Buying my first horse

Gattino

Gattino

Happy Appy
Jul 16, 2012
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599
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Ireland
I have decided to buy my first horse this spring and an opportunity has come up to possibly buy a horse which is kept at yard where I ride. I would love to buy her but want to consider carefully if it is the right decision.

The owner works there and bred this mare herself. She is an excellent rider and very experienced and I have seen her work with the horses so I know she has taken good care of this horse.

The mare is 5 (real bday of turning 5 this July) so is a young horse, which is an important factor to consider I know. However she is very sweet and well behaved on the ground and in the saddle. She is not spooky at all. I have ridden her for a couple hours on a hack and she was very good, very responsive to what I asked her to do and I felt very comfortable riding her.

The thing is as she is young she needs more schooling, for example her walk and trot are lovely but her canter needs work in the school, her canter on a hack is very good but not as balanced in the arena (I have watched her, haven't cantered her in arena myself) which the owner told me.

Her breeding is excellent, with excellent dressage and showjumping lines, she is about 16hh (and a really pretty girl).

I need to figure out if I have enough experience, as I have never brought on a young horse before even though I have ridden young horses.

I am currently having lessons once or twice a week but would like to be able to ride a lot more, do some little shows, go hunting etc. I have been at this RS for last 6 months, before that it was about 10 years since I was riding regularly (for about 3 or 4 years - and I'd help out at the yard then too) but would go a couple times a year on treks in that time. I did a horse share for a couple months in Aug/Sept but the girl decided to sell/loan the horse instead as couldn't afford livery for it and her other horse. So gained more experience in horse care side of things then.

If I bought this mare I'd continue to keep her at the yard so she would not have to move and I'd continue having lessons on her here. My instructor is excellent and has a lot of experience with young horses.

I will be able to have some lessons on the horse and get to know her better and so will have more opportunities, than probably usual when buying a horse, to ride her before I make any decision about buying her.

She really is a lovely excellent horse and a good prospect but would I be making a mistake to get a young horse for my first horse or with support of my instructor and the yard should I go for it.

Any advice welcome :biggrin:
 
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she sounds sweet, but she's only five and might get 'the kevins' and turn into something a bit different for a while (possibly spooky, possibly bolshy ... my sweet little, bombproof 5 year old pony had more than one inappropriate tantrum this year ...) ... personally, I wouldn't choose a youngster as a first horse, but obviously it depends on the horse and it sounds like you have a good setup and backup where you are :)

Julia

PS: another thought ... if you keep her with the lady who bred her etc you might find yourself at the receiving end of unwanted advice and interference, depending on what the lady is like
 
I know a lot of people who have brought youngsters in the hope of learning together. Some have worked other not so. IMO I don't think it is a good idea I have a 4 year old turns 5 next month and OMG he can throw his weight around when he wants to. He is excellent to hack non spook 99% of the time foward and keep to learn but teaching a youngster the correct way of going is hard work. I have sometimes stopped a session and wondered if I have taken on to much and that I am not a good enough rider to deal with him.

I school Ginger 5 days a week one of them a lesson as he was brought with dressage in mind this is my main aim but I have also had to teach him to jump. If you feel you have the knowledge and the riding ability to deal with issues as they arrive and believe me they will and to teach and bring on a young horse then go for it.

Although it is good to have experience around you there will be times when you are own your own (hacking and schooling) and should trouble raise its ugly head you will have to deal with it no one else and dealt with incorrectly could and I only mean could ruin a young horse. This is not always the case.

I don't mean to scare or put you off as you don't actually say what breed she is which does have an effect. She could be your dream horse.
 
I bought what ended up being, a very green in the head nine year old. I struggled and three years later, I am only now getting to grips with him. I'm not experienced with young horses, but have a similar riding history - a break for ten years and coming back to it was interesting.

I think my only concern would be similar to what notpoodle suggested. If the current owner will still be present, it will be difficult to choose your own route with her around. Yes that could be good in that she can support you with her knowledge of him, but on the other hand, asserting your authority over this horse to show him you're a worthy leader, can be difficult if there's someone else you bow to, still hanging around. I found that I started to take charge once I made my experienced mate take a step back and let me be the boss.

On saying all of this, it isn't an impossible task. I'd just be wary and maybe have a trial period of a couple of months to see how things roll (if thats possible).
 
