What's your biggest equine mistake???

I bought an ex-racehorse (still own him but he is now retired!) who was and still is one of the most beautiful horses I have ever seen/sat on however he has had so many problems that I dread to think what I have spent at the vets and I only ever managed to do one intro on him!!

My biggest regret with him though is that he was really sharp and a great deal of the time riding him was just not enjoyable. By keeping on trying with him I have ended up losing all my confidence jumping and despite a lovely loan horse going some way to repairing the damage I am uncertain that I will ever be the rider I was before (not that I was any great shakes - but I was fairly confident!).

I could not sell him on as he left racing as a 7 year old and had too many problems for someone really good to want him but would be too much for your average hobby rider to want to deal with. He actually liked and was quite good at dressage and would have made somebody a top riding club/low level BD dresage horse but the flip side was that you could not safely hack him and could not guarantee that you would not get airs above the ground in the warm up and to and from the horsebox!!

He is now retired and still neurotic but for a reason I can't explain I still have a real bond with him and will always make sure he is cared for no matter what.
 
lfield said:
Xrays are absolutely worth the money. I spent fortunes this Spring on failed vettings but it was money well spent to avoid the heartache that would have occurred if it wasn't for the xrays.
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Agreed. They are not that expensive especially if you consider what they might save you. Sure, lots of things can go wrong in the future whatever, but what x rays will tell you is if there is something latent which is likely to be a problem. I pulled out of buying a horse because although it was sound atm it had severe bony changes in its hock consistent with a spavin and I didnt want to take the risk, obviously these were only visible on x ray.
 
lfield said:
I'm not sure I can call him a mistake. But my biggest equine loss was a horse I bought nearly two years ago.

A stunning 4 year old stallion, my ultimate dream horse I never thought possible to own. He was perfect in every way and he made me feel like I was floating on a cloud every time I was near him. Top trainers rated him highly and he was tipped for the top.

£20,000 worth of vets bills and 14 months on, I had to make the decision to have him put to sleep as he was unable to even live a retired life.

I nearly lost my life to him. Was he a mistake - no. In a warped way I'd do it all again just to have one more day with him.

ETA: This is the reason I haven't posted on here for such a long time.
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I'm so sorry you lost him. He obviously took your breath away. I feel that when I look at my young horse - he has cost us dearly at a time when we can ill afford it, but we never begrudge him the funds, the love or the care.

We have lost money on horses, we have also been injured, scared witless and left wondering why we ever do it, but we do. I guess everything happens for a reason, but sometimes, when you're in the midst of it, you really don't know what the reason is...

Someone, somewhere has a warped sense of humour.
 
My worst equine mistake.. bought a stunning and mega talented Heartbreaker horse from holland, he was going to be my next best horse.. he started of amazing.. gradually became dangerous to handle, and would refuse in the ring almost every tine out. I had to part ex him in the end, and the dealer kept him for themselves. He showed the same behaviour form them, then gradually became naughty!

He was a big mistake, but the feel of his jump (when he did jump them) was effortless, and proper. So easied the pain slightly..
 
As a family we have made some mistakes too....

My mum 's now retired horse which was originally my sister's is another one like the above, too difficult for a novice rider but not sufficiently talented for a good rider to want. Hates being ridden and is not much fun to ride as she is stuffy, lazy and spooky and dangerous to hack to top it all. Also had a spavin as 5yo which was operated on successfully but at great expense. Has had a home for life and been completely pampered so its worked out for her but it would have been nice for her to give something back. At least the choosing of this one was down to my mum and sister (they both blame each other!) and not me. If mistake 1 was buying, mistake 2 was not moving her on, that said I am not sure she would have had a good life if we had.

My sister went to buy a horse from abroad with the people I bought my gelding (not a mistake horse yayyy!!) from. She chose a kwpn gelding who on paper seemed great and had gone great for her when she tried him. But, I think the people in Holland must have worked the horse into the ground in an indoor arena and then laughed all the way to the bank - when we got it and worked it outdoors it turned out to be a bit of a disaster. To be fair it had rather fooled the people I bought my gelding from too so its not entirely my sister's fault. Anyway it was vile and spooked and napped and pulled and she could not deal with it, I hated it too so we decided it had to go. We managed to sell it at a bit of a loss through the dealers I bought my gelding from but really it saved us from a total disaster.

After I bought my gelding I bought a bay mare who the owner was (sensibly) selling because she didnt get on with her. After a bit she sort of ended up being my sister's because I didnt really gel with her either and did not have time, plus my sister didnt really have anything decent to ride as a consequence of the mistakes above! My sister has got a lot out of her and she has competed to AM, plus my sister does adore her, but I think she is right that we probably should not have bought her. She is sensitive and difficult and just wont walk in tests, and I probably did not really have the experience to cope with her.

