What attracted you to your horse?

She had come over from Ireland and was in a bit of a state. Despite being skinny, scarred from falling on the way over and obviously scared, she was the most amazing chestnut colour. I just really liked the look of her and felt pretty sorry for her. Best decision I ever made.
 
I saw Bob the "notacob" being ridden in an outdoor school. I cant remember exactly what he did but it made me think "that horse doesnt think like a normal horse". He was a nervy fresh out of a field ID ,but despite his nerves ,wanted to be friends.I was determined never to have another horse but couldnt resist his Irish charm. we will never set the competition world alight.I am far too old now and he is a backward 7yo rising 5:D.He is game for anything and has saved me on a few occasions. Last night I was trying unsuccessfuly to teach him about feed balls . On my hands and Knees in his stable pushing it about and handing him pony nuts . He can eat a ponynut from betwean my finger and thumb but he cant figure out a feed ball!:rolleyes:he has never ever stopped at a fence and has jumped more than one that would grace a 1 star event ,by accident rather than choice:o.i lost my horse of a lifetime when I lost Lancelot,and I am amazed that fate has been so kind to me to send me another wonderfull horse.
 
I started looking after Pixe when I moved to a new area having had a break from horses for about 8 years. I moved to the countryside and the urge to be with horses again took over. I ideally wanted a nice quiet cob to hack in this excellent area (always had problem horses before!) I saw an advert in my local post office for someone to help with a pony - I called and it was a 13.2hh part-arab x welsh - not really what I was looking for but hey it was a start! From the 1st day I went to look after her - I had little contanct form the onwers again and basically took her on as my own!! 3 yrs later they gave her to me officially - I always said I would look after her but always wanted a 'proper' horse to hack out on and to teach my partner on (Pixie is scared of everthing and very flighty!) but I could not bear to part from her. I fell in love (had her 4 yrs now - but only 'officallly' mine since March)

Anyway - ramble over!

I fell in love because although she is not suitable I know nobody else would have her - not a childs pony and what adult would want such a small pony like that at 14yrs who has only really been a pet!

I have such a good bond with her but nobody else sees it as she is so stand-offish with everyone!

Oh well - I love her to bits!!! (even when I cant catch her for days!lol)
 
rachmacypixie111 said:
I started looking after Pixe when I moved to a new area having had a break from horses for about 8 years. I moved to the countryside and the urge to be with horses again took over. I ideally wanted a nice quiet cob to hack in this excellent area (always had problem horses before!) I saw an advert in my local post office for someone to help with a pony - I called and it was a 13.2hh part-arab x welsh - not really what I was looking for but hey it was a start! From the 1st day I went to look after her - I had little contanct form the onwers again and basically took her on as my own!! 3 yrs later they gave her to me officially - I always said I would look after her but always wanted a 'proper' horse to hack out on and to teach my partner on (Pixie is scared of everthing and very flighty!) but I could not bear to part from her. I fell in love (had her 4 yrs now - but only 'officallly' mine since March)

Anyway - ramble over!

I fell in love because although she is not suitable I know nobody else would have her - not a childs pony and what adult would want such a small pony like that at 14yrs who has only really been a pet!

I have such a good bond with her but nobody else sees it as she is so stand-offish with everyone!

Oh well - I love her to bits!!! (even when I cant catch her for days!lol)
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She sound s lovely.As for the catching bit ,Bob has a thing for blondes and will often only surrender his freedom to his select harem of stablegirls. he will also give up if I go out in a high viz jacket cos it means were going hacking!
 
