Why do people get such unsuitable horses?

Hi, I probably ended up with an unsuitable horse cob gelding 4 years old coming 15 hands (thought he was older) for a first horse mother & daughter share - it can be a bit 2 much some times & it makes me feel like crying when we are both trying to learn & it all goes wrong - but we keep trying & have lots of help from experienced people & we wouldnt be without him now & we will get there !!! People have to realize when they need help you can't do it all on your own x
 
My TBx was wrecked by a novice rider, and my mother fixed him for me, and now he is the best horse I have ever had/ am likely to, yet even now if you put him in the hands of a novice he'll still turn into an ar**hole lol- he just won't stand for any messing.

With me, he's quiet as anything!!! I call him my little donkey lol

He was sold by a decent dealer, to a girl who said she wanted to event.

Turned out she wanted to do low level working hunter (nothing wrong with that, just completely different to what she asked for!!!)
 
Some horses seem fine at viewings and for one reason or another turn into beasties once in their new home. Whether it is that they are unsettled, are unused to a new workload, or not as the case may be, or they sense they are too much for their new owner.

I heard a classic, never heard it before, someone I know bought a 16 hh + TB X, been there, done it, fantastic for the teenage girl who previously owned her but 'because she didn't want to waste the rugs she already had, bought something that would fit them'!

Unfortunately, its not a match made in heaven, far from it and she has hit the deck more than stayed on but will, under no circumstances sell as 'she could end up anywhere'. How sad, a fabulous mare, suited to faster pace of life, either in her field or once in the blue moon ridden.

OK, she has a fantastic home where she is looked after and cared for but are her other needs being met, ie, ridden to her potential and stimulated?, I don't think so. Its sad, because the owner deserves a quieter, not so flighty horse to enjoy and I don't think enjoys things at all.
 
Bought my Welsh Sec D as a 2 year old, looking like a 22year old. Bought him out of pity, and yes I've been on along learning curve with him. He is a lovely character, he's not bolshy, more nervous. He's coming up 5 next year and hopefully will back him and like any other animal, you have to give them time and time is what I've got.:):):)
 
About 8 years ago I returned to riding as the bug just wouldnt leave, plus Mini TX had started having lessons at a local riding school. My first lesson was on a very dusty, scruffy, quiet black cob, who had a bit of a 'glint' in his eye. Said cob was a perfect, if lazy gent in lessons, needing a lot of leg, lets just say. This stupid moo proceeded to fall in love ......... Riding school had a policy of selling their horses on after they had been with the school for 2 years and offered him to me on working livery, which I jumped at. However, riding school very unexpectedly closed and remained as a livery yard, and I kept my horse there. Well, my lad had been working about 2-3 hours a day, plus what I did with him and more importantly, was not fed apart from hay. He had been the perfect gent when in a riding school. However, once it was just down to me to work him an hour or so a day, plus hack him, he turned evil. I have been bolted with on the roads, barged over, shoved into the corner of his stable, bitten, bucked off, and practically every evil thing a horse could to do a human was done to me. Thank goodness I had my instructor on site and on hand to sort him and me out. I had bought what was described as an 11 year old school master. Well, he is was well schooled, but he was no novice ride at heart - it was only due to him being worked so hard that he was a good boy in the riding school.

I had to work really hard, learn some tough lessons and at times felt really scared of my horse, but I have conquered it all and now he is my perfect horse. He is a well mannered, if not totally quiet hack - he is safe though, just a bit spooky. He will do a nice dressage test, jump a small course, do xc, hunts all day and has been to PC camp a few times, plus on a couple of PC teams. I've owned him about 7 years and he is the sum total of a hell of a lot of hard work. My old instructor said that we were actually the perfect match for each other. He still has that glint in his eye, he still tries to barge out of his stable (we keep the 'naughty stick' outside just for such occasions to wave at him), but he hasnt bolted, bucked or been evil for a long time.

Sometimes I wonder why I put up with it. He is a good looking, well put together cob who I know I could sell time and time again, but he's mine forever.
 
