it is a funny account of my adventure owning a feral youngster. In amongst the humour are a lot of very useful tips, most of which you will not find in a book about handling young horses, and most of which came from highly experienced forum members who helped me tame Little Ted.

Good luck if you do buy the horse.
 
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