Buying a horse, do I have unrealistic expectations

I am kicking myself a bit EML. I didn't want to buy a horse from a dealer but it seems mine was only sold by a dealer a few months ago. Still, I have her, so now I've just got fingers crossed that it's all going to work out OK. Although just got a text from the yard saying she's refusing to be caught again. SIGH!
 
are dead to the leg because I really hate using a stick.
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I thought I already wrote you something on this. Mark Rashid always says English women hate using a stick. He suggests bringing the stick down on your own boot. That's what I do.
But carry a stick. You dont have to use it. Just moving my stick from one hand to another may gee up a RS horse.
Richard Davison whose DVDs I like has another technique. If a big dressage horse doesnt respond to the cue to walk on from halt - after the third asking - to raise both one's legs and clonk them on the horse. With intent. Not my chosen favourite. But would do it if all else failed.
However, there are days when one forgets one's whip. You can use anything as a whip substutute - reins or your hand. I raised my hand and brought it down on my own thigh one day and horse behaved just as if I had used my whip on my boot. Just be sure if you use your whip on your boot or your hand on your own thigh that the noise doesnt spook the horse. That is another possibility.
But really you should ask to see someone else ride this ex RS horse. I was told early on in my days of learning to ride that if I had problems, I should ask to see the RI ride the horse.
 
If you really want something effective that will not hurt try a racing whip. They make a lot of noise and really do not hurt (we have tried this on ourself)

Skib the technique of giant kick you refer to is used by a number of trainers, I haven't seen RD do it at all ( it has a name referring to the first person that employed it which I cannot recall at the moment!) I personally would not use it on this horse as here the problems is lack of response to legs probably due to repetitive kicking, your transition advice and letting a good rider (your RI possibly greys?) try the horse is very good!
 
I also have to agree that a plod is much more attractive, because as said previously, it is far easier to liven one up than calm one down.

I bought a horse from a dealer who said she was worried he would be too quiet for me :unsure:

Actually, when he is ridden 7 days a week he is angelic, and now he is 8 he is a lovely good boy even when only ridden at weekends. He was 4 when I bought him having had 4 homes in the previous year - poor chap.

The perfect horse aged at around 9-10 years old, who is forward but safe, a schoolmaster, able to jump, be calm in fun rides, good out hunting, do a bit of dressage I reckon would cost you a lot more than £3k.

You either have to put the work in to get there, or have a big deep purse.

I would have another look at the plod. Quite often riding school horses are very different in private homes because their work is less and more varied.
 
I do agree with sjp, if I was selling such a paragon he would be closer to £6k.

To keep within budget think about what you do not need. Does the horse have to meet traffic, untraffic proof horses will be very reduced. Does he need to be totally sound, is perhaps one that can only do limited jumping an option,again a reduced price. Could you cope with say a minor heart murmur (with your vets advice) What management can you offer, what needs could you cope with?

I say this as most of my best saints have been purchased with 'flaw' varying from won't hack, hates traffic, SI, hard to catch, needs a lot of feed, needs restricted feed etc etc. Most of them money wouldn't buy if they didn't have a 'flaw'.
 
sorry but you probably wont get perfect for 3k unless you are very lucky. Have you thought about an older horse or a smaller one?

My list looked a lot like yours, the bit I compromised on was age and size. A decent pony can carry an adult unless very heavy or very tall, and are often very spritely well into their teens and beyond.

My lad is 13.2 and was 15 when I got him. He knows a hell of a lot more about riding than me and has taught me so much. He will do everything I will ever want, including jumping a hell of a lot higher than I will be brave enough to attempt, he has been there and done it all in his life time and is pretty much bombproof in traffic.

Also a smaller hardier pony should in theory be cheaper to run, but dont bank on that. I've just been incredibily lucky to end up with a barefoot, no hard feed, no rugs and hard as nails pony.
 