Before all of these horses our first horses came to us when my uncle died (they were his). One of them was a very decent showjumper and there was an abortive plan to sell her. She ended up being competed for several years by a pro who was a friend of the instructor we had at the time who did all right on her but basically contributed to ruining her, she came back sour, horribly unschooled and very tricky. Definite mistake.

The other big mistakes I think I have made are to do with training and dedication. I used to train with a fairly well known pro and he just became very disinterested and I was not learning anything. I took far too long to decide to stop training with him and too long to find someone else good. In this gap, I started to feel disillusioned and disinterested and that with working too hard meant I just went backwards. Having got over this phase which lasted three years or so my gelding finally did a PSG, but the truth is he is now too old and creaky and shortstriding - if I had got my butt in gear when I should have I could probably have done it earlier and done a lot better. Big regret.
 
Vetwrap said:
We have lost money on horses, we have also been injured, scared witless and left wondering why we ever do it, but we do. I guess everything happens for a reason, but sometimes, when you're in the midst of it, you really don't know what the reason is...

Someone, somewhere has a warped sense of humour.
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^^^^^
This....I was just thinking about the eventer I was seriously "missold" because he is not safe with an amateur like myself and will only be sold on to a pro (which is where he is now) when we sell him. It's not so much the financial cost of purchase price and livery with him but more the "cost" of the loss of confidence that I had when trying to cope with him. He is the sweetest horse in the world on the ground and mega talented but just not what I wanted/needed. Thankfully i now have the sweetest horse on the ground AND under saddle who seems to be sick a lot (sigh).....yet still I wouldn't swap my time with my horses for anything because that "connection" when it comes is absolutely unbeatable at lifting the spirits and making you believe that everything will be ok.....
 
firewell said:
Buying a horse off a dodgy dealer who regularly pops up on here and loosing a lot of money. I learnt my lesson though! Buy through word of mouth and only off people I trust! If not at least have the horse on loan first.

Other than that no mistakes, unless you count being horsie in the first place!! Had ups and downs but wouldn't change them or all the other horses I've been lucky enough to have as part of my life :).
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This ^^

:( Lost a lot of money. Won't buy unless I can get a recommendation now.

J&C
 
Where do I start? Ive had a scopey jumper with horrendous feet. He kept going lame a lot but he had a huge buck on him. A mare who was brilliant (altho didnt like jumping). She ended up getting really bad COPD. I tried her on all the meds none worked. She couldnt do much only the lightest of hacking. The last horse I had I couldnt bring him in from the field as he reared vertically & we just didnt get along.

Ive had so much heart break with horses it does make me wonder why I bother.

Im also only buying from people that have been recommended to me. Otherwise Im staying well clear.
 
I always tend to buy cheap so even if they go lame or whatever I shouldn't lose out on too much as I can't afford to. I'd never buy a £15k horse for example, because thats just too risky for me financially. When I used to buy ponies to back, bring on and sell within a few months - because I only bought them for max £500, even if they were no good/went lame etc. then I should have been able to get that back even just as a companion value. I've been extremely lucky and not made a loss on any of my horses to date.

There was one horse who I ended up selling for what I bought him for 4 years previously so I guess I made a big loss on him if you count all the training / competition costs etc. - he was my first horse who sadly had a big attitude problem. Heard later the owners had beaten him in the SJ ring as a youngster several times so with me, he'd jump amazingly at home and in training but put him in a competition and he'd totally shut down. Tried everything (including other people riding him in case it was me) to no avail. I wanted to jump so he was no good for me, loved that horse to pieces but ended up selling him as a hack/dressage horse where he remains now and is very happy!

I've only ever bought private, never through a dealer - people on here have put me off ever doing that!
 
I bought an ex-racehorse called Dave - who cost me £1500 to buy and approximately £15000 in vets bills!

2 days after I bought him, he was kicked in the knee joint (uninsured at this stage). cue expensive operation.

following on from this over the next two years, he suffered from Laminitis, various mysterious leg swellings/lamenesses, kissing spines, a fractured leg and a rotated pedal bone to name but a few of his difficulties.

I had him for six years, rode him for about one month out of that. I loved him to bits though, he had a great character, just wasn't meant to be ridden!

On the positive side, experiencing all these different problems at the age of 21 made me very able to cope with stress in all areas of my life later on!
 
Not sure which one of mine was the biggest mistake but there are 3 on my list of woes. I had a 14.2 showjumping pony which was quite expensive to buy and very talented, I had less than a year of riding her when she went lame with navicular very badly and had to be put down.

I bought an event horse who had previously been ridden by a top eventer and had points at novice level. Strangely when buying her the owners refused point blank to let me have her on any form of trial (alarm bells should have rung). Turns out that she would jump at home but not at a competition, I tried for 18 months to sort out the problem before selling her to a dealer for meat money as she wouldn't hack, she was too flighty for dressage and she was mental to hunt.

