You get your new horse home......

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stormox

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Just wondering....... after many months searching, vettings, fruitless trips...you finally find 'the one' and bring him/her home, you are really excited....What is the first thing you do? Try him out? Examine him for faults you might have missed? Ring your friends to come and see him? What DID you do?
 
First thing I do is stable and feed hay. I would do this at a show too. Few hours later/next morning they come out and do some work be it a lunge or a ride cause I want to see they're ok from the travel. I would not be waiting days to ride I would want to do it ASAP.
 
I opened the lorry to a sweaty snorting mess who leapt the ramp on exit. I led the snorter around the yard then put her in her stable, changed her wet travelling clothes and left her to calm down. We had arrived at the yard around 5pm so the other horses were in and I went home to panic that she would colic. I went back two hours later and she was busy tucking into her hay. I rode her two days later.

A few months later, I re-educated her to loading and travelling so we now don't get the sweaty snorting mess.
 
stormox said:
Just wondering....... after many months searching, vettings, fruitless trips...you finally find 'the one' and bring him/her home, you are really excited....What is the first thing you do? Try him out? Examine him for faults you might have missed? Ring your friends to come and see him? What DID you do?
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I got him home, turned him out, watched him for a bit and left him to settle in. He was fine. Next day I rode him a bit, then clipped and tidied him up. Then just cracked on. No one was v interested in coming to see him! He was a surprise purchase as I was only vaguely looking for a new one...
 
Initially, nice big bed, haynet, water and peace and quiet. Mine was relatively unhandled, so I just spent time with her. Stroking her, talking with her, letting her explore me while I rubbed her down (she'd worked up a lather on the journey). It's amazing what you learn about each other just by sharing space, with no pressure to do anything in particular. Then grooming and easing in to normal daily activities.

I do think it depends a lot on the horse but whereas some people favour getting them immediately into a routine, I like to take it easy and it was certainly the right thing to do in my mares case ��.
 
Left in stable for the night to take in her surroundings, made sure no injuries/risk of colic from travel.

Next morning lunged her (See if she was sound, it was a 3 hour journey for her). Then rode that afternoon. She wasn't turned out for a few days, but that was the yard - they were shifting horses about to make her a small paddock in the field so she could say hi to her new herd over the fence.
 
Mines had to go into a field with 2 others a few miles from the yard for quarantine for two weeks and then have a blood test, so parked in field across road, removed bandages, walked along road to check all ok, put turnout boots on and turned out. Rode the next day
 
I just turned her out and watched her settle for an hour or so, went away and come back a few hours later to check and feed her. Next day I had a short hack on my own. When I was sure she was chilled enough I showed her off to people. She's quite a sensitive and stand-offish girl who would have been upset by fuss and lots of people as well as a new home.
 
First thing I do is settle them in the stable and go give them a good brush so they can get used to me and I can tell them all the amazing things we are going to do :)
 
She went out in the field, next door to the horse she would be living out with so they could have a good sniff over the fence and we left her to explore. Next day we set about teaching her how to be handled and groomed (which she made very easy) :)
 
I really try to be there .
They are put in the stable and left ,I don't like them fussed on with so the girls leave them and I keep a eye on them you learn a lot about horse in this first couple of hours their confidence, manners introvert or extrovert , people horse or horse horse.
Depending on the time of day I'll walk out and hand graze if it fits in .
Assuming it's an in work horse the next day they start work in our roultine get turnout alone but supervised .
I usually give a friend in the field ASAP .
If I am concerned with where the horse has come from I quarantine them but I avoid this if I feel the risk is small.
 
Mr B had an unusual start. He was vetted at 13.00, brought straight home and given a few hours turnout next to my other horses. Came in overnight and the next day was taken off to AM dressage for a 5 day course, which I'd booked some time before intending to take my old horse. He behaved immaculately in the stable, ridden and when given an hours turnout in a paddock. It was a great way to start to get to know each other but I wouldn't have planned it that way!
 
