Which horse would you buy?

[janengretel]

I would really love people’s opinions on the following:
I am a Mum who rides up to Novice eventing level. I want to buy my 14yr old daughter a horse that she can event this/next year. We also hunt and do hedgehopping and fun stuff together.
Not sure yet if daughter wants to go all the way with competitive eventing and work hard at it or do more all round stuff. She s quite talented but she has mostly been under-horsed to develop her confidence.
We tend to be more in to the journey than the winning.
So the question is;
I have 3 friends offering me horses to buy. Which one should I choose?

• A Very trusted friend who trains me and my daughter has a very talented eventing youngster. My daughter loves it, she is prepared to sell it at trade price and she would take it back and find us something else if it did nt work out, since she has a lot of belief in the horse.

Negatives: The horse is quite sharp and tricky in company (so no turning out with others or mucking about around friends horses or hunting). I would also be a bit too heavy to school it myself, so it would all be down to her.

• Relative has a BSJA appaloosa x connie 12 yr old jumping pony that loves cross country and hunting, has a very powerful scopey jump (takes a bit of getting used to) and has been schooled on the flat by County level show judge. Has been head hunted to jump bigger tracks in Ireland.

Negatives; . It is quite pricey and would be a stretch financially. Pony is little bit on the small side, but good bone. She rode it a few years back and did nt quite gel – maybe too much power at that time.

3. Friend is selling very careful BSJA pony, wins speed classes (1m competitively) they jump big single fences at home. Apparently cross country is its thing. Its about half the price of the first horse. She loves it, although it is completely hollow and quite a challenge to get it to relax and drop its head. It is a true allrounder, used to being taken here and there, doing a bit of everything. I would say average dressage score would be a 42! Though we would both love to try and improve that. . Welsh cob, not fancy! Takes my weight well.
Negatives; it is 11 and has been ridden in its current outline for 9 yrs. It is quite stressy and rushes its fences. Apparently strong hunting. Smallest of the 3

 

[ycbm]

Sorry, changed my mind, back later....

 

[AmyMay]

Number 3

 

[Ambers Echo]

Which one does your daughter like best?

 

[JennBags]

I wouldn't buy any of them, find something more suitable.

 

[splashgirl45]

none of them sound right but no 3 would give her some fun and you could also ride it...

 

[Bellaboo18]

From this selection no. 3.
Not no. 1, at 14 I'm sure she wants to be out having fun.
I'd wonder if you can find something more suitable though. It sounds like she doesn't want a superstar(?) just a fun all-rounder.

 

[ycbm]

I went for number one, then read the negatives. I've ended up wondering if you can't do better than any of them if you can wait a few weeks until the market dies down a bit.

.

 

[Nari]

I'd say none of them, but if you feel you absolutely must have one of the three then I'd go for number three.

 

[spacefaer]

None of them
Wait for one with fewer cons that won't end up putting your daughter off

 

[Tihamandturkey]

Too many cons with each - I'd definitely wait

 

[Red-1]

I would ask your daughter, giving her a chance to ride them all with a view to buying but, if I were mum, I would prefer no 3.

Fun, fun, fun.

Flatwork can be improved beyond a 42, I am sure. Meanwhile, she can wizzes round pony club, hedge hopping, hunting etc in relative safety.

I would also consider looking further afield, although I appreciate one with a checkable history is attractive!

ETA - having said that, at 15 years old, I begged my mum for a 'serious' eventer (think 17hh of blood horse, already competing at Novice, and having issues with ditches). She declined, but actually I took it all so seriously, I think I would have enjoyed that every bit as much as the 15.2 Welsh cob X Arab that I got! I would have simply taken a different, more serious, more expensive (training as well as buying) path.

 

[CMcC]

I would agree, none of the above. It is great if you can buy a horse/pony from someone you know and can trust but you are choosing from a very limited pool and it seems that only 1 is being offered with a financial advantage.

 

[StowfordPress]

I’d retry 2 and see how she feels. When one of mine went lame I was offered a ride on something that I took and swore I’d give back the second mine was sound as we didn’t get on that much. By the time mine came sound I was so in love we’d bought it, so I think it’s worth another try especially if you could get a trial or similar.

 

[Dyllymoo]

To be honest from what you have written I probably wouldn't buy any of them. If I was pushed, 1 possibly on a trial basis but you could risk the fact she might loose some confidence on him and also that she wouldn't be able to have fun with friends etc. on him.