Depends on the horse! One of my very novice but confident customers bought a very quiet 4 year old but sensibly carried on with lessons on my schoolmasters and had a freelance instructor ride her youngster and give her lessons on him, They have enjoyed the journey!
 
I'm one that bought a recently broken 4 year old Arab colt (he was gelded before I brought him home) as a first horse, although I'd actually answered an advert for a 7 year old mare as I didn't want anything under 7! Not knowing any better I just got on and rode him and expected everything to be fine and luckily it was. I'm on a yard where I get a lot of support, I couldn't have managed without, plus I have lessons on both my own horse and my OH's sensible schoolmaster horse, which is great because he already knows what to do so he can teach me how to do things before I try it out on Raf.

Raf is now rising 7 and although he probably would have come on much more quickly with an experienced rider, we don't have any problems and I enjoy riding him more than anything. I've noticed he has got slightly more opiniated in the last few months and wondered whether it was the 'Kevins' but he is still a very easy horse in comparison to some others. A friend has recently bought a 4 year old and she got thrown off on our New Year Day hack when the mare just got over excited and started jumping about.

Before I got Raf I had the opportunity to buy a young mare at the RS I was going to at the time. I loved that mare and was quite proud of the fact that I was one of the few people at the RS that wasn't scared of riding her in the school, as she could be very forward going and spooky. However, something held me back, I think I knew deep down that I just wasn't ready and she would have been too much for me outside the RS environment. So for me it seems that I just knew when I'd found the right horse, corny as that might sound.

Interestingly, I've just almost finished a book by Henry Blake called 'Talking with Horses'. It's quite an old book but Henry Blake is kind of like a UK Monty Roberts and he says when choosing a horse the most important thing is that you should buy a horse that seems to 'talk to you'.

I'd say with your set up, ie the support on the yard and from your RI you have most of the pieces in place. After all you could buy a 10 year old and find out that it had problems. My YO always says she much prefers horses she's backed herself because she knows their issues, whereas older horses that you don't know might have all sorts of hang ups and issues from things that have already happened to them that you have no idea about.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do. It's so exciting buying your first horse!
 
Thanks everyone, really appreciate the advice :happy:

OwnedbyChanter your point about dealing with something the wrong way would be one of my big concerns as I would not want to teach her bad habits or ruin her.

The owner herself is lovely and although I might get the odd lesson from her it would be a different instructor I'd have for regular lessons so hopefully that would be good. She has always been very nice and given advice in a supportive non critical kind of way.

She hasn't actual advertised her publicly yet so there is no immediate rush to buy her so I have some time to consider it carefully luckily.

Eml and Bodshi That is a really good idea to keep having some lessons on the RS horse, there is two I mainly ride at the moment and so that is a good idea that I can learn something or try something new on them before trying it on a young horse myself.

I looked it up her breeding and her sire is a Scottish sport horse and his sire is a Trakehner and his dam KWPN; her dam is a Scottish sport horse and both her sire and dam are KWPN, the dam is an Elcaro mare (grandsire).

There is a photo of her on the new years day ride thread http://www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=235151&page=3

I am not sure if I can have her on trial but I must ask if something like this would be possible.

Appreciate all the advice and feedback :biggrin: good to get ideas and opinions from you all :happy:
 
She is lovely. She looks so like my old share (only young and fit of course) As eml says, if you are going to get proper help and keep her at the same yard, 4 might not be too young. My RI told me 6 would not be too young for me and we did consider a 5 year old whom we could have left at the seller's yard for further training.
However, eml has also posted about her youngster getting wider.
My doubts about getting anything too young is that it might grow too wide for me? But I dont know how to tell whether this will happen.
 
That's interesting about the horse growing wider, I know they fill out as they grow up and develop more muscle, what sort of age do they stop growing wider, is it similar to same age the reach full height? and can it be significant amount?
 
If I were you, I would definitely consider buying the horse in question. Not all youngsters are hard work...... I've backed and bought on 5 youngsters and they have all been very laid-back with trainable attitudes, and I think that this is key.

As long as this 4yo mare is laid-back and has a sweet, trainable attitude, then I think you can't go far wrong as long as you have the support of experienced people around, continue your lessons with your RI both on your youngster and on the older RS horses and you yourself are patient, calm and willing to ask for advice when in doubt.

Everyone has to start somewhere - and your set-up seems ideal.
 