I spent the first three hours wondering what the hell I had done! Existing horse tried very hard to get at him, ears back, teeth bared and striking at the stable with his front feet and I thought I might have to sleep in the car in the yard to keep an eye on them. I hunted new horse the next day, he's now done 9 days, and over the last four weeks have gradually found the key to him. It's a long old process working out how he works and vice versa, I reckon by the summer we'll have clicked properly.
 
when I bought my lovely chap last February, he was only a 20 minutes drive away, so we got him home unloaded and put in stable for a bit to try rugs on and admire him.. LOL.
Then turned him out for couple hours. then got him in, sorted out some tack to fit him and took him for a short hack around the estate to look about.
think i am glad I got on him the first day to be honest otherwise would have just been anticipating too much and maybe I would have made him more tense (he is quite a spooky horse at times :-))
 
My first horse stayed at the yard I bought her from for 3 weeks, so i got to know where there!! then I rode her to my new yard and carried on as normal

my 2nd horse was already at my yard, so i took her on a two week trail and then had her on full loan for 3 years

my current ridden horse, was unloaded after almost 5 hours of travelling, but took an hour to get him off in the pitch black! turned him out in his own patch of the field! by the morning, he'd climed through the fence as was out with my first horse! so thats were he stayed! and he was turned out for 2 years, but did do lots of in hand work! then went off to be backed! as he was only 18 months old when i got him :)
 
personally i would put it out and let it settle in its new surroundings for a day or two, to chill and be a horse before doing anything with it!
 
I turned him out in his own small paddock next to his new 'mates' and my friend came to see him. Lunged him the next day whilst waiting for a new saddle :)
 
After waiting a whole week to pick her up( remember snow three years ago) as lorry was snow bound, we brought her to yard, walked her about for half hour then put her in stable with hay and water, went home for tea and rode her later in the afternoon just up and down lane for half hour... She settled really well
 
Ordinarily, put in a stable with hay to chill for a bit, whilst unpack stuff or clean lorry etc, then get on board!

However, with the last one, I turned her out alone in the bottom field with a rug away from prying eyes because she was so thin and had suspicious sneezing / mucus!
 
With my very first pony, I just stood looking and cuddling her. Got home and had a moment of, what have I done, this horse is 100% my responsibility!
With my last horse, I washed her off as she sweated up travelling, it was June and fairly warm. Took her for a walk around the indoor school, she then had the farrier, then was put out in the field. Ridden the next day :)
 
Untacked her, hosed her down because we had been out for 2 hours before I bought her back, ( she only came from down the road) turned her out in a paddock next to the others and watched in horror as she launched herself across the fence at the Quarter Horses who were a good 500lbs heavier and 2 hands taller. All guns blazing.

She was not a happy horse.

My others were completely bemused by this tiny little thing spitting fire and brimstone at them and presumably insulting them in Spanish.

Good start. :(

If I didn't enjoy riding her so much I would have taken her right back.
 
Unloaded off the trailer and took her up to her stable, took off her travel boots (with great difficulty as she spins in her stable when excited!), had a few people come and admire her,left her with some hay and went shopping for horse stuff. Came back and walked her out around the yard to get to know her surroundings, let her graze in hand and then tucked her up for the night. Next day she was turned out in the outdoor school for a bit to meet the other mates over the fence, and day after she went out in the field. Didn't ride until 4 days after I got her as had no tack.
 
I asked one trusted person to come and help me (my Dad), unloaded, changed rugs and left in her stable to adjust and eat hay .... then PANIC ... about everything! :-)

Turned out and ridden the next day
 
I've only done it once. Turned him out straight away, watched him for about an hour realised he was pretty happy with his field mates (would quarantine these days, but didn't know as much back then!) and let him get on with it.

His feet were a mess as he'd been at the (dodgy) dealer's a few weeks and he wouldn't shoe him knowing he was on his way shortly and he had no saddle so I couldn't ride for about a fortnight until I got both sorted. I left him to settle with minimal checks for the first 3 days then I just spent as much time as I could with him, getting to know him, brushing him, bathing him (he was quite stinky!) and pulling his mane. When I look at the photos of him when I first had him I can't believe I ever bought him, but I obviously saw something in him as 11 years on, we're still going strong.
 
put her in her stable while I was paying for the transport and collecting passport, then checked her over and turned her out, watched her for an hour or so and went home.
 
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