Her honest Irish face ,and the fact she is a rather nice Irish cob and scrubs up well with trimming.Never regretted buying her,one in a thousand.:)
 
Mike007 said:
She sound s lovely.As for the catching bit ,Bob has a thing for blondes and will often only surrender his freedom to his select harem of stablegirls. he will also give up if I go out in a high viz jacket cos it means were going hacking!
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Thanks Mike - she is - although I know the girls / ladies on my old yard thought I was a little stange looking after this pony! I am 29. I am only 5'2 though so not too big height wise but maybe a little too fat at the moment (I am 10st ish!) She does not show any sign that I am though! Sweet girl! They were all showing/dressage people so didnt see the point in just looking after a pony! One of the girls once said to me - "why would anyone look after a horse they couldnt do anything with - whats the point?"
People dont take to her as she is very spooky and doesnt really care for anyone else - she is soooo cute with me and does all these little nice things that make you melt but nobody sees it!! The thing is - if shes not in the mood for you - shes not in the mood! She has a fantastic life, she goes out in a 14acre field with 5 other horses and has a massive stable when she comes in - which isnt very often in summer! When I do bring her in its just for food, cuddles, grooming and maybe a short hack up the lane or 20mins in the school!
 
Her photo.

I was looking for a nice, quiet, finished gelding to amble around on trails. Then I saw her picture in an online ad and had to go see her. She was 4, very green, just off the track, and a mare - not remotely what I was looking for. But she's exactly the kind of horse I've always loved - smart, challenging, and built for about anything I want to do.

I've had her 2 years and I can't imagine life without her. She's the most intelligent horse I've ever had, we've got an incredible bond, she loves to work, loves to learn, has no problem going out alone or trying new things. She's my best friend.
 
I had always wanted a young skewbald and my cousin had bought one which was absolutly gorgeous, while i was doing my thing on the yard he watched me with every step was totally engrossed in whatever i was doing and when i went over to take his rugs off i opened the stable door stroked his head and he put his head down and practically cuddled right into me! And i just fell for him right at that moment! so begged my dad to buy him off my cousin without even riding him first but luckily he was perfect to ride and now he's living happily with me still watching everything i do and giving me his awesome cuddles everyday!!:D
 
He gave me a look over the door, I didnt even know he was for sale at the time but he was so I had to have him - 2 years on and hes finally turning into the perfect pony/horse :p!!
 
I had lost my confidence jumping on my mums unreliable thoroughbred and after being cat leaped over a 3ft jump from a stand still and ending up hanging round her neck at gallop Id had enough. All I wanted to was something a bit less eratic!! We found a cheapish ID in the local paper and off we went. I took one look over the stable door at this big lump and instantly fell in love. As I said to my mum she was just a bigger version of my reliable 14hh. The bloke admitted she hadn't been worked much lately but I got on and just felt so at ease unlike my mums horse who was a ticking time bomb! She went so nicely and when the bloke put a jump up (a straight bar propped on stood up barrals) and told me "trust me she won't stop" I was horrified! But sure enough I aimed her grabbed her mane and she did the rest! And that's how she's always been, she'll jump anything! She's 17 now so we're winding things down but she's just the most amazing horse I'll ever own
 
As soon as I rode her at the viewing, I felt like I'd come home. Went back next day in freezing, driving sleet and asked the groom to ride her while I watched from under cover with a warm cup of coffee.:p
Horse was a star, she got out there and did the job in appalling conditions and I thought, she'll do.
Cracking mare she is too. One of the best.
 
One of my favourite horses at the riding school was pts, and I found it very upsetting, even though he wasn't mine.
I was offered rides on lots of other horses afterwards, but couldn't "click " with any of them.
One day I was asked to ride a 3 yr old tb on a trail ride. It was pouring with rain and starting to get really windy, but Jazz didn't bat an eyelid.
We went behind, led another pony from him, took the lead a couple of times, walked, trotted and cantered.
He was so eager to please, didn't put a foot wrong. He was also really comfortable, and ( I think ) good looking.
i started to ride him more and more, and when the owner said he was going to the knackerman because of lameness, I made the rather rash decision to buy him.
Best $500 I ever spent !
Kx
 
We sort of fell into each other laps as he was for sale at the yard where I was part loaning another horse. I never thought about buying him as he is 17.2 warmblood and huge and always thought I'd go for a 15.2 cobby thing. Anyway numerous (unsuitable in my eyes) buyers came along and were picking all sort of holes and flaws. I came down one morning and his huge giraffe neck came over the door and nose right in my face.... and that was it. I asked to ride him out, which I did and he was great. After negotiating a two week trial to see how I would get on with him - he was then mine. That was 7 years ago now and wouldn't be without him!
 
