My quest to find a loan horse - been interesting so far ....

[Frangipan1979]

My quest to find a loan horse continued this weekend and thought I'd share. I would class myself as still a novice so am looking for a calm safe plodder!! Have ridden more advanced horses at riding school but as I'm going to be on my own now (apart from weekly lessons with freelance instructor) I'm looking for a calm first horse who will look after me!!

So this weekend I was horse shopping, I was so excited Friday night I could hardly sleep!

Horse number 1 was a gorgeous 15hh chestnut gelding - absolutely loved him but was not convinced by the owners ...... They didn't seem that interested in the horse and didn't seem to be able to get their facts straight about basic info such as how old he was
So I decided against him, as even though the horse was perfect I need owners I can trust too!

Horse number 1 - oh my goodness! A very pretty 15.1hh bay mare, I had told the owner I was novice etc and had been assured the horse was suitable for me, but within the first ten minutes of the owner riding her she had spooked about four times (once at a dog, once at a person, once at the wind) and bucked too!! So definitely not what I am looking for!!

This made me feel a bit down actually and question whether I am doing the right thing looking for a loan and whether I can trust anyone

Horse number 3 - real potential. 15.2hh grey mate, owner and horse both seemed nice. Only concern is that owner not that experienced herself, but does have lessons once or twice a week with the horse so I don't think the horse is ruined or anything as she gets a lot of professional help. Think I will go back and see this one again .......

Loaning is a little bit better than lying, i.e. people lie as much but it's easier to catch them at it and a lot easier to walk away! Sadly that is one of the facts about horse ownership/loaning/buying!

It sounds like you are doing the right thing. Go have a look at a number of options, be clear on what you want, always expect the owner to get on first and don't get on yourself if unhappy and when you find the right one have a written contract that details the agreement.

The grey sounds good! If the owner is not experienced but the horse is still looking after her that is a very good sign. And if she has regular lessons that shows that she is reasonable and realistic.

Wait till you are looking to buy though, the real fun and games with out-right liars and nuttcase horses doesn't really start till then!!

Having lessons is not a definite sign of being a novice! At my yard it's only a couple of happy hackers who are not "improving", most want to up their game!

Dolomites the owner told me she was novice, that's not just my assumption. I would have lessons too!