I don't know, when I was looking I saw a couple of good horses round the £3-4K mark - they weren't quite right for me, as one was a thoroughbred that seemed a safe ride when I tried him in the school/hacking out but was doing low level eventing and would have been totally wasted on me, and the other was a lovely steady Welsh Section D that had nothing really wrong with him, I just didn't get that 'you're the one' vibe about him. I was offered a lovely hack for £1K but she wasn't completely sound and that put me off as, apart from anything else, it would be difficult to insure her, and I don't want a field ornament just yet. This is in Bucks, where horses are pretty expensive, too. I don't think I am being naive - I think you can definitely get a decent horse for £3K, if your top priorities are fun and safety. Most riding schools don't pay that sort of money for their horses after all.
 
eml said:
Skib the technique of giant kick you refer to is used by a number of trainers, I haven't seen RD do it at all ( it has a name referring to the first person that employed it which I cannot recall at the moment!)
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I have mentionned it to you as Spencering, from Spencer Wilton, who was Carl Hester's ex I believe, not trying to turn this into a soap opera but it is also known as one of his techniques - not that they invented it, as an age old tactic to sharpen reactions, not in lazy horses but horses that need pin point fine response to any aid, but they made it more "current" in training and demos etc!
 
squidsin said:
I think you can definitely get a decent horse for £3K, if your top priorities are fun and safety. Most riding schools don't pay that sort of money for their horses after all.
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We generally get them for a lot less but they usually come with lots of issues which we can work on and seldom are insurable. It is very different to take a risk on a horse when you only have experienced people handling and riding them initially and can afford to turn out to grass if it doesn't work. We probably have about a 50% success rate at turning really cheap horse into good RS ones, we find the best alternative homes ( eg as companions ot experienced rider hacks) for most of the others and have a few free lawn mowers
 
I don't want to do jumping or hunting, just want a steady, safe hacking/ light schooling type, older would be good. I want a family horse for a quiet life & a bit of fun so I can't really justify spending more than £3kish plus I think someone 'better' would be wasted with me.

I am going to see plod tomorrow so maybe we will get on better, at least I know what to expect this time so will be firmer. He did make me laugh when I rode him on Sunday, I was getting frustrated & gave him a big kick & he looked around at me as if to say, is that the best you can do :giggle:
 
greys said:
I don't want to do jumping or hunting, just want a steady, safe hacking/ light schooling type, older would be good. I want a family horse for a quiet life & a bit of fun so I can't really justify spending more than £3kish plus I think someone 'better' would be wasted with me.

I am going to see plod tomorrow so maybe we will get on better, at least I know what to expect this time so will be firmer. He did make me laugh when I rode him on Sunday, I was getting frustrated & gave him a big kick & he looked around at me as if to say, is that the best you can do :giggle:
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I suspect then that whilst an "all rounder pc/rc" is on paper what you are after in reality it might be a bit too much (translates as good all rounder if you are confident and experienced-probably forward and quite sharp - not always though), and also owners often want them to carry on PC/rc etc if they are good at it.

Adverts are such a difficult thing. From the below am I describing the same horse? The second advert is the reality of what you would get if you bought my pony.

Beautiful grey 11"3 experienced mare for sale through no fault of her own. She is totally bombproof, hacks anywhere alone or in company. She is forward going but not silly and is confident in the school. She has established paces. She is easy to keep and tries her hardest at everything. She is 100% to box, clip, shoe (though she is barefoot happily) an dentist. She has mild sweet itch, managed with a rug -included. £700 with full wardrobe.

Advert 2


Beautiful grey 11"3 20+ year old mare for sale through no fault of her own. She is totally bombproof if you are a confide t but not cocky rider, hacks anywhere alone or in company - though she naps badly and it will take you half an hour to leave the yard if you don't know her tricks. She is forward going (occassionally likes to run off at a gallop) but not silly (she does stop... when she gets tired) and is confident in the school (she won't let you tell her what to do and refuses to move from the gate). She has established paces (I've sat them all when she's run off home at a gallop with me). She is easy to keep (gets fat easily, and has laminitis as a result) and tries her hardest at everything (if she says no she won't stop until she has her own way). She is 100% to box (don't bother with a trailer though), clip(if you have all the time and patience in the world), shoe (though she is barefoot in hoof boots) an dentist (as long as she doesn't take an instant dislike to dentist. Don't bother getting a vet out she kicks them straight off). She has mild sweet itch (she has a rare autoimmune disorder hitch causes her hair to fall out as well but ill sell at a time she looks good-costs a fortune to manage), managed with a rug -included. will pay you to take her with full wardrobe.