I was looking for a loan horse and had been looking for 18 months as needed something that wasn't dangerous as I have 2 young daughter and was coming back into riding after a 6 year break to have them, but also wanted the horse to have something about it. I found lots with something about them but not safe enough on the ground to have around my children.

I had almost given up looking as the horse I was looking for I needed at least £3500 to buy and although saving I was a way off. It was the 9th Nov (my birthday) and my husband had done the school run and told me to relax so was bored watching this morning and even though I knew all the loan ads off by heart though I'd google 'loan horse in gloucestershire' and a 10 word lineage ad came up which sounded promising it had only been there 3 hours.

Went to see him with mum the following day I have NEVER seen such a hairy warmblood. He was filthy but we brought him in groomed him then rode him around his canter transition were horrid bucks but the temperament was there- we agree'd a LVWB price and 6 months later I bought him. I adore this horse he's kind, loving, looks after me, tries really hard, cheeky, a piglet in the stable, he jumps out of his field, pulls his shoes off and I adore him
 
I was an 11 year old looking for my first pony and at a closing yard she was the 3rd one they brought out. I was nervous as anything and she looked after me :D wasn't really taken with her at first but I later realised that when I'd been to see the horses first, she was the only one who came forward from the back of the stable and shoved me around demanding i speak to her. She's not lost that quality!

Oh and when she gets REALLY excited she tucks her head in, charges forward and squeals. sometimes with a fart added in ;)
I looove her !
 
He looked perfect on paper - ticked all my boxes before I went to see him. Then as we arrived at the yard, this beautiful face popped out over the stable door to say hello, and I was hooked! He wasn't actually as perfect as the ad professed, but I love him now and is now well on the way to being perfect ;)
 
I knew that I wanted an Arab or a PBA/AA and I found a bloodstock agent who delt with that breed. I went to the yard and I was shown around. All the horses were for sale and I could choose to look at any or even all of them. Three caught my eye, a chestnut arab stallion, a grey arab gelding and a chestnut anglo-arab mare (who was by the same stallion as the grey, but out of a TB mare). The grey was very sharp, the chestnut mare napped and did a mini rear but was a lovely ride once she was through the gate. The stallion was super... however... there was something about that mare.

I went back to see her again and I was really pleased to see her. I took her out for quite possibly the slowest hack on record ever (had to go past lots of building work ;) ) but I *knew* that she was 'the one'.

So I bought her and promptly booked a whole load of lessons. :p I've never been scared to get on that mare, I love her dearly and eventually she became so good to hack out that I used her to escort freshly backed youngsters and even a horse that had been hit by a car. :)

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I bought my filly because I decided that it would be better to buy a youngster rather than breed one (I thought about it so seriously and even had some potential stallions in mind). Anyhoo... I saw this photo

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and decided to go down to Hampshire to view her. I knew straight away that she was perfect, she has the best personality and really is a joy to be around. I borrowed an old TB mare as a safe companion for the filly. When I moved to Wales, I was asked if I wanted to have the TB, I said 'yes', as she's such a lovely old girl and I was thinking that I'd miss her terribly.

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So that's how I got my three. :D
 
Fany- was looking for a bombproof cob, went a long way to see her and she was just stunning. Bombproof, pretty as a picture and sooooo gentle. Plus I am starting to negotiate with the dealer and at the top of her voice Elizabeth, my daughter, pipes up "this is the one" There went any bargaining power I had! Never regretted buying her, she was supposed to be temporary until she had restored E's confidence after a very nasty accident out hacking trying a horse for sale. Now she has a home for life, she is a total sweetheart.