I bought a TB ex racer a couple of years ago from a very novice lady down the road. This lady had bought this horse as a just off the track 5yo, and had been too scared to ever ride it. She got a local 'professional' (although I don't think the 'professional' can have been a professional horse rider!), who claimed to have trained in Germany, to school the horse 3 times a week. In the end the owner was too scared to even handle the horse, and the 'professional' told the owner the horse was a nutter. So after 2 years of problems and thousands of £'s spent on the professional I bought the horse for £100. After sorting out the major contact issues due to the 'professional' only ever riding in draw reins, with the horse's chin on it's chest, she has become one of the easiest horses I have ever sat on. She has won a couple of BE events and has qualified to go to Badminton for the Grassroots Championships. After selling me this horse the novice owner (who was now terrified) bought a 5yo welsh x TB. Well the one plus point is she sacked the 'professional', but the down side was she took no help what so ever. So now 2 years later she has a 7yo that is 'unrideable' and also difficult to handle. Hence once all this snow and ice is gone it is coming to me for schooling livery to try and get it straightened out! I have told the owner I can (hopefully) fix the horse, but my work may be in vain unless she is going to handle the horse in a confident manner once it comes back to her.

On the flip side I have actually advertised a horse of mine on project horses. I broke him in myself, and at home he is the most fantastic ride, and has been ridden by my nervous mother in the arena. However I think he must be agrophobic, as he panics majorly as soon as he goes away from home. Hence advetised him as a prefect horse for somebody who enjoyed schooling, and jumping at home, but with no competitve ambitions. I then had a woman ring up asking if he would be suitable for her teenage daughter who wanted to do BSJA!!!!!! I said no, and got a load of abuse down the phone when I wouldn't give her my address for her to come see him!!!!!!!
 
The only two horses I have ever had for ME were a welsh cob and a 5yo... PMSL!!!!

Don't tar people with the same brush. I never had a problem with either of mine because I went with the flow, learnt, asked for advise...

The people we should be bashing are the ones who think they know everything about horses and are not willing to learn or change their ways (and by GODS you have to work around a welsh cob!! Which is probably why so many are there!). Novices often start out with wholly unsuitable horses, ask for help, and end up with a partner for life.

It's the ones who won't accept any other way but theirs who ruin horses.
 
I bought 2 2yo warmbloods at the beggining of the year, considering they are my first 2 horses I have had many experience of bringing on young horses for friends. Would you consider me to be an inexperienced horse owner as I have bought 2 youngsters as my first 2??

Since having them a 12 year old can now handle them even though they are 16hh+ they have manners and respond completely to voice from the ground.

In my yard I have had a slight problem with other liveries feeding them tit bits by hand (which I hate) resulting in the horses becoming mouthy. I seem to have now educated my fellow liveries and my 2 horses are now NOT mouthy.

It may not be wholly the owners fault, please do not tar owners with the same brush, it might not be entirely there fault.

What I do dissagree with is horse owners that buy there horses because they are flashy and then therefore become overhorsed resulting in the owner losing confidence and the horse being wasted due to the owner being scared of them.
 
Kokopelli said:
What is even more worrying is the people who are willing to sell these horses to obvious inexperienced owners! Why would you sell a nice 3/4yo to a first time buyer?!?
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Went on a riding course recently and there was a very nice man on the same course that had me thinking the same thing. Older (retired) man, complete novice (yet to canter) with no horse-handling experience who had been sold a 4yr old Sec D by the stud that bred it. Stud and the riding school he was learning at both apparently told him this was a good idea! He had paid a deposit and was to take delivery after it had been broken, by which time he was supposed to have improved sufficiently to handle and ride it (!)

Obviously we all advised strongly against! I don't think we talked him out of it sadly, but I do think we persuaded him to go on some horse-handling courses ASAP. He was obviously willing to learn and spend money (he was on the course in the first place after all), but the whole idea still scares me.
 
I'm one of those you are probably talking about but in my defence I was quite careful.
I rode a lot of tb's and arabs but many years ago. Then after a very long break started looking for a full time loan. My horsey friends cringed when I told them I was getting an ex-racer. I had tried lots of horses but the one I felt the safest on was the first one I tried and the only ex-racer. Cobs were some of the worst ones because they were so strong or stubborn which is a shame because most were very pretty.

I have to say that some of the owners were unbelievable telling me that their horse was a perfect gent and suitable for any novice, when clearly they should only be ridden by very experienced riders. Two I even refused point blank to even sit on and then got abuse hurled at me for refusing. I had been very honest about my abilities and knowledge so I wasn't hiding anything.

A year has gone past, he is now mine and yes we've had challenges, but he has never ever tried to ditch me. The hardest thing I've had to learn is that he does need to be reminded regularly that I'm in charge. Overall because when I don't know something I can and do ask for help from others on the yard and because I see him every day I know almost all his little quirks now. The YO said to me recently that she cannot believe how far we have both come which gave me a high all day.

