Your ideal horse? And what's the reality?

I've always wanted a buckskin and white traditional gypsy cob or a overheight mouse or yellow dun Highland gelding of 15hh to BD and show.

First time round I ended up with a 13.2hh Welsh b x Arab chestnut mare from a rescue who had lots of attitude, Lady bucks like billy-o too and is too naughty to hack in a group or do ridden showing. She was however great fun to ride and now nearly 20 years down the line perfect to handle. She's sadly retired as I'm too heavy for her and no-one has the balls to ride her.

I then added an unschooled buckskin Welsh D who could spook for England but was good to hack in company and had fantastic paces, sadly Fudge seriously broke himself after I spent ££££'s having him professionally schooled but before his dressage and showing career took off; he now goes for the odd plod around the block.

Then along came Faye the Fell and her friend Winnie who were brought as projects for me to show. Faye is now owned by some friends of mine and Winnie is with an RDA branch I believe.

The day she was sold my friend went to the local dealers yard and brought me a horse. A 15hh black Welsh D x TB gelding, absolutely bombproof to ride but seriously dangerous to handle, food aggressive and impossible to lead. Merlin was my horse of a lifetime, his behaviour on the ground improved dramatically with consistent handling, a good routine, a lot of love and nearly as many polos. It transpired he'd had seven homes in as many weeks before I had him and his previous owner had been advised to put him to sleep by numerous experts. He'd also been part of an RSPCA rescue as a yearling, found starving and stuck in a stable with no light or water. Merl was sadly put to sleep when his spavins become unmanageable.

Around the same time Joe and Bailey came along. Two quirky bay ISH's. Joe would of jumped the moon and should have have been a top class all-rounder but he had serious trust issues when being mounted - now completely cured; Joe has been in the same home with a lovely local lady for the past few years.
Bailey was seriously headshy and developed pneumonia just after I got her and ended up having several months off; she was due to either go to a show producer or be put in foal when my relationship brokedown and I had to sell her to cover vets bills for the others. I still wonder where she is to this day but have had no luck tracing her.
 
I always wanted an Arab but first horse was a tb X nf loved her though and had her for 13 years untill she was pts, I said I didn't want another horse as I was riding my sisters Arab gelding who was only 4 at the time, she just asked me if I wanted him one day and I still have him 8 years on and he will be with me until the end, I then ended up with my sisters warmblood mare as well a few years on who was also very lovely unfortunately she was pts last year, so I went in search of a grey Arab mare and ended up with another bay Arab gelding so I have a matching pair, I do miss the warmblood a lot and did toy with getting another as she was totally different to the Arab and I did enjoy riding her so much but hey ho I have another Arab now but would never rule out another warmblood.
 
this time i actually got what i wanted! some shade of brown,boy,MW warmblood, to mature under 16.2hh.

Goof is bay,old fashioned leg at each corner sort of warmblood, still hovering around 16hh at 4yo so shouldnt grow too huge :)

there was no way of knowing this as a 2yo but his movement is SO much easier on my poor old back too, much kinder to me that my previous TB.
 
I wanted an older advanced horse, looking for a quieter life, who I could just play around with. That's exactly what I got.
I hadn't bargained for falling completely in love with my horse of a lifetime. He is absolutely wonderful, and I worship the ground he walks on
 
I'm incredibly lucky to own my ideal horse - TB x Section D, 15.3hh fast and forward going but with brakes (mostly) and a dream to handle on the ground. The only thing I would change with her is not having to sedate her to clip (such sensitive skin). She now 21 and ideally I would like her to have been 16 forever (much like I would have liked to have been 27 forever).
 
When I finished University nearly 12 years ago I went out to buy my first horse with my own money. I didn't have a massive budget but had enough to buy the 15hh cob type gelding that I was looking for as a general alrounder/happy hacker.

I drove up to Doncaster to a dealers that seemed to have a huge choice of horses (little did I know about the notoriety of these dealers but let's just say that they appeared Watchdog!). They had forgotten that I was coming so when we arrived there was just one member of staff there who spoke very little English. I rang them up and they said to look around and get the lady to ride anything I fancied and then ride it myself. I was like a kid in a sweet shop and ended up on probably 8 or 9 different horses. I had pretty much decided upon a 15.1hh chestnut cob cross called Thomas. He was nice and steady, not much to look at but seemed pretty sound (unlike lots of them!)

I kept peering into one dark stable where there was one huge horse cowering in the back. I asked if we could get him out and she managed to communicate that this was one horse that she would not ride. I was obviously at that difficult stage where I didn't like being told no so I dragged this huge 18hh creature out. He was skinny and had terrible feet but I just loved him. We threw the tack on and I clambered aboard. He ran round the school like a demented chicken, ripping my arms out and I loved it!! I put down a deposit there and then much to everyone's horror.

I took my friend back with me the next day and he predictably hated him. Undeterred I arranged for him to be delivered!

So my 18 hand thoroughbred ex racehorse was delivered. For the first week he did nothing but rear and run backwards and I tried to send him back. Luckily the dealers were truly dreadful and went back on their word and I had to keep him.

I had 11 glorious years with him and he turned into the most incredible horse. We evented, showjumped, did western, sidesaddle, hunted, showed at County level, took a bride to her wedding, did young handler classes with a 7 yr old. It broke my heart last April when in a freak accident rolling in the school he broke his leg.
 