Above isn't to scare you, just to make you aware of how different an advert can be from reality. I wouldn't be mis describing her in the first - now I've got the hang of her tricks we go out and about happily - she has even been doing first ridden work but she tries it on with everyone first.
 
Wouldn't the mild sweet itch/rare immune disease thing just be a total lie though? Although obviously people DO lie when selling horses but it still amazes me that so many people are apparently happy to sell a pony to someone they know won't be able to handle it - for one thing, wouldn't you be crapping yourself that they'd get killed/have an accident and it would, in fact, be your fault? Do people not have consciences these days? If my new horse turns out to have a host of problems after being sold to me as a bombproof novice ride, then I won't be palming her off on some other mug - she's my responsibility now. Plus, everyone has phones, everybody knows where people live. Yes it's a bit of a 'buyer beware' situation like buying a house, but you do risk being sued if you've sold someone a horse under false pretences, not to mention getting a massive earful from the new owner and your reputation trashed in local horsey circles. /rantover
 
Squidsin unfortuately there are a lot of people that will not care :stomp:

It is incredibly difficult to prove that a horses behaviour did not happen as a result of something after the purchaser took delivery and that conditions such as sweetitch are better/worse in different locations and under different management. Not many people have the finance to fight a legal battle and the unscrupulous know that and seldom sell locally!!
 
He looks rather camped out in the that front pic, so it wasn't a fantastic pic they took ! I'd definitely be interested in that horse.

Just read their sale terms, however they are talking through their backside when they say about exchange.
WE DO NOT REFUND MONEY
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They can't do that.
 
I think he looks lovely. I'd have been interested in an ex RS pony if one had come up - would be really interesting to see the progression with just one rider.
 
He/She is out their keep looking 3 grand should get you a good safe hack. Problem is there are a lot of crooks out their if you thought the car industry was bad for rogues the horse industry can be just as bad be careful and dont be seduced by stories of my granny good ride this horse give them a good ride and going over before you part with any cash. For that kind of money i would expect a diamond of a horse but i maybe a bit miserable about parting with money.
 
My first horse came from a riding school, he also was a saint. Everytime I hacked out,people would recognise him and come and stroke him, and tellme they learnt to ride on him, I felt like a local celebrity :giggle:

After a few weeks turn out and a different routine he was a totally different horse!

I am in Lancashire area and I have to say good horses seem much cheaper up here, my friend has just bought a pony for herself and her daughter, its competed low level dressage and jumped, hacks out decent tack, 13 2 native type for £950, 10 years old, unbelievable bargain.
 
Popular furball - I did laugh at your post. I am much more cheerful now having just returned from a sunlit hack with a sweet horse and lots of joyful canter.

Your post reminded me so much of my old share mare that I have adapted your ad. Hope you wont mind. She was the most precious, ultra safe beginners horse, otherwise she and I would not have been entrusted to each other. Worth more than £3000 anyway!

Beautiful bay 15.2 20+ year old Irish dressage mare for sale through no fault of her own. She is totally bombproof unless she sees a Shetland pony, hacks anywhere to her liking alone or in company - though she naps and it may take you half an hour to get her through the gate to the polo field if you don't know her tricks. She is forward going (occassionally likes to run off at a gallop) but not silly (she does stop... when she gets tired) and is confident in the school (she won't let you tell her what to do and has twice failed good riders their NVQ tests). Prefers to leg yield towards the hedge for a nibble. She has established paces (I've sat them all when she's run off home at a gallop with me). She is easy to keep (gets fat easily, and tends to colic) and tries her hardest at everything especially keeping her distance form any dog on the horizon (if she says no it may take half an hour to get my own way). She is 100% to box , clip (if you are prepared to sedate her), shoe and dentist (as long as she doesn't take an instant dislike to dentist). Don't bother getting a vet out, She bites and is no longer insurable. She has Cushings which makes her coat look funny but will sell at a time she looks good-costs a fortune to manage), cribbing collar -included. Intend to keep her wardrobe as it is worth far more than she.
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