What made you buy your horse?

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Stacie_and_Jed

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Im quite quiet at work and need some interesting reading.

I didnt really like Jed when i tried him, he was so young and green and didnt feel nice to ride at all. I loved the look of him though and he had a very kind eye so i bit the bullet and brought him. Ive never been happier with a horse and he's matured into an amazing boy.
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So what made you choose the horse/s you have today?
 
One because I liked the look of him, not the best reason im sure to puchase a horse lol but he is fantastic and ill never part with him....Should say he was unbroken three years old and standing in the middle of a field so a massive gamble....

Second one because although not what i was looking for something hit me and i could see through what he was when we got him to what he could be and although we have had some really low points he is coming on so well..
 
They were the only driving pair (Or single) We could find. Didn't like them, but offered after a few more months of searching
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Tally because he was the right height, colour age, and I could afford him
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Saw a photo of mine on here and just got a gut feeling that simply would not go away. Going to view her was just a formality as i had already decided i was going to buy her! Best horse i've ever had.
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Because he took off with me in the arena, and jumped the arena fence (beautifully) with a lot of room to spare. It was just so clear he lived to jump, I had to have him.
 
Because he was the most beautifully simple (meantally
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) and honest horse I had ever laid eyes on and he is sooo handsome. He was huge with big gangly legs and huge feet, a big cut on his muzzle and the most unruly mane I have ever seen. He was rising 4, had done a seasons hunting in ireland and when I went to try him it was going dark and the woman told be to pop a fence and he never batted an eyelid.
12years on he is still full of character, his mane is worse than ever and he jumps like a stag!! Has gfrown into his body, his feet have been dealt with and I love him to bits. no breaks though, but that just makes him him! He's like an over grown games pony!
 
Flame, because she was gorgeous, ginger and could jump really high.
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Abby, because my sister got fed up of her.
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Debbie, because she was gorgeous, ginger and could jump really high.
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Diamond, because she was very comfortable, responsive and sweet.
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I spent about 3 months looking for a horse on loan before i put an add on a local website that said something like "Don't care what it is or what it looks like as long as it was kind" about a week later I had an answer phone message from a lady that said she had a Standardbred that she's just retired and would i be intereted in going to look at him. i asked a few questions and arranged to go and see him two days after (friday) I arrived at a racing yard to see a lady sitting on a Bay gelding. he was beautiful. we had a chat and she explained that he didn't trot he paced -didn't bother me as i wanted to hack and fun rides etc so she rode him into a 30 acre field and rode him up and down in straight lines, he seems fine, if a bit excited so i hopped on and took him to the middle of the field ans asked him to stand still. he did. I had a go at the pacing- PMSL!
Anyway, he was perfect so we arranged a Permanent loan agreement over the next two days and on the sunday he arrived at my friends yard.
That was 9th dec 07 and on 13th jan 08 i had a phone call. It was his owner, one of her horses had just been PTS after injuring itself in the field and it made her realise that I should own Dragon, not just loan him, so she said "come up with £1 tomorrow and he's yours"!!!!! I found a shiny pound coin with a Welsh Dragon on it- Dragon was born in mid wales so it was quite fitting!
SERIOUSLY, THE BEST POUND I HAVE EVER SPENT!!!!
 
I haven't bought her - mine's on permanent loan from a rescue charity. I was working there at the time, so got to know her over about 18 months. I consider myself very lucky in this respect - it was like an extended trial period! I just loved her attitude to work, she was always so 'up for it' and very quick to learn. I enjoyed schooling for the first time, while I was riding her.

She went out to a home while I was working at the centre, and although I thought she would be well looked after, I was really sad to see her go. She was returned not long after because of a change in circumstances, and I decided I couldn't bear to lose her again!
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She wasn't at all the horse I was looking for - I wanted a 16hh TB gelding, and got a 15hh cobxWB mare, but I wouldn't change a thing. I truly believe she is my horse of a lifetime.
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My first reaction of my horse wasnt good either!!

She was the first one I saw. She was grey (I wanted a bay!) and she just had a bored, sulkey look in her eye.

I took her out on a hack with some others and when I got on her she started shaking her head around like a maniac, she had no front end, felt like I was sitting on the edge of a cliff and I thought 'God no!'.

However during our hack I got to know her a little bit. She was so well mannered for a baby TB, cantered behind and in front, popped a little ditch without looking, picked her way carefully down the hills. I asked her to come on to the bridle which she had never done before. She concentrated so hard on what I was asking, tucked in her little nose and kept her head so still. She opened a gate and when we went past something scary she was brave and trotted herself on.

When we got back to the yard the others led their horses in and she didnt mind them dissapearing off and leaving her on her own at all. In fact she stood with her nose still tucked in and she felt so pretty and proud of herself I knew then she was the one.

I saw her turned out in the field afterwards and she was so pretty! I hadnt noticed before her tiny face, elegant legs and beautiful black mane against her dapples. I think my mum and I lasted half an hour in the car on the way home before we rang her owner and said we'd buy her!!