So I picked the right yard and the right horse. So if you are an experienced owner don't be put off by someone less experienced than yourself. The ex-owner of my boy said that my lack of knowledge hadn't put her off because I asked so many in depth questions it reassured her. She also said that because I showed an intersest in all aspects of care not just the riding she knew we would get on fine.
 
I bought an ex - racer who was advertised as a novice ride. Not that that was what I was looking for actually, but I just happened to see her on a yard and she caught my eye as she was in such poor condition that I knew she'd be five times the horse once fit.

Now, of course the fitter she became the far less quiet she became and in fact now, whilst I adore her and she's a great ride, you simply could not call her a novice ride. Fortunately, I was a buyer who was aware of the potential, but imagine if you were the one who got on a horse who was tubby, unfit, bored, and thought "Hey, she's nice and quiet"?????
 
I heard lots of whispers on my yard about people thinking i was a complete and utter idiot for buying me second horse.

I had only owned my first horse for 6 months when the opportunity to buy her 4 year old unbacked gelding came up.

I went to see him and loved him and negotiated an excellent price for him.
People at the yard were gossiping and all that but i have proved them wrong.

I sent him away to be professionally backed and have a wonderful instructors who gives him two lessons a week, she rides on lesson, i ride the other, and the gelding is turning into a lovely horse.

Now the tides have turned and people are gossiping about how well i am doing with him and what a really nice horse he is.

On paper my purchase was foolish and irresponsible but in reality i am being sensible and patient with him and am looking forward to years of fun with him.
 
Some blame has to be passed to sellers who sell the horses to these people in the first place! There is a lovely lady on the yard who took up riding on her 50th birthday. She bought her first horse 3 years later - she had no one advising her as the riding school she learnt at were not interested in helping clients - so some clever person sold her a 3 year old cob which was sold to her as a perfect schoolmaster! Yes it was quiet and yes she probably ruined it but it took less than 2 months for it to start taking the p*** and was sold on project horses after a year. She then bought an older NF which tbh was too sharp from day one and was lame within a month, it turned out to have an old shoulder injury, further investigations turned out that the so called private seller was a dealer. This pony was put on loan as a companion and that is a whole other story! She then - with the advice of so called expert friends bought another cob who was the most grumpy little sod I have ever had the displeasure to meet. She arrived at our yard having not ridden for months as every time she tried do anything with him he just dominated her, bucked her off, took off, barged her over - the list is endless. She tracked down previous owners and found out that again she had bought from a dealer passing themselves off as a private seller, the old owners having part-ex'd him for something more suitable as he kept bucking their daughter off. He has now found a new home as a trek leader in wales with a jockey who seems to be able to stick on him no matter what he throws at her!
There is a happy ending to this story though - she approached me about having one of my lovely connies on loan, I have had him since he was a baby, he is now 11 and has been shown and done dressage, he is a lovely quiet hack and tbh I find him a little boring, lol. She is finally getting her confidence and while he is not perfect, no horse is lets be honest, she is now hacking out, schooling and planning a summer of local shows and dressage, he sees no reason to take the p being a well brought up chap and she loves him to bits.
 
Paint Me Proud said:
I heard lots of whispers on my yard about people thinking i was a complete and utter idiot for buying me second horse.

I had only owned my first horse for 6 months when the opportunity to buy her 4 year old unbacked gelding came up.

I went to see him and loved him and negotiated an excellent price for him.
People at the yard were gossiping and all that but i have proved them wrong.

I sent him away to be professionally backed and have a wonderful instructors who gives him two lessons a week, she rides on lesson, i ride the other, and the gelding is turning into a lovely horse.

Now the tides have turned and people are gossiping about how well i am doing with him and what a really nice horse he is.

On paper my purchase was foolish and irresponsible but in reality i am being sensible and patient with him and am looking forward to years of fun with him.
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Good on you!!!! Sounds like it's working out to be a lovely partnership :-)
 
MagicMelon said:
Been scrolling through the project horses website. Its so sad to see so many horses on there with various 'issues' even though IMO many of them sound like human-imposed problems.

The amount of Welsh D's on there in particular is pretty worrying, do people not research breeds first before buying them?! Welsh D's can be pretty bolshy, I've had one who was dreadful when I bought him as a 3yo but I knew with buying a Welsh Cob, they could sometimes be like that so I was prepared. I researched the breed thoroughly and decided I could deal with one so got one. Never regretted it. It's amazing how many people seem to buy one thinking they are good first-ponies. And why oh why do inexperienced owners take on 3 / 4yo's?!?!
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The owner of the horse who is in a field with mine is just like this. Said horse is a 16hh MW cob, he's a lovely lovely horse but so bolshy! It's nothing a bit of groundwork wont sort out but his owner is clearly scared of him. When putting hay out in field he'll follow you until you put it down but she just throws in over the fence onto mud. He knows who he can/can't barge around and he knows he can with her. She's even admitted she's just waiting for him to injure her and she'll sell him. Such a shame as he was a cracking horse when in regular work and absolutely loved XC.
 
