When you bought your horse...

7) Best Dressage Horse

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well if i used my head i wouldnt have bought him as the second time i tried him out i fell of and broke my wrist!But i still bought him and i adore him-we have ups and downs but i think he is the perfect horse for me
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I followed my heart with Sicco, as we didnt even have the chance to ride him when we brought him, as he had a overeach when we went to Scotland, he bit me and gave my mum a black eye and yet we still brought him
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ont ask me why, thankfully he has turned out to be the soppiest lovliest horse you could want andi can honestly say buying him was the best decicision ever
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(sorry for soppimess and boring post)
 
Well, 100% of people agree with me atm...
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I was heart and yes it did work out well
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I have to say though, buying an out of contol, bucking, bolting showjumper with a reputation best forgotten is not the best idea for a first pony...
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HEART....even though people told be i was be a complet idiot in bying him and as he had never jumped before i got him, they said he would be useless for me....but i have had him jumpin 3'6 courses, and im soooooo pleased i followed my heart and bought him, He has tought me sooooo much, and i love him to bits!!
 
When i tried lady she was amazing to ride which won me over, but had issues with people getting on her and is also slightly cold backed, i had 10 minutes after riding to make up my mind as other people were on their way to view her.
So glad i said yes its been the best 10 month together so far.

Oh and it was heart that i went with.
 
Bit of both. I fell completly in love with my current horse but not before my trainer and OH had established he was what I needed
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Im terrible... For me, my horse has to be my best friend and I like a forward, affectionate, huggly type of horsanility.

On the other hand, I take my riding seriously and wanted something that was already working at least at advanced level, the trainability to go further but had seen it all before and was established.

I only let myself get involved with the horse after we knew he'd be good for me in that respect.

Similarly when I look for a youngster, my trainer will go with me and I'll follow her opinion to the letter.

A good horse costs as much to keep as any other... imo its well worth establishing *exactly* what you want before you start looking otherwise you can just fall for a pretty face and a sad story
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couldnt vote really as i chose Jerry with both....i knew he was perfect, but he was also the right choice if that makes sense

with hector it was with my heart and what a disaster! wouldnt change him though, but was definatly not a sensible choice as far as staying sound goes
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Bit of both, filled all the criteria on paper, but was a bit younger and greener than I wanted! But i "met" him and couldnt not have him, think it was the fact he was curled up on a straw bed fast asleep on first viewing.....
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Definitely heart! I bought my first pony after he bucked me off 3 times on the first time I tried him! He stopped and blew down his nose at me and I fell in love. He's 20 now and still carries me up the lane sometimes and still tries to buck me off!
My second horse I bought when I saw him jump out of his field as a 3 yr old because he thought it was tea time - he took the gate at a slow trot as though it was not there!
 
I used both - I fell in love with her at first sight (within a minute!) and knew she was "The One", and she was also perfect for both me and my mum. She was only the second horse out of 10 that my mum was totally happy getting on, and I was totally happy getting on her without my instructor seeing her first. She was 100% perfect, and still is! She's a total star, easy enough for my mum to ride but she knows she can mess me about a bit and spook and do mini bucks because I can handle it whereas my mum can't. We also bought her thinking she wouldn't do very well at anything, maybe a bit of easy prelim dressage and she hadn't jumped so we had no idea how she'd do with that, but now she is almost working at novice dressage (a miracle for her) and she's jumping really well and I have so much more confidence from her.
So I guess it was my heart at first, then my head caught up, and they both still agree that she's perfect!
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I can truly say I fell for mine when the seller sent me some pics, got him home, had lots of trials over the years and he's a tricky bugger to ride, like a worm, but am totally besotted and his devoted slave.

He's better company than my husband, better looking and a better kisser (less bristly!!)
 
I took the first pony that was offered by my parents (they hadn't shown much interest in getting me a pony before he came up for sale). Not the best idea, but its turned out well, I still have him 9 years later!
 
Always my heart. But then a lot of horses Ive seen are youngsters or in a bit of a state (I prefer buying cheapo's than ready-made ones!) so I have always had to use my imagination about what they COULD be, so I very much have to go on their temperament and attitude.

My main competition horse - went to see him and he was a state. VERY thin, VERY depressed. Really miserable basically because he'd been ignored on a busy yard! I rode him for all of literally 10 minutes because the school was frozen solid (and I felt guilty!). Bought him based on that, purely because I could see his temperament was so genuine. He turned into a fabulous horse with time and effort. Still have him now, and dont regret it at all!
 
It was my heart and my dads heart, he was the one who said yes before i could say a word but me and Honey clicked! She was not your immediate first choice as a first horse for a 13 year old! When we got Honey she was a 3 1/2 year old IDxTB chestnut mare who came across from the sales in Ireland. But I would not swap her for the world, I learnt so much from her and people who have ridden her have mentioned how well schooled she is!! I can't have done too badly, but i was lucky to have some knowledgeable people around me.
Just wish she hadn't been diagnosed with navicular at the age of 6 but now at the age of 11 she is fighting fit and her flat work has come on leaps and bounds. I can't wait till i come from uni next week and rider again!
 