Vay when she first came home :-

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Vay with me last year:-

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4 years on and I love her so much!!
 
We'd been searching for ages, and had travelled miles and miles. Our search was broad - we had no preference for age, gender, colour, breed or height - I was simply looking for The One, and I knew I'd only know The One when I sat on him or her! We looked at everything from a 15hh, 12 yr old palomino cob to a 16.3 just-broken four year old warmblood! At that stage I was being guided by the horse - I wasnt particularly looking for a show jumper, just a horse that I could really click with and have a lot of fun on. As our search progressed we began to refine our criteria down to 8 yrs and under, 16hh and under...but after several unsuccessful offers I was at the point of giving up the search, nothing seemed right
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Then one day my instructor phoned to say he had The One in his yard - he'd got her in that morning from a local dodgy dealer, and could I come ASAP to try? And that was that
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Everyone was scandalised at first that Mum had bought a sharp 5 year old for a 12yr old sack of potatoes, but we didnt do too bad
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9 years on, I dont regret a minute!
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My mare because I was 15 and I was after my first horse. I had tried lots with no luck. Tried her out at a show, it was chucking down with rain and we popped a few fences. The moment my dad waltzed over with a moohsive golf brolly without thinking and she didn't bat an eyelid I knew she was for me (she's 16.3hh shire x tb). She's worth her weight in gold.
My boy, I'm not really sure, maybe just because we'd heard someone else was interested who would ruin him. I wasn't even after a second horse (we'd had lost my mare's companion at the start of the winter). We went and tried him because we'd heard he was for sale even though I was at a point where I wasn't interested in competing anymore. Popped a course of fences and had a bit of a mini lesson and arranged to take him home for a trial from a show the next week. It happened that our lorry broke down enroute but they dropped him off after the show. We've been through one hell of a lot together in the last six years but even when I was at my wits end 18 months ago and put him up for sale, I didn't and still haven't got it in my heart to get rid. We've had a change of career and it couldn't have been better
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Because I searched high and low for a good quality traditional coloured gelding to show and couldn't find one anywhere!! lol!

Turns out he was right under my nose all the time, belonging to the producers that sold my OH's mum's ponies to her. I so nearly bought second best, but only because the pony failed the vetting did I find out about Freddie!
He was a little younger than I wanted, but everything else was too perfect to pass up. And he's stayed 'too perfect' ever since. Three months in I'm still waiting for the bubble to burst.
 
(The horse in my sig)

- because she was only 2 years old (blank canvas)
- she was to make over 17hh (I am 6ft and look daft on anything smaller than 16hh unless it's a cob)
- and also because she was only £500
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She looked at me over the stable door and I fell in love. She looked so familiar - as if I'd known her all my life. I never had a single doubt and never took anyone else to look at her.

Four years later I love her more every day and can't imagine life without her.
 
The way he barged in for the attention and bossed his older half brother about, he wore the trousers in that field and I like horse with attitude.

He knows what he wants and makes sure he gets it.

...he still wears the trousers most of the time!
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I went to look at Genie not too sure if I was ready to buy or not, and fell in love with her the second I met her. I went into the stable and she 'attacked' me, coming over to see if I had any food and lipping at me. Watched her hack to the school up the road and then watched her ridden, pleased to see that she was fairly forward going. Then I got on with a saddle that constantly slipped and was really uncomfortable, and realised just how forward going she is! I hacked her home after Mum shook her coat at her (which she completely ignored) and decided on the way back that she was the one for me, so bartered and bought her subject to vetting.

The day before the vetting we lost Mazzie in a trailer accident on the M5, and I so nearly cancelled the vetting and I would not have gone back to her. However on advice from my instructor I went ahead and Genie came home the day after we lost Mazzie.

As far as I'm concerned, it was meant to be.
 


Tia: SO FAT absolutely obese, the size of an elephant! Yet had tons of energy, spooked a lot but didn't misbehave/get strong. Knew she'd had a lot of jumping training in the past and felt she had potential despite scaring the crap out me with her wizziness..got her cheap as will, bargain
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Section A - I fell in love, she looked like a fairy unicorn. She's been superb and still teaches other children to ride and we drive her too.
Section D - Daughter fell in love with him as he stood proud on top of a hill, it needed a lot of justification to buy him as he was off for meat as he's dangerous (bolts) however after he was hit on the quarters by a RangeRover wing mirror when she was "test driving" him and his only reaction was to step away from it I thought we'd give him a go. He has taught us loads and given us so much fun.
AA mare - I fell in love, she was exactly the horse I'd have died for as a teenager - and I felt sorry for her as she was bottom of the pecking order in her field. Bought her as a pretty much unhandled 3yo and she's now in her second season BE.
Big mare - definitely a head decision, she was exactly what was needed and ticked all the boxes. She didn't seem very loveable at first but we all adore her now and she does just the job we bought her to do.
Flynn - seemed pretty perfect on paper but all that was blown away when daughter first saw him and fell hopelessly in love. He's great, although a bit of a practical joker
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when i bought twist (the chestnut in my siggy) i had looked at so many, i was looking for a coloured cob, we went to look at some coloured cobs and they weren't what was described, i had ringed a tbx colt as a possible in the paper so i rang up, the lady who owned him had been looking at the cobs at the same time as us she said follow my van so i went to look at him, i saw this gangly, chestnut colt stood in amongst a load of chunky coloured cobs in the yard at the place and had to have him (he turned out to be standardbred x not tb) but i wouldnt be without him he is a star even if he cant be ridden
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havana, i bought because she was exactly what i was looking for, a sensible cob, with a willing attitude (when she doesnt have her welshy head on her), at a fantastic price
 