If I had any budget at all, I would love a Maxi Show Cob type (As much as I love a gypsy cob, I cannot be doing with the maintenence on all that hair!!). Something sane that could dressage and hack sanely. Sensible but forward going. A nice 16.2hh - 17hh would be nice. Real weight carrier type.

In reality I have had a 15.2 Ex racehorse and I now I have a 16.1hh Dutch Warmblood who is hyper sensative to the leg, leans on me like stink, whip shy (I think she must have been ridden very harshly in Holland as she was imported from there) and panics very easily. But I love her to bits!
 
I wanted a RC all rounder, didn't mind a bit green as I love my lessons & trainings with the RC/home. Bought a 16.1hh Bay Mare, 9yrs, ISH, stunningly pretty..none spooky, never bucks or rears, vetted, repeatedly tried out in all aspects! 9 months later with zero improvement on the flat or SJ she was diagnosed with PSD and SI. Currently on Rehab, I am unconvinced she will be able to do BD Novice Dressage, and RC teams, Gut instinct, but how do you move on a horse whose had a N&F, on going SI problems & I can't afford 2 horses..So we keep walking, regular Physio, BOT rug and supplements & hope that I'm very wrong! She is loving & a total pleasure to own but I do miss competing, the RC activities, I realise that riding is the most important thing to me when owning horses & I seriously miss it.
 
At first I just wanted a pony, so I ‘loaned‘ one at the riding school, she was not my type and very reluctantly agreed. In fact I didn’t like at all at first. She was in fact the most awesome little horse. She jumped anything, safe as houses, sparky and sharp but sensible with it and a general all round, everyone loved her dude. The fact that she was a 14.3hh bog cob with a habit of field hopping wasn’t an issue.
Next I wanted a 16.2hh chestnut with white legs and face to go show jumping to fox level. I got a chestnut with white back legs and he was definitely a show jumper. He was talented but safe, would jump anything and was a real softy, all the time he was in full proper work he was fab, when he wasn’t he was slightly neurotic, very spooky and a huge pain out in the field (just didn’t know when no meant no). It took me nearly 3 years to really learn how to ride him and when I did he was awesome and would have taken me to the level I wanted, he then broke and was eventually pts.
They were both the ideal horse for me. If I could do things again I would do something differently but not change the horses. Now I'm looking again my ideal is something between the 2, talented to jump like my boy but sensible (I.e. actually load, not annoy other horses in the field and fall apart because something changed) like my mare. They were both keen and quick to learn something and careful over a fence but equally had lovely characters.
I have no idea if I will find it (possibly why I’ve given up looking) but I like to think one is out there even if it’s not quite what I’ve got in my head.
 
Ideal horse: something around 15.1, sporty like a TB/Arab cross but a safe sensible hack, capable of a nice dressage test and jumping a 3' course safely.

Actual horse: 14.1 Andalusian x. Neither safe nor sensible! But the love of my life and I wouldn't swap him for the world. He has taught me more about horsemanship than any horse I've ever known, he is sensitive, feisty and he needs me to understand him and all his conditions. Plus I think he's about the most beautiful horse I ever could dream of owning (which is why I bought him...silly girl!)
2009-09-2410-31-26_IMG_0227.jpg
 
a wanted a 15'2 hh (ish) gypsy cob, you know coloured, big feather, long mane

... came home with a 4 year old TB who has been of the track 6 month

need less to say the girls at the yard where shocked when he stepped of the box!

but you no i wouldnt change him for the world!!

i dont think many people buy what they set out to buy! what the head wants is very different to what the heart wants! and what sold it for me was his the bond we formed, i rode him 10 times before buying and we went and saw him daily over 3 weeks so its not as though i rushed!
 
Wanted a grey ex racehorse to show and got a grey ex racehorse to show - less than 5 miles from home as well and got to HOYS twice with him. Before that wanted a horse to have for a few months to do a bit of show jumping with - got a horse to do a bit of show jumping with, just ended up having him best part of 20 years rather than a few months.
 
My dream horse has always been an enormous ISH X IH ever since I had a ride on a 22yr old ex-lead hunting horse as a child which just took my breath away. I've always adored the big guys, which is why when I bought my Connie, I went for the 15.3hh option rather than the pony size!
 
I didn't really have a dream horse but I had a list of things I didn't want - a mare, an Irish horse, a grey, a cob.... Ended up with a grey skewbald Irish draught × Cob mare :P She is amazing though and I'll have had her 6 years this year. At the moment she's a very expensive pet as I'm broken but she is very good at cuddles so she's worth her weight in gold!
 
cinnamontoast said:
I originally wanted a coloured warmblood, 17hh+ schoolmaster type. I ended up with a coloured cob, 14.2hh, 5 years old, green as grass, who, thank god, grew three inches within a couple of years. He's a solid boy, very well behaved, very affectionate, just not what I set out to get!

What did you want and what did you get?
Click to expand...

I wanted an unbacked, thoroughbredy, bay mare to bring on. I ended up with a 4 yo grey gelding who is safe as houses.
 
I wanted a gelding, been there done it sort. 8-12 yo, medium weight but not hairy.

Got a 6yo tb ex racehorse!! But he is a gelding!! And turning out to be a sweetie!
 
I wanted a 15. 2 ish IDx or cob. Instead I bought a 4yr old ex racer. Had her 2 months and sat at vet's writing this. Waiting to see if she had KS :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top