KirstyLou said:
When putting hay out in field he'll follow you until you put it down but she just throws in over the fence onto mud. He knows who he can/can't barge around and he knows he can with her
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There in lies a huge part of the problem IMHO. I was brought up in the days when riding schools still let you spend all day there helping out, with bolshy ponies. My first pony was a little *****! and I then went on to own some lovely but complex characters due to parents buying cheap and not knowing any better. I very quickly learnt to deal with them as there was no option of a perfect schoolmaster. I then have x amount of years behind me working with horses on studs and at riding schools. I KNOW that when there is an issue I need to deal with it not avoid it.

An awful lot of people now dont have that background knowledge or the skills to cope, and when theres an issue they avoid it rather than deal with it, as its easier. My sister is very competent, TBH she rides much better than me, but shes never had a proper youngster before. The 3 youngsters have been getting a bit uppity due to lack of turn out etc.

Rather than deal with it shes just found ways to work round it. We've had a bit of a row where I've pointed out that simple things such as them moving back from the door when its opened make a massive difference when turning out etc. Today we've spent the day playing with them, bitting them, chucking saddles on and off, working on manners etc, and everyone is much happier. Shes happier knowing that she can handle them, and they are happier knowing who is in charge.

I once went to help a client with her first pony which apparently was behaving in a dangerous way. I got there and found an unsettled and stroppy NF. She was 100% for me, and when the teenage owner commented on it, her mother said, very wisely, that the pony was behaving for me as I expected her too...
 
Paint Me Proud said:
I heard lots of whispers on my yard about people thinking i was a complete and utter idiot for buying me second horse.

I had only owned my first horse for 6 months when the opportunity to buy her 4 year old unbacked gelding came up.

I went to see him and loved him and negotiated an excellent price for him.
People at the yard were gossiping and all that but i have proved them wrong.

I sent him away to be professionally backed and have a wonderful instructors who gives him two lessons a week, she rides on lesson, i ride the other, and the gelding is turning into a lovely horse.

Now the tides have turned and people are gossiping about how well i am doing with him and what a really nice horse he is.

On paper my purchase was foolish and irresponsible but in reality i am being sensible and patient with him and am looking forward to years of fun with him.
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Good on you paint me proud! I hope you do very well on him!
 
KerryDevon said:
I suppose im lucky im pretty astute and standoffish untill i am 100% sure and i research everything thoroughly before commiting i have found this trait invaluable with horse shopping, Im sticking to a 5 stage process :

1. Send an email enquiry with a list of questions
2. Phone and ask more questions.
3. Arrange to view the horse with a good freind and OH both who have more horsey knowledge than me.
4 Arrange to go back and view with my instructor who knows my abilities and ultimately will be working with me and the horse.
5. Vetting at which i and a friend will be present.

If at any point i am not happy with any of the answers or advised by friends or family then politely i go no further. Suffice to say so far im not having much luck than getting past stage 3 currently!!
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I did all of the above and still managed to end up with a 'right character'. I also had a friend ride him before I bought him. His saving grace is his personality and I wouldn't change it for the world (now just to work on hacking, loading, etc..)
 
MagicMelon said:
Been scrolling through the project horses website. Its so sad to see so many horses on there with various 'issues' even though IMO many of them sound like human-imposed problems.

The amount of Welsh D's on there in particular is pretty worrying, do people not research breeds first before buying them?! Welsh D's can be pretty bolshy, I've had one who was dreadful when I bought him as a 3yo but I knew with buying a Welsh Cob, they could sometimes be like that so I was prepared. I researched the breed thoroughly and decided I could deal with one so got one. Never regretted it. It's amazing how many people seem to buy one thinking they are good first-ponies. And why oh why do inexperienced owners take on 3 / 4yo's?!?!
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It has to be my biggest gripe, why do people not realise that welsh cob does not mean the type of 'cob' your riding school instructor tells you to buy. However I got shot down in flames for suggesting that Welsh Cobs were not this kind of cob so ssshhhhh
 
Skint_Santa said:
I think too often the horse is blamed for the shortcomings of the rider.