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She was the first one I saw. She was grey (I wanted a bay!)


This sounds so familiar - I told my OH we weren't going to buy the first horse we tried, I didn't really want a mare and defintely not a grey (already had two, knew they were a pain to keep clean) Plus she was seriously unfit and a bit babyish for her age, oh and her owners wanted £2k more than we really were prepared to pay.
OH loved her - she went really well for him, but agreed to try other horses.
Well, this little grey mare kept turning up like a bad penny - we went to a show miles away for a day out and she was there competing, we took our loan horse to a clinic and she was there looking after a really nervous rider.
It dawned on us that the inevitable was about to happen..that was four years ago, and despite lots of ups and downs, I wouldn't change a thing...OH has had a lot of success in the show ring, and me...well I find her endlessly challenging and generally rewarding, plus I have become a turnout expert!
 
The bay on the left of my siggy originally came on loan and then I bought her about a year later. I wasnt sure when I tried her, she hated being in the school (and still does) and looked so miserable and piggy. Then I hacked her out and she was a completely different horse. She was a very very good decision and I love her to pieces. She will never go anywhere else.

The chestnut in my siggy I just fell in love with on sight. She was an advert in H&H and as soon as I saw her I was going to buy her. She bucked when I tried her, spooked violently on the way back to her stable, failed the flexion test in the vetting (and went vertical half way through as she got fed up). I paid the full price and loved and adored her. She was my horse of a lifetime I think

The grey in my siggy is on permanent loan and came as a companion about 6 years ago. Just needed a companion and he was available and nearby.

The other bay, I searched high and low for, didnt really fall in love when I tried her but thought she would be OK and I was fed up looking. Never really bonded although she was a poppet. I sold her earlier this year and her new owner is besotted with her
 
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Abby, because my sister got fed up of her.
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I think you should also say she didn't mind being dressed up as camel.
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Was planning a six month break from horses after 18 months of problems with my mare, was planning to have some chill out time and save up to buy something ready to compete. Dropped her off at the stud in the morning, got a phone call from my instructor whilst shopping in Asda, "I've found you a horse"
Went to see him the next day, to be honest wasn't that impressed when I saw him in the stable. However tacked up he looked much better, and when I rode him,
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he had the most amazing trot and was so well schooled.
He was also very cheap, which was an added bonus. Said I would have him there and then (then rang OH to check this was okay
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He is a real sweetie, he has a few issues which i was made aware of when I bought him but on the whole don't regret it for one minute.
 
My horse at the time had arthritis in his coffin joint (later found out he was riddled with it
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) and I wanted to retire him. I was looking for something a bit different and went and tried quite a few different horses.
When we went to see Monty, he was fat with a long dirty mane and his owner led me round. I walked and trotted him and got such a lovely safe feeling from him that I had to have him
 
Hmm I had just sold a 15.2 tbx connie grey moody nappy cowbag (but i loved her) and i wanted something completly different. At the time my friends were out doing alot of BSJA and i wanted a potential competition horse.
Viewed 3 horses before Cruise and they just wernt right. Arrived to view him spur of the moment (called advert and said 'im nearby - can i see him in 30mins lol) and it was December and a girl was stood at the hose trying to clean half a field worth of mud off a huge brown beast. I knew even before i rang her moblie to say i was there that it was him i was going to try.
He looked so much better in real life than his advert and was a great price for his breeding so i knew there would be a catch...his then owner was totally over horsed and he used every inch of his solid 17hands to push people around. He was really on the forehand and oddly i was really nervous riding him (not normally a nervous rider) so much so that we took him down to a jumping padock and I had to get my friend to jump him for me.
Took him back to the yard and another livery tried to poach me away to see a horse she had for sale! I knew her horse was going to end up far too much for me and decided on the way home just to buy Cruise. Called up seller and offered a lower price but would collect him the following day. Picked him up and id love to say its been plain sailing but it really hasnt. He wasnt the ideal horse for me but was the best of a bad bunch and a fantastic horse in his own right. A year and a half on we still arnt 'there' yet but ill keep plugging away and hope to say in a years time that he was the best decision i ever made!
 
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