What made you decide on your horse

[Cinnamontoast]

Ekw, if I looked like that, I'd be putting up a picture too, but I have to ask-why?!

Mine was after seeing a few, none of whom suited. The guy said he couldn't catch the coloured cob. My previous horse was an absolute idiot to catch. I originally wanted a coloured warmblood. He brought him to my yard, I tried him, I was sold. He was green as grass, bless him, although had clearly been schooled.

Took the yard staff nearly an hour to catch him the one time I needed them to get him. He's a lot better now, but still canters off if he doesn't know the person well. Always fine with me and gallops up to me. Funny boy.

 

[horselady]

A very special friend called me and said she had spotted a foal that needed a nice home. I said no, she said he was special and really needed a nice home, his future was uncertain. I have enough I said, she said he is on his way and she was confident he would be a lovely horse in the future.

He duly landed and was indeed special - make that special needs, my dearest friend was right, she always is and can spot a diamond in the rough and he has turned into a lovely horse. The journey from foal to five was unorthodox to say the very least and if you are bored, his story can be found on the thread, My Next Equine Project.

I am very glad it all turned out well!

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Ekw, if I looked like that, I'd be putting up a picture too, but I have to ask-why?!

.

Photo bucket messing about! It was supposed to be a pic of the Hocamaffe dancing over a chase fence lol! It has been removed, I thought I'd done it quick enough that no one noticed! As to why I was dressed like that - I went to the Rocky Horror Picture Show stage performance lol!

 

[horselady]

duplicated

 

[iknowmyvalue]

Rosie: I was moving off my first pony age 14, we were looking for something about 8-12yrs, preferably a gelding, preferably not grey/coloured, a bit of a safe schoolmaster type for me to start properly competing and start moving up the levels in SJ. At this point was not really looking as hadn't sold pony yet, just trying a few to get a feel for what I liked. Went to a dealers to try a couple that fitted the description, but I didn't really get on with them, nothing wrong just didn't gel. They said they had something else I could try, just to get a different feeling. They'd just got her from Ireland so wasn't advertised yet. So I tried this 5yo mare, coloured but mostly white, very green but with a big jump, pretty skinny and no muscle. I fell in love. Told my (non-horsey) parents I wanted her, did a second viewing with my instructor the next day. Had her vetted within a week and she was home within an hour of passing the vet. She was never easy, very quirky, we definitely had our ups and downs, took us almost 4 years to jump a clear SJ round, I think my parents sometimes wondered what on earth we had bought, I was besotted from day 1 and never once thought of giving up. We had a special understanding of each other and I would have trusted her with my life. She was 100% my horse of a lifetime, there will definitely never be another like her and I doubt I'll get that level of understanding with another horse. Unfortunately lost her to an accident in April, she was rising 12 and I'd had her nearly 6 years. Everything was just starting to fall into place with us and that summer was meant to be the first full year of affiliated eventing at BE90/BE100 and I was absolutely devastated.

Enter Henry. Having lost Rosie, I was heartbroken but sure I wanted a new horse. I started looking about 2 months after losing her. Due to the nature of what happened I'd lost a lot of confidence jumping and although I was riding other horses and I was getting it back, it wasn't quite there yet (and honestly still isn't quite) so we wanted something a little steadier. Quirks, bucking etc were all fine as long as it had a safe and steady jump. I tried an awful lot of horses that were just not quite right, exactly as described and for the most part fairly suitable, but there was just no "spark" there. I knew I wanted something relatively young, tried a variety, some that were already competing BE some that were jumping at 80/90cm level but not proven, others that had mainly hunted. 4 months down the line, along comes Henry. His advert didn't say an awful lot, just that he was 6yo but green, needed work on the flat and would be suited to a home that did more jumping as that's what he liked. Went to try him, he was overweight, without a lot of muscle, could barely hold a canter without disuniting behind, jumping technique was... questionable. But he was honest, sweet and steady, he just had a really lovely way about him. He was very different to what I thought I was looking for, both in the breed/type he was and what he had done, but I did really like him. His owner trailered him over so I could try him XC, yes he was spooky and green but he'd been on an xc course once before in his life, and he tried everything and was very willing. I just felt there was just something there which had been missing with all the others I had tried. I've had him about 6months now and I think it was the right decision, with some more time/work he should be a really lovely horse. He's already come a long way, so it's just matter of time and patience!