HEART - Glad I did tho, she's lovely and I love her. Only downside is if I fall off I have to find something to stand on to get back on
 
I bought Patches with my head, not my heart. I'd had some bad experiences with previous horses.

I will readily admit that she wasn't the type of horse I would have chosen from looks alone (at the time, I've since become smitten with her) but I knew she was the right match for my riding skills (or lack of).

It's worked out brilliantly. She has given me all the confidence and more to enjoy riding and hacking out.

I am truly grateful to her and always will be. She's my rock!
 
I was a mixture of both. I loved Murphy to look at, and he was faultless to hack out etc. But he does have a conformation issue which may or may not come to hinder him some day, i dont know - so I guess we'll soon find out!
 
Followed my heart for the first one. It was my first horse and I was thirteen and looking for an older gelding who'd been there and done everything. Fell in love with four year old mare that had been backed three weeks and the rest is history! It worked out really well with her and I gained an invaluble amount of experience and confidence.

The next one was bought with head because he seemed to be what I was looking for and heart because once again I was in love! May have been a bit of a rebound thing
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, things had just fallen through with a really wonderful horse. It didn't work out how I planned but he taught me a lot. I think there's a certain amount of luck involved in buying horses as, really, you can't be 100% what you're actually letting yourself in for, so whether you follow heart or head things can always work out differently.
 
Followed both to a degree. Horses ticked all the required boxes and made my heart melt so I suppose I go on 'sensible' and on 'gut feeling'.
 
to be honest i didnt really like oscar when we went to try him, but my mum kind of fell in love, so i just went along, was the best decision i ever made
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With my first pony it was love at first sight but he was found for me by experienced people so he was also perfect for me. With my older mare it was also my heart, I fell in love with her when I first rode her, she had such natural balance and talent, but was not what I was looking for- I was going to buy her full brother but he failed the vet and then heard she was back up for sale as previous owners hadn't gotten on with her. She is so neurotic and unpredictable and have had some major ups and downs with her but she taught me so much! My gelding was originally bought for my brother to do xc on and was pretty hopeless at everything else! My brother only rode him for a season and then I took him over as I saw he might have some potential, did he what?! Guess i used my head for him as I didn't really like him (personalitywise) at first but he's grown on me and we've formed such a great partnership. The new horse I definitely bought with my head as I was looking for something to bring on and not keep. I knew exactly what type of horse I wanted and she ticked all the boxes, saying that I am gettting quite attached to her, she's very sweet!
 
I almost always buy with my head. Once or twice I have bought with my heart......however the heart okay'd it with my head first!
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I would never ever buy something because I purely felt sorry for it. It would still have to come with good conformation and be nicely put together for me to even consider buying. I have a big thing about legs....if they do not have good legs then I don't even consider them.
 
I didn't follow common sense at all - completely went with my heart. As I hadn't had a horse in 5 years I wanted something a bit laid back and forgiving so it didn't matter if I was a bit rusty. I ended up with an unbroken 8 year old!
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I didn't stay rusty for very long after that.
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First horse - heart - fell in love with recently backed chestnut mare at a riding school I was going to - total disaster, she turned into a rearer, really dangerous one & knocked my confidence....

second horse - head - another disaster - looked for schoolmaster to restore knocked confidence & on paper he was it - in real life he was Victor Meldrew...grumpy mean spirited gelding...

Third time lucky....walked into stable turned around & walked out - said no not for me...old YO who was with me really liked him & said well we might as well see him ridden....he bucked after he jumped which turned me off even more....and then on got on him...and something clicked...he arrived 2 days later and that was nearly a year ago...
 
PF was a freebie and came with another horse. I nearly sold her on straight away, but as soon as I got on her I adored her even though she was a right cow.
Worked out in the end even though lots and lots of people told me she didn't have the temperament to achieve anything SJing.
Antifaz I liked at first, then hated, now love again...
Had a gut instinct about both and in future, after making sure neddy didn't have anything glaring wrong with it, would follow gut again.
 
It is that gut instinct PF. I have ridden alot of absolutely lovely lovely horses, and there have only been a handful I would have wanted as "mine" as although others were amazing to ride, you just don't "click" the same. I normally o for the strange ones though...
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My heart.....there is absolutely no sense in buying a lame irish loon is there....

silly, but thank god it worked out. turns out her lameness could be sorted by something so simple - shoeing technique.
 
First one I bought with my heart and she turned out to be a complete nutter.

My rescued mare I now have I bought with my heart too and its one best decisions I've ever made.

yes she's cost me a lot of money but Im sooo happy now
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