Gattino said:
That's interesting about the horse growing wider, I know they fill out as they grow up and develop more muscle, what sort of age do they stop growing wider, is it similar to same age the reach full height? and can it be significant amount?
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This depends on the breeding....... Lexi is an ISH x HOL and she reached her mature height at 6yo (16.1hh at 3yo - now standing at 17hh) and tbh, she is no wider now than what she was as a 4yo.

Rule of thumb tho is that Warmbloods tend to mature at around 7/8yrs old
 
I bought a rising 4yo for my first horse and he was angelic. Never had the 'Kevins'. Thyme was also a dream to train/back. Charlie who was 9 when I got him was much more of a challenge - and stayed that way. Also I know plenty of older horses who have developed behavioural issues or quirks over time. Any horse can throw you any challenge at any time. I think we blame it on their age too often tbh. In my experience a horse's basic temperament is far more relevant than their age.

I also think that if you want a horse that 'goes correctly' you need to be just as experienced if you buy an older well-schooled horse or they will stop going correctly very, very quickly! There's not ,much difference between teaching and schooling. With any age horse, as you develop, you will be teaching them new things, Whether that's shoulder in & pole work or piaffe and jumping x-c!

I think she sounds lovely, and as long as you have help available I can't see any reason not to go for it. 5 isn't that young anyway assuming she was backed at 3?
 
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It's also important to consider that having regular riding lessons & helping at a yard is quite different to ownership. You would be entirely responsible for this horse, even if she is kept on the same yard, and the responsibility is huge.

I appreciate that sounds patronising but it's just as an important factor to consider before even thinking of buying your own horse. You'd be surprised how many people (on here even) buy a horse (or 2 or 3 or 4) only to realise it's not all fun rides and treks in the sun - can you handle trying to find your horse in the pitch black when it's peeing down with rain and you have holes in your boots (because you're too broke to buy new ones) you're stood in 6 inches of mud and you then realise your horse is lame and you're on grass livery with no stable?

Also, your current yard/RS might be great at the moment but this voice of experience will warn you that can change. The yard I was on until recently was perfect for me until a change of circumstances on site & I had to move. That has made a huge difference to my riding (which is currently 0) and enjoyablility. It really knocked the wind out of me as I didn't see it coming.

If this happened after taking such a young horse on as a novice owner, do you think you'd cope?

Have you costed out how much it will cost you per month & can you comfortably afford it? I costed out what my horse would cost me per month & figured I'd be okay but what I didn't account for was the start up costs; buying things like buckets, shavings forks, feed bins, wheelbarrows, tack (and replacement items), rugs etc. Add on to that the cost of lessons, vet bills (who knows when they can crop up!) and regular farriery.

Sorry to put a bit of a downer on your thread or for trying to teach you to suck eggs but so many people fail to even consider any of the above which inevitably, in one shape or form, is likely to crop up at some point. I've seen people buy a horse only to not enjoy the realism of owning a horse & sell the poor sod on after a few weeks.

I appreciate you have loaned in the past which does give you a much greater understanding of ownership.
 
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I agree with RM. That is kind of what I was trying to say!

All horses can develop behavioural problems - mounting issues, napping, tack problems, bucking, barging, handling problems etc. And if you want a well schooled horse, you need to be able to school correctly, whatever age the horse is.

I think there is too much emphasis on age sometimes, and not enough on the enormity of the commitment.
 
Thanks RM what you say is so so true, at the moment I am going through my finances and working out costs and adding in those extra costs that could come up like extra vet bills on top of routine stuff. It will be really expensive, the monthly costs I can manage and have a decent amount of savings put aside for emergencies and extra expenses but definitely going to go through them really carefully several times and also ask friends with horses on livery here what they pay for different things to get a better idea.

I definitely don't want to rush into it before I am ready, as that would not be fair on the horse and as you say could be very difficult for me if situation changed. I think it would be a good idea for me to talk to my instructor aswell and see what she thinks about if I am ready for ownership, and what I need to work on to make me ready.

Might see, now that I know people there better, if someone needs a hand with their horse sometimes, every little bit of experience will be good.

I have to ask when the mare was backed, I think she has been ridden for at least the last year or so. She is lovely and as you say Thyme&Me older horses can be challenging too :biggrin: she was actually easier to ride than some of the older horses I have ridden and more quiet too.