 

[Bernster]

Photo bucket messing about! It was supposed to be a pic of the Hocamaffe dancing over a chase fence lol! It has been removed, I thought I'd done it quick enough that no one noticed! As to why I was dressed like that - I went to the Rocky Horror Picture Show stage performance lol!

Hah I was obviously too late to see this, wondered what was so wrong with the pics you posted!

 

[Micropony]

No he isn't Irish, and only one judge in 4 years of showing him at top level including Hoys and RIHS got his breed correct, so you are in very good company with not getting his breed right ! He is Selle Francais, with well known show jumping blood in him.

http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/foxtrot+du+mesnil

Very lovely! My boy is out of a SF mare with (different) SJ bloodlines. You are very kind making me feel better about guessing so wide of the mark x

 

[only_me]

He had the right criteria, happy attitude to work, bit big (especially as a 4 year old lol) but doesn't feel any bigger than a 16.2 to ride. He had a good shoulder and a very handsome head. And although he was coloured it was quite symmetrical and mostly brown. He was a generally happy chappy who wanted to please. Plus when I sat on him it just felt right! There was never any doubt tbh!

7 years later and I'm still glad I listened to my gut - he really is the most perfect horse for me!

 

[Antw23uk]

The best horse in the world? ... He ticked all the boxes and has never disappointed

The new mare? Well technically she still belongs to Spottyappy on here and the jury is still out as I'm really not convinced I have the temperament for owning a mare but she is lovely and those ears ... I love the ears

 

[Amye]

I'm another one who never had a horse as a child and grew up in RS. I finally saved enough money to buy a semi-decent horse and went to look at alot of youngsters who were disappointing and not what I was looking for. I didn't mind green, but wanted sensible for my novice mum to ride occasionally (or at least a sensible head - i know youngsters can have their quirks). I had been to see lots of horses that I was told were suitable for a novice and when I sat on them I just thought, no definitely not for a novice! So I saw an advert for Juno. He was older (14) but sounded great on paper and looked the part and was nearby. I was unsure about taking on an older horse but went to see him anyway.

I don't know why I really liked him but I did! He had a lovely face, sweet personality and not a care in the world. I rode him in the school, he was SO lazy and behind the leg (not exactly what I was looking for...), we took him for a hack and had a canter up a field and I just felt completely safe. He was a big grey unfit lump but so sweet.

When I got him to my yard I realised just how unfit he was, it took weeks for us to get some canter work. We progressed well initially and then seemed to go backwards for a few months, spent sometime wondering why this was happening and whether I had made the right choice in buying an unfit oldie. This winter he seems to have come into his own, less nappy when hacking, more forward out hacking, much more off the leg in the school and can now canter! He's lovely and my OH has learnt to ride on him, something he couldn't have done on some of the others I went to see. Mum is happy to look after him and ride him if i'm away and he still has his sweet personality. Lots of people have commented that he's in good condition and looks so much better then when I got him, which is such a nice thing to hear when you're learning for the first time how to be a horse owner. As he got fitter he did get more of a stubborn warmblood attitude but he feels like he trusts me now and we're becoming a partnership

 

[Annagain]

6 boy racers with dump valves charging past us at 60mph and Arch not batting an eyelid was the deciding factor. 12 years on it's still the best thing about him. We've babysat every youngster within a 1 mile radius of the yard. I get Facebook messages from people I don't know asking us to accompany them on their first hacks with their new horses as his reputation goes before him.

With Mont, fate decided. He belongs to my best friend so I'd known him and ridden him for years (and part of the reason I bought Arch is I wanted another Mont and he was very similar on paper - now I know you couldn't get two more different horses!) when A went lame and had to give up jumping, my friend was pregnant with her eldest so I started to share him officially. After the trouble I'd had with A charging then stopping at fences a lot (hindsight is a wonderful thing) and ruining my confidence, he was just what I needed - calm, reliable, sensible and above all, I knew I could trust him. 10 years on we're still doing it!