I then bought a 4 year old ex racer who seemed to have lots of talent and things went well for the first couple of years but then gradually started going down hill. He turns out to have severe kissing spine which was causing all sorts of behavioural problems. Had the op but wasn't successful and is now a lawnmower at 12 after destroying all my confidence jumping. He has cost my insurance company probably around £20k.

His loss of use payout did buy a project pony though which has turned out to be an absolute superstar that I could never part with.
 
I have never had a horse I regret. Some are not as good as I want them to be but they get moved on pretty quickly. The last one was disappointing because it was flying round novice before it was diagnosed with spavins but in a way not eventing for 2 years means I am now completely debt free. I always try to find positives or else I would give up!

Luckily horses are a hobby for me so they do not need to cover costs or make a profit. I try not to get caught up on what they are worth or valued at as long as I am having fun. I like to get my original money back when selling but that is because its being spent on buying something else. I dream of spending good money on horses but I cannot justify it because I only spend what I can afford to lose.
 
I bought my current large grey elephant with a view to progressing onwards from unaffiliated XC. She was very well bred for the job and had been given a good grounding by her owner (who was also her breeder), and I spent far more on her than I had been intending because she ticked all of my boxes. I had suffered a loss of confidence with my previous horse after being bolted with whilst on a hack when we encountered a loose horse running for home, and didn't ever feel the same about him after that, nor managed to achieve our previous level of success due to my confidence loss.

I worked with Doll with my trainer for six months, getting my confidence levels back up together. Everything was coming on really well and we arranged to go out for the first time to an XC schooling clinic run by our local RC. The day beforehand there was a hailstone storm and the horses went mad out in the field, and she slipped and fell awkwardly and tore her gastrocnemius muscle very badly. It took us nearly two years of treatment, physio and rest to get her back to being sound and she has never been able to get back to really being more than a happy hacker. Selling her on wasn't an option as she wouldn't pass a vetting so she has turned into a very expensive weekend hack!

I had also bought a lorry to transport her in but bought the wrong vehicle and couldn't sell it on and ended up losing a massive amount on that too, but that is a different story.
 
The only one of mine which I lost money on was my little welshy so haven't done too badly on that front, and *touch wood!* haven't had any horrendous vets bills either.

I think my biggest mistake was selling the Welsh mare, she was a seriously good little pony and I really miss her, just wish she would have grown another couple of inches!
 
I gave up horses for 7 years whilst I finished A'levels and put myself through university, met my husband, got a job and bought a house. Then I made the mistake of getting back into them - which is probably my biggest equine mistake! The biggest stress in my life is without a doubt the horse, mainly because you have so little control over so so many things.
 
I agree with Ihatework, they are pot luck, my faithful PB Arab who is now 18 had a perfectly sound and active life until spavins kicked in last year, I bought him for peanuts as a yearling and although challenging had been a joy and we have had fun times competing dressage. I bought his half-brother at the same time, he had a life full of problems, strangles, laminitis hock injury etc. ended up having to be PTS after lots of treatment, box rest etc. Last year I decided to get another horse to compete and let 18 yr old have slightly quieter life. Bought a lovely TB ex racehorse who had all the attributes to show and do dressage. Went back and forth for endless pre-purchase visits, passed 5 stage vetting and 1 year on I have had 6 months riding max. He had bi-lateral neurectomy in summer for Suspensory ligament damage, followed all post op instructions to a T and injured hit fetlock region first time out (despite sedation), now back on long-term box rest for damage to medial branch of suspensory ligament. Think that was my biggest mistake. Just hope he comes sound, he is a lovely chap and we had so many ambitions.
 
Not necessarily a mistake in choice of horse...But I wish I had had Enys dropped off at mine after buying him, so as to avoid the horsebox accident he had (probably would have been fine in any other box). He was as sweet as anything before his accident and now is nasty. I always wonder what we'd be like together if the accident hadn't set us off to such a bad start.
 
I'd say that buying Ronnie was a massive financial mistake but I learnt a lot and he was such a beautiful amazing horse that I do feel privelegd to have had him - even if I lost, what, in excess of £15,000 on him? He cost me £4,250, and in the 3.5 years that I had him (on part livery) I had 7 insurance claims and on top of what the insurers paid out, I paid a further £10k in vets/physio/remedial-work fees. And then he was PTS as it was all a massive waste of money. He was only sound and in ridden work for the first 15 months, then was lame for another 18 months, then "fit for purpose" i.e. not 100% sound but could do low-level flatwork and hacking for 6 months, then lame for 3 months then PTS.