Lots to think about, really appreciate all the advice, it is good to get different perspectives and be made aware of pros and cons. Buying my first horse is one of the biggest decisions I've had to make and huge commitment so I'll definitely take all the advice onboard and take time to make a decision :happy:
 
Roxy's Mum,
I know your words of warning are meant well. However my view is this.
That having riding lessons and helping on a yard is very sensible preparation and may well be the only available qualification before owning.
Plus hacking and sharing perhaps, but, in general, if a first time owner is well known on a yard and the YO is in overall charge of all the liveries, which horse is in who is out, what is fed etc there is no disproportionate responsibility for a student who becomes a livery there. Plus if there are professional trainers at hand who know the horse and will help to further its education.

This is the most supportive set up any prospective owner can have.
It is the expert support that counts. Being closely involved with a yard over many years gives one a support base of experts: farrier, saddler and vets whom you already know and can trust long term. Working on a yard and networking with staff means you also get to know other yards and the YOs who run them. Indeed several of us who have "served our educational time" at our very small yard are regarded as competent enough to buy and keep horses elsewhere or move to less expensive yards with more turn out farther from the city.

The OP appears to be well supported. If she should choose to spend the extra money that is. Every first time owner has to start somewhere - it isnt a case of having to flounder on one's own. I consider myself qualified to buy a horse.
 
Thanks Skib, yeah the yard is a very supportive place and friendly, I know some of the other liveries and get on well with them and know one lady quite well who got her first horse last year and seems to have been very well supported by the instructors, yo and other staff. Big advantage of this yard is it apart from indoor and outdoor arenas, it also has grass turnout every day which can be hard to find here, a lot of places tend to be full livery with limited grazing or diy/grass livery. This place is good as it does both full livery and diy and other options inbetween so when a lot more experienced could choose different livery options than full livery (time dependent and what was best for horse of course). It also has fantastic hacking on the doorstep, quiet roads, forests and trails which are maintained well.

I have a lesson midweek so will have a chat to my instructor just to see what she thinks can advise me aswell.

Luckily I have time to make a decision as mare isn't publicly advertised yet, the owner has seen me ride several times and chat to her often so that is probably good from her point of view as I imagine never easy for owners to sell one of their horses.
 
Skib said:
Roxy's Mum,
I know your words of warning are meant well. However my view is this.
That having riding lessons and helping on a yard is very sensible preparation and may well be the only available qualification before owning.
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I quite agree & I didn't say that having lessons & isn't helping isn't good preparation - of course it is. My point was that owning & being the person solely responsible for a horse is quite different to being invovled with RS horses. There can be incredibly tough decisions to be made & that responsibility lies solely with the owner. Others can help & give advice but only the owner can make a final decision. Such as having your lovely horse shot. We all never want to have to make it but it still might be necessary.

Skib said:
If a first time owner is well known on a yard and the YO is in overall charge of all the liveries, which horse is in who is out, what is fed etc there is no disproportionate responsibility for a student who becomes a livery there. Plus if there are professional trainers at hand who know the horse and will help to further its education.

This is the most supportive set up any prospective owner can have.
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Agreed & this is the best type of yard to be on especially as first time owner. But one has to consider factors that CAN mean this yard, the people or whatever will not necessarily be around forever. Circumstances change, people get ill, move, get declared bankrupt yards & RSs get flooded (like an RS near eml was totally flooded out recently) - whatever. The point is that one has to consider how one would cope if this happened. And what one person recommends may not be best for your horse - I've had that myself. As a first time owner the YO insisted my horse has thrush & was adament I should be there 2-3 times per day with iodene to spray on her feet, keep her on box rest in the dry for several days. When the farrier came it turned out she was very wrong. What somebody at an RS or yard tells you isn't always what is best for your horse, it's just based on their experience & expertise, which is usually based on good will. But it still comes down to the final decision being with the owner.

Skib said:
Every first time owner has to start somewhere
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Well yes, didn't we all? How well did I cope in the early days? Okay - luckily I did have some good support around me. How well would I have coped if things had gone wrong & I'd found myself totally alone, well I don't know.

I appreciate it's not necessarily likely to occur, I'm just erring on the side of caution for the OP, that's all. Horse ownership isn't all crap situations afterall! The positives definitely outweight the negatives but there are things one has to deal with that is not always known or appreciated by a soon to be first time owner.

I'm sorry, I think my first post came across as quite negative! I just think it's really important for people to carefull consider the really shit aspects as well as the fun stuff. It's not nice to think about but it is important.
 
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