 

[FemelleReynard]

I was a bit of a wimp and quite nervous, and I'd hired him as a hireling to hunt a few years ago. I got on him and rode him from his yard alone up to where I was and hunted him the next day, and I felt safe and confident, and he was brilliant. I was SO nervous about the hunting, but then I went out and had the BEST day ever, I felt safe, happy and most of all I had fun. I fell in love with him then and knew I'd have him one day. It was another year or so before I actually bought him.

 

[ester]

Someone else had bought him and rode past our house and I thought bum why didn't I make mum go and see him (days before ads with pictures) and fell in love with him there and then, big white face and little welsh ears.
2 months down the line she had fallen off enough times and declared him dangerous on the roads (he is anything but, he will go anywhere and is 100% in traffic) so we nipped in a bought him, prob paid a bit over the odds as she couldn't ride him but

By which time he had gone from smart and clipped out to very fat, I made a promise he would never look like that again.

thought I have certainly made him look silly in lots of other ways.

 

[milliepops]

Sometimes fate just makes things work out the way they were meant to, doesn't it ester?

I kicked myself for not taking Millie on loan myself when she was first rehomed from HAPPA, but within about 6 months she was back having completely *not* landed on her feet with her first loaners... and I didn't hesitate when I got my second chance. Meant to be.

 

[ljohnsonsj]

Because this was her advert pic!

When I met her I really really loved her, and I don't 'love' horses.

She was always so sweet & so lovely. I felt like I knew her right away.

When I say jump she literally says how high. She has never ever let me down not once from the day I met her as a scruffy rising 3yo. She is my team mate & my soul mate, and as much as I have been asked- I wouldn't part with her for all the money in the world

 

[Pippity]

Share horse - he was available and I was desperate!

First time I rode him, I thought, "Oh, ****, he's WAY too much!" But I was horse-less, his owner needed somebody to keep him ticking over, and we used the same instructor, so his owner and I agreed that I'd essentially use him as a lesson horse while she was out of action.

And then I couldn't ride for a couple of weeks while his saddle was away being adjusted, so we did a lot of groundwork and general hanging out together, and he started to trust me and show more of his personality.

Two years later, I know that he's a giant goofus who thrives on attention and affection; that he's a wimp who tries very, very hard to be brave; and that he loves his work and loves making his rider happy.

 

[Crosshill Pacers]

Most of ours are homebred - 10 of 13, but of the three we've bought over the last few years, the reason for us deciding to buy them are as follows:

Rita - shortlisted at public auction in Harrisburg (America) because of her pedigree, her family's racing success, her previous sale price as a yearling ($130,000 - ergo she looked right as a youngster), her dam's previous sale price as a yearling ($110,000), her race record, the stallion she was in foal to and the fact her first two offspring had already won on the track. I think she was the first on my list (of 12) because when the photos were sent through of her before she entered the ring (by a friend who was there bidding on our behalf) I liked the look of her; she was the right size and shape and she had a pretty face. Ultimately we were the highest bidders and within our limit.



Tracey - she's the love of my OH's life, he saw her racing at 2 and told his grandfather that one day he was going to buy her. So he did. He followed her career at 3 and then 4, and then she went off the radar as her owner put her in foal. OH contacted the owner after he'd seen some adverts for other horses owned by the same man and asked if he would consider selling her, which he did. The reasons for buying her were essentially the same as Rita in that it was her race record, her family's success (several half and full brothers exported to America to race), the fact she was fully British bred, and her size, shape and perfect conformation. She had tremendous speed as a young horse, very flashy. She came to us in not the best condition and has blossomed, she's unrecognisable now. Her former trainer also can't believe how laid back and quiet she is as seemingly she was a handful to train and had a tendency to jump fences when paddocked and was impossible to catch. That's not my Tracey!