Heartache-wise I couldn't do it again, and financially I'd be an idiot to do it again. But I loved that horse so much I would have moved heaven and earth for him so I can't regret my decisions. The mistake was buying him in the first place!
 
racingdemon said:
Such a reassuring thread!!

i've had a selection of mishaps, both very cheap ones, and more expensive ones,

cheapest one was a horse I bought as an unbroken 3yo for £200, produced him to be a fab hunter/team chaser, until aged about 10 he started stopping & after treating for ulcers & having no improvement, we had him diagnosed with KS, made the decision to PTS, as he was not a horse that coped well with box rest/hacking/anything that wasn't hunting/TC, but as he only cost £200, TBH, he was a bargain despite all that!

bought 2 P2Pers one year, in my attempt to win a ladies race, both had won previously under rules, so had bags of talent, the more expensive one was kicked in the field before i'd even started fast work with her, (so i hadn't insured her!!) & the other dropped dead on the gallops mid way through the season

decided breeding one might be easier, 2nd year of breeding them, 1 foal was born with a crooked knee, sent to Liverpool to be pinned,(or whatever it is they do), came home, leg straightened, went back to have pin out, died under anaesthetic. other foal that year was kicked in the field by it's mother, fractured it's shoulder, so that was the end of that!

have had a reasonable few years since, but ALWAYS have in the back of my head that at some point, they will all, at the same time, start breaking, dying, and generally causing great heartache

tonight, after one horse has sliced a massive part of it's foot and another still hasn't got normal blood results & I was moping about the house, my husband suggested that there should be a support group for the husbands/partners of horsey women, so they could compare notes & vets bills!
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Your husband is a good thinker!! we could do with a support group for them
 
I’ve never sold a horse so have essentially lost money on all of them.
my biggest mistake was allowing my heart to rule my head and taking on a big, 20 year old mare that I’d known for years. She’s a money pit and has upset the herd dynamics more than I thought she would. I don’t think she’s ready for retirement yet but I’ve no wish to ride her. I wanted to drive her which was her main job before, but I’ve no experience. I’ve had offers of help but the lockdown scarpered that. I essentially have a big field ornament who eats and s**ts like a rhino. I’m hoping I can get going soon with her as I think we’d all be happier with the situation if she had a job.
 
I have made the mistake of keeping a horse rather than selling it for it to then go wrong not long after.
High value horses as well and I always tell myself I won’t do it again but I probably will. ?‍♀️
 
The unicorn said:
I was 11 years old when this question came out it was posted in 2011 , I cannot believe you can still reply to 9 year old question.
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hahaha! way to make HHOers feel old :p

right blast from the past, this one. lots of old names no longer on the forum.

I'm with SEL though I don't think any of mine were mistakes, I've learned a lot from all of them and they've all been special in their own way.
I do however deeply regret hiring the gallops for Millie to do fast work, thinking I was doing the right thing getting a good surface for her... and she put her foot down a hole which was the beginning of an endless cycle of soft tissue issues and her eventual retirement. Just bad luck tho.
 
I can never work out how people find these old threads that are about nothing in particular (not like a really specific ailment or similar) and then revive it by posting a completely non descript comment ?‍♀️

Surely if you just joined a forum you would look at the active boards first unless joined joined specifically to comment on a particular thread...?
 
My hobby since the kids no longer ride, is buying large M&M young stock keeping them for a couple of years , taking them to a few shows, getting them backed and then selling them on. Never make money but it's nice if I get my money back, which most times I do. So I buy a colt because I am thinking of breeding, on paper nicely bred, sire jumps. Lovely temperament, moves beautifully, but he gets to four and I decide he is not good enough to breed from, so I get him gelded to sell as a ridden, which was not done standing and not at home. I have no idea what has happened, but he now frightened of his own shadow, nothing else has changed apart from having gelded, you can not get anything in his mouth without a struggle. I sent him away to be backed, just to see if there was anything I had missed, so he is backed and will hack out but only if he is following something else, and they had trouble getting a bit in his mouth. He is really the most stupid animal I have ever owned, very pleasant and I think he would love to be someone's pet, because like a cat he loves a stroke, but useless.
 
The unicorn said:
I was 11 years old when this question came out it was posted in 2011 , I cannot believe you can still reply to 9 year old question.
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I sort of like the fact that it is possible to resurrect old threads. Wouldn't be fun if people did it all the time, but I don't mind if an odd one pops up now and then.
I was older than you in 2011, but if did read it then, I had forgotten about it, so it was an interesting read for me. Also nice to see some old usernames.
 
FinnishLapphund said:
I sort of like the fact that it is possible to resurrect old threads. Wouldn't be fun if people did it all the time, but I don't mind if an odd one pops up now and then.
I was older than you in 2011, but if did read it then, I had forgotten about it, so it was an interesting read for me. Also nice to see some old usernames.
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I feel I should resurrect some from 15 years ago for the hell of it now.......
 
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