We had a sharer who just quit and then called our pony nasty on FB, he isn't nasty but he needed competent handling, sharer wouldn't listen to advice and let him get away with things, thinking it cute one minute and not so cute the next. So he was often naughty for her (putting head down to eat, pulling faces, not standing still to tack up, power walking toward home on hacks) not for one second did the sharer think "oh maybe I should be more consistent"

Now the sharer is just a kid really so we let it go but part of me thinks if you could project forward a few years then no doubt they'd be a bit like another person I know who had a great pony that was blamed for everything that went on, then got a horse which lo and behold ended up the same.
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could not have put it better myself. why oh why do people not realise it is not a game everything you do with a horse is training them, good or bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Too many people are lucky enough that their horses do not take advantage, but honestly don't have a clue when it comes to one that really 'thinks' They think it is just the horse but never ever in a million years will it be them!!!
 
I am a novice and happy to admit that :)

My first horse I got just over a year ago. He was described to me as a 5yr old Off the Track TB gelding but was so emacciated i couldnt ride him. I fell in love with him and we just connected. Now looking back it was probably frowned upon by a lot of people and I admit if I was looking from the outside I would have thought it was a stupid idea.

The difference is i know i am a novice, he is my first horse and he is not a typical tb. He is extremely laid back and we have a fantastic bond and work well together. BUT I ASK FOR HELP WHEN NEEDED ! and i am happy to do this. we are learning together after discovering he had a fake passport, was 2 years younger than i was told, and we are unsure if he ever raced.

Sometimes its not the buyers fault and sometimes it does work aslong as help etc is asked for and listened to when it is needed.
 
What people need to appreciate when buying a horse, especially if they are a novice, or used to riding school horses, is that, and I'm not trying to teach people to suck eggs here, is that owning horses is far more than buyng a car or a dog.

When you've picked the colour and type of horse you want, tried it out and decided to bring it home, thats when the work really starts.

The horse you have seen, has been in his comfort zone, and knows where he stands, unless he's been with a dealer or lots of pillars and posts.

Horses every day are looking for the leader, and if he cannot find one, it's going to be him.

Just because he is different, more lively or bargy or whatever, doesn't mean he was on drugs when you tried him.

You tried him out, now he is trying you out and seeing what happens.

If he does't believe you have what it takes to be his leader, I don't mean just dominant over him, or hoping he'll see how much you love him, it is not and never will be the horse for you.

This is when you need your 'horse' sense, not common sense or theory or advice or anything else.

It doesn't matter what training style you want to adopt, traditional, natural or whatever.

This is a fundimental issue of trust. If you cannot win his trust and acceptance as his leader, start looking again.
 
I don't agree with people buying horses that are too much for them or people buying unbroken horses that aren't dedicated to breaking them in, and they're just left in a field. People who have horses that don't get anything done with them when they thrive on being worked also annoys the crap out of me.
It really riles me up and I can rant all day about it.

I got my mare as a summer loan, and ended up buying her (or should i say got given LOL). Because of her I wouldn't get another broken horse unless I knew the horse previously. I've worked my backside off to get her kind of sain and the mare she is now. I could also write a biography on this mare and our journey! LOL


People want a challenge and think they're better than they are. And buy young horses, after all most novices think theyre confident, then they get a horse that needs work, it decks them, they won't get back on. (most novices i know anyway, no offence to other novices reading this post, not meaning to stereotype you all!) Then we're left an untouched horse that doesn't get anything done with it, or its sold on to a dealer and dragged from piller to post and then eventually finds the right person, but what a life them horses must have untill they find the right people.
 
Hmm. Now I'm in an awkward position on this one, because I think its silly that people get obviously unsuitable horses!

However this does make me a bit of a hypocrite! :D I got my horsey 6 years ago when I was 11 (nearly 12). And he was far too much for me (he was my first horse). He knew he could take the piss, and he did (my mum and grandma did also ride him to keep him on the straight and narrow). But eventually he taught me how to tell him what to do correctly and not let him walk all over me. So our story worked out, and now he is my horse of a lifetime.

I think the biggest problem, is that some people (I know a fair few) are unwilling to sell a horse on when its obviously not working out!! To me this seems common sense?! But alas apparently not to most?
 
LizzyandToddy said:
However this does make me a bit of a hypocrite! :D I got my horsey 6 years ago when I was 11 (nearly 12). And he was far too much for me (he was my first horse). He knew he could take the piss, and he did (my mum and grandma did also ride him to keep him on the straight and narrow). But eventually he taught me how to tell him what to do correctly and not let him walk all over me. So our story worked out, and now he is my horse of a lifetime.
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I think the biggest part in your story is you never gave up! :D
x
 
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