Smokey - she was my first horse after I'd outgrown my first pony. My dad bought her because she was stunning to look at (almost black, fine boned, sharp) and cheap. She wasn't remotely suitable but we muddled on regardless. After she was sold I was heartbroken and spent 9 years trying to find her again. I found her in April of last year and got her back, now aged 23. The reason being that she was my first true love, my best friend, and a sweetheart to be around. It didn't matter how much the owner wanted for her, the fact that she was still alive was reason enough to get her back.





Perhaps not quite what the thread title was aiming at but I wanted to join in even though my story is a little off the beaten track!

 

[HufflyPuffly]

All mine have been gut feelings. Doodle was on loan to my friend who at first didn't want her, she pointed her out at a show and my first words were I would buy her , 12 months on and I did just that .

Topaz me and mum loved her on sight though it was my dad who persuaded us to go look at her as I did not like her from the ad . She just had that something in person and she's proven to be a complete superstar!

Skylla I knew from the advert, I'd seen it dismissed her as being way too far away. Went and saw two others who 'should' have been far more suitable but I just didn't get that feeling, so went back to Skylla's ad and asked if she was still available. Drove to the other end of the country with cash and my box, I just knew I think , brought back a fairly unruly 2 year old (who was suppose to be 3 and so now is way bigger than I wanted ). She's proven to be a good'un so far .

 

[merlin100]

Her beautiful blue eyes and gentle nature towards me.

 

[Jenni_]

I only buy a horse if I like its head. In the depths of January I need to like what I am looking at.

This. I have a horse being vetted tomorrow and it wasn't until the second viewing, when she was standing in the cross ties and she turned to look at me whilst I was taking a picture, that I thought I don't want to leave this horse. I caught that expression in one of my pictures and I keep looking at it- she just has the most sweet and kind expression, and is very inquisitive. And she has big massive ears! I'd post the picture but I don't want to jinx it.

She's far too talented for me, but totally honest with it, and I think with some help we will muddle along together and do grand.

Wouldn't have bought her from her advert picture though

Famous last words though....

 

[Nugget La Poneh]

In some ways I didn't decide - the decision was taken by the stud owner

I had decided on a haflinger as at the time needed something dual purpose for the kids (of my now ex) and me. I'd seen them at a local county show, spoken to a couple of people and then went to the stud up the road from where I lived. After a hour long tour of the entire farm, we stopped at a field and he asked mare or gelding. I said not fussed and he pointed out Nugz at the bottom of a 20acre marsh and said 'that one, he's yours'.

Never looked back

 

[chestnut cob]

I went to look at a horse belonging to someone I knew through hunting. I hadn't even seen a photo; they called me and said they had a horse in for sale that I'd love, fabulous to jump but very green, perfect for me. So off I went, taking a friend along. Didn't like him at all in the stable as he seemed to be primarily made up of massive head, upside down neck and massive knees. I watched their groom ride and was still not convinced. Sat on him, rode on the flat, still unconvinced. The seller convinced me to jump a few fences as they said I'd like how he felt, and they were right. He had such a lovely attitude, so honest and so much fun, that I felt I could deal with the rest.

I went back two days later for a second ride to make sure I was happy - hacked out, cantered across fields in company, jumped again and decided he was the right type with the right attitude. I'd had a massive, broken hunter for years who hadn't been much fun. I knew that little horse would be loads of fun and although he'd also be a lot of work (5yo, zero schooling, just hunted in Ireland), I had the right support at the yard so went for it. So glad I did as he's proven to be an absolute star. He's 10 now and just gone out on loan as I'm about to have a baby. I did struggle with him as a 6yo as he became very opinionated and I didn't have the skills to work through it but friend and instructor did a lot of the work on him during that time. I've gone on to do everything with him - evented, team chased, gained BD points, hunted. His loaners have already won championships with him and they've only had him a couple of months. He's a star and I'm just glad that the friend I took along with me helped me to see past the ugly duckling and lack of schooling!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

It's so lovely that you have Smokey back now CP.

 

[Crosshill Pacers]

It's so lovely that you have Smokey back now CP.