I don't think any of them are particularly right?

 

[Roxylola]

3 sounds like a more fun all rounder and presumably you could help with flat work.
1 is all very well if they get on long term but she cant go out with friends, it could be an issue out at clinics etc.
2 might be worth another sit but if it's a stretch financially and she doesnt love it I wouldnt bother.
I'd look for something she can enjoy and have fun with first and foremost

 

[Meredith]

Having made my own mistakes buying children’s ponies and horses I wouldn’t buy any of them.
Compromise as little as possible in this situation.

 

[honetpot]

I have two daughters and ex PC mum and was on a livery yard with a lot of teenage girls.
In my experience the pony that the child likes the most they will work the hardest on to make it work, its a bit like having a rubbish boyfriend that the girlfriend makes excuses for. No matter how wonderful or right the other pony is, they will not put the effort in and make excuses not to ride it. One £30K horse lasted about two weeks, the child just wanted to play ponies with her mates.
My youngest daughter was not confident rider, we went to look at a TB, 'just to look', she loved it, I hoped it would fail the vetting. She may not have won anything on him, but he made her a better rider and she would do anything for him, hence I have a whole wardrobe in purple. Another couple of years and she my not be a Karen but they do become Kevins, and if they love the horse its a lot easier to apply pressure/blackmail.

 

[AFB]

Personally I'd wait for the right horse to come along, but if that's not an option then number 3 for me. Schooling can be improved and it otherwise sounds like a horse your daughter could get out and have some fun on.

 

[spacefaer]

Would you be interested in any of them if they didn't belong to people you knew?

 

[ihatework]

I would sit her on number 2 again first. If she still doesn’t gel then rule it out but her riding may have matured enough for it to be the right one.

Number 1 is a no from me.
Number 3 a possible

 

[tiahatti]

2 or 3.

 

[Circe2]

I’d say #2 gets a second chance (maybe a short trial period) - but I agree with the person who asked if you would be interested in any of them if you didn’t know the owner!

#1 sounds nightmarish for a young and social rider - a lot of the stuff I suspect she will want to do will include taking him to places and spending time with other horses.

#3 sounds relatively badly ridden and will take a lot of work, so I suppose it depends on how much schooling time you’d like the put in. Wrong/unbalanced muscling can potentially lead to a lot more than just bad dressage scores and aesthetics, so do be careful about that - a horse that moves correctly is usually a healthy horse, and in many cases, vice versa.

How about getting #2 on loan, with a view to buy (if she likes him), considering the horse belongs to a friend and she would probably be open to that sort of thing? Could also be a chance to get a bit of a mate’s rate once prices start dropping if your daughter ends up keen on the horse?

 

[FrostKitten]

Agree with some of the other posters, none of them sound right for your daughter and what you said she wants.

#1 - You may have a good relationship with your friend but this horse sounds like it needs a lot of special care that you cannot provide, and leaving this to your young daughter may be a negative experience.

#2 - Sounds like a great horse but not a good fit as you've said it's a financial stretch, a little too small and your daughter originally didn't get on with the horse.

#3 - If number 2 was too small and this one is smaller, that's a definite no. You also mention the horse rushes and is quite stressy, not ideal for a young owner/rider. Another thing to note here is do you know the full background of the horse as you imply it was broken into an outline at 2yrs old, which whilst not always an issue could indicate issues in a few years time.

You mention the owner of #1 would have helped you find another horse if hers didn't work out, I'd ask for her support to find a different horse now. It may also be worth looking at a trainer/dealer who has produced a potential young-ish eventer that your daughter can really bring into their own (assuming it has no behavioural issues and is easy to ride).

 

[JJS]

Out of the horses listed, number three, but I’m not convinced that any of them sound ideal.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I wouldn't buy any of them, find something more suitable.

This, really but if you *have* to have one of them number 3.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

None of them, I’m afraid.

The trouble with buying #1 is that it’s from your friend / advisor/ trainer. I’d lean towards number 1 but then want to do a complete management overhaul which would probably put your relationship with your friend at risk.

If you manage #1 in the same way, you’ll get the same horse, and it doesn’t sound like that horse is absolutely right for your daughter.

If your daughter isn’t wildly excited about #2, I wouldn’t push it. You want to be really excited about a new horse.

#3 doesn’t sound like it has a lot of scope to grow, so you’d have to be happy with what it is now.

I would keep looking.