Captain- We watched him being driven showing his abilities (ex professional CDE horse) then ridden, rearing and being a total tw*t, then hosed off and turned into the arena to cool down. Watched his incredible paces, but more watched him watching himself in the mirror and posing (doing the "I am a stallion" prance) But then E. went into the arena and he immediately started to follow her around, head down and chewing. I have never regretted buying him, my only regret is the abuse he had suffered before that took us 2 years to get past. Even now if he is feeling a bit insecure he'll flinch if someone moves too quickly near him. He will never be sold and finally has his home for life. He has turned into the kindest, most loving horse I have ever known, he is a one in a lifetime horse.

FDC
 
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My first horse- From a dealer in wales, I had been shown a few at his yard, which I didn't like, and then he took us down to the field to see another, that I didn't really like either, but in that field there he was. The leader of the herd, black beauty-like, doing that welsh trot with his tail in the air and his nostrils flared. The dealer had left the gates open for some unknown reason, so off my boy took them through the fields with us chasing after them in a battered old ford mondeo! Eventually they came back, and when we were leaving the field, we looked back to see him looking over the gate on his own as if to say 'I knew you were gonna pick me anyways!'. He was only two and i was 14, but he was the safest, gentlest, kindest most loving horse out there, it was as if he knew that I was only a kid and he needed to look after me. I took him round our first and only xc at the age of four, I did all the things that you shouldn't do on a young horse, like riding backwards without a hat, lying on top of him when he was asleep. Tragically we lost him to liver disease at 5, and I know that I'd never replace him, Which leads me on to my next.

I hadn't ridden for 10 months because I was totally depressed and devastated. I was with my mom in the local tack shop, and an advert was on the board looking for someone to ride a 12yo shirex not for novices. So I called up and along I went. Th reason I have him now, after him being given to me, is because he makes me laugh. I hadn't laughed in a long time, not 'that' kind of laugh anyway. He's big and dumb and can cheer me up on the worst of days.

The others I have, well they were from sales, and they just had something about them, and I was supposed to sell the one on, but she is still here, being the moodiest mare, but I love her none-the-less :) Reminds me of me I think!
 
The fact that despite being a recently backed rising 4yo when the lights in the school failed the first time I rode her she just slowed down and stopped. The fact that when dh rode her he felt confident enough to hack out (he's a nervous rider) and not only that but he came back with a big grin on his face. It was only her second hack ever and she'd been great.
She is worth every penny we paid for her and has proved to be a perfect confidence giver for dh, and is busy playing nanny to horses three times her age out hacking.
 
I have three. Two are rescues and "had" to be brought out of very bad situations. The other is the best little mare in the world, half Friesian and a real "Black Beauty". I'd been trying to buy her for a year, since she was two, and then when the owner sent her to be broken the chap doing the job told the owner/breeder the filly was crazy, and not at all suitable for . So I got a phonecall, and a very frightened 3 year old - who isn't in the least "crazy", just needs a bit of time to figure things out. Had her 10 years, she'd do anything for you.
 
Before I was going to actually try him I had a sneak preview of him in his stable one evening briefly but nothing sparked for me just looking at him then for 5 minutes. Then when I did try him a few weeks later, I just knew the minute I sat on him, I tried him after the owner - we went in the school, cantering across a huge field, hacked out, jumped. Those 2 hours the first day I rode him are etched on my memory. I went back to ride him again 5 days later though my mind was already made up. He's not perfect and doesn't need to be - he's robust, hardy, hairy and very native, has a great cheeky little face (and attitude sometimes) but is a genuine pony and has put up with me all these years and we've achieved a few small things together and I think we know each other quite well now :) I owe him a lot.
 
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