I still remember the day I opened the post in the office (8 years after she'd been sold, and then sold on) and amongst the bundle of transfer of ownership forms was hers. All I saw was my dad's signature as the seller, then her name, then I became hysterical. Rang OH, told him I was buying her, hung up, rang the owner, told him I was buying her. Then cried for about two hours. Sometimes I just stand in the field and look at her. She has absolutely no purpose in terms of riding or breeding, she is purely a 'field ornament' as people call it. But she can live out her days, however long or short they may be, with me, in my care. She will never know how much she means to me...and she was the WORST horse my father could have ever brought home for me as a teenager. Turns out you don't appreciate what you've got until it's gone!

 

[impresario08]

He was found for me as a surprise

 

[horselady]

Hello,
thank you for all the brilliant pics and wonderful heart warming stories with a few lost and found along the way! Please keep all the wonderful stories coming, here is a bit more of my story with my mare:
I had been looking for a horse for a few months, as my first horse of my very own I wanted a complete novice horse with no health problems. Even though I wasn't a novice rider. I had tried out a warmblood but that did not end well. I then tried out a few cobs, none of them that I really gelled with or liked. Then I found my mare. I was told she was a complete novice, she looked absolutely stunning, beautiful gleaming white feathers, lovely mane and tail. I got on her and once I worked out where her controls were (she was extremely sensitive and had a few ridden quirks) it seemed wonderful. When we got her home she turned out not to be quite so much of a novice and we found she was a right nutter after eating oats! On the whole, I love her and would never part with her. She can be a pain in the neck but I am oh so glad she is a pain and the neck with me!

 

[The Bouncing Bog Trotter]

First pony found me via a girl who sat on front of me in English lessons at school. I had never met her before as I changed class that day but she turned round and asked me if I was the 'horsey one' as someone was selling a pony she knew and he was lovely. I was the horsey one and I managed to convince my parents that owning a pony was cheaper than having riding lessons.......

Out riding on first pony one day a few years later my friend and I rode past a field and watched a foal being born, 6 months later my parents were looking for a companion pony and they decided to buy a youngster...yep, it was the one we saw being born and my parents had no idea.

Out of the current horses my wonder cob was advertised in Horse and Hound and the picture just screamed at me and the connie x TB was breeding that I had been after for ages and he was bred by a friend of a friend so he was bought via word of mouth. I went to try him and my smile sealed the deal.

Little horse was another weird one. I tried to get wonder cob in foal with little success. While she being inseminated I showed her a picture of a minimally marked filly that I had downloaded randomly off the internet and told her that this was what I was ordering. Sadly she reabsorbed twice and we gave up our attempts to to breed from. 'Accidentally' one night I went onto a horse selling website that I never go because I typed in the web address incorrectly. The most recently placed advert was a picture of a minimally marked filly that was identical to the one in the photo I had downloaded. She was on the other side of the country and I would never have seen the ad if I hadn't made a typing error. When I got her home and researched her breeding I discovered that her grand-dam used to be stabled across the road from my current yard before she moved west.

I firmly believe the right horse finds you.

 

[horselady]

I firmly believe the right horse finds you.

Here, here!

 

[Bright_Spark]

Amber - She was pretty and in foal and having been away from horses for several years I was desperate for one. It took a long time to bond, we have both been through the ringer and some days I don't like her very much but I would not be here if not for her. Should I have got her in hind sight? No? Is she going anywhere? No

Matti - I was not even looking for a horse, I was looking on NFED for tack and found his advert, which was honest and he sounded lovely. Went to see him on a Wednesday and as soon as I sat on him I loved him. He almost sold before I could get him, but fate intervened and he was mine so picked him up 4 days later! Never regretted it, even when he has had his special moments!

Henley - Arrived on the yard to be sold. She was very nervous and spooky, but I totally fell for her, as did my mum, so we bought her together. She's currently enjoying life as a field potato but we will start working with her properly again in the spring.

 

[MagicMelon]

With all mine, my biggest factor is their temperament. If they seem kind and willing natured then I figure not too much can go wrong (hopefully).