five stage vetting

[Puppymouse]

I posted a while back about buying my first horse and had some very useful advice. I've since found a beautiful boy I want to buy and he's being vetted on Tuesday. I have been warned that many horses don't pass vetting and this is fairly common. The yard he's at are hopeful he will but he's 16...

My question is are there degrees of failing where you would still purchase? So if he fails on X you still go ahead but if he fails on Y you walk away? And will the vet advise whether to go ahead in these circumstances or do they have to just leave you to decide?

Yes, it's kind of a scrappy photo nags but if you look beyond that you see a happy, confident horse negotiating quite tricky terrain with no problem.

Have you seen this article? www.bettersaddles.co.uk/saddle-construction/ Not specific to Albions, but quite worrying. I've gone the holistic saddle route - it's the only time DHorse has not only stood quietly at a mounting block but actually shuffles nearer to it. I swear if he could he'd say "this one, mum, I want to keep this saddle" and nose me on board.

Anyway, OP. Horse first. Saddles later!

Haha brilliant find Paris! I enquired about that mare a couple of weeks ago she sounds wonderful. She was well over budget and is with a dealer in Yeovil. She's since been reduced which made me worried so I didn't contact them again. Same dealer also had another all rounder who was perfect on paper but had sensitive feet with bar shoes and I just panicked about lameness and ran away from him too...

And for those concerned my yard owner was actually with me when I viewed the poor boy this morning. We were both going to walk away until we saw him ridden and how genuine he was. But owner has ignored my follow up message about him seeing a vet so guessing I'm being naive

Thank you for so much support by the way...

Hoping to see this chap tomorrow.

Puppy unless by "older" you mean 23+, there's no reason for him to look poor, and possibly not even then. There are several 20+ year old horses on my yard. You can see they're aged but they're in fine fettle. At 16 my boy looks as well as he's ever done. I had my old horse put down at 18 and he looked stunning. Nasty tendon injury that wouldn't heal, but he looked amazing.

Totally agree Gabilan. My loan mare is 26 and looks pretty good (better than two of the 16 yo ones I've seen).

I know the Yeovil dealer and that grey mare is definitely a cut above what she normally has. She's really nice.

In fact my friend is considering her for her dd

I just find it odd she hasn't sold? She was expensive but for a decent safe competition horse?

I would go and see her but I don't know if she'd be wasted with me. I'd like to build up to do the odd clear round but I don't want to ever compete... She's also over my budget still but pretty wonderful on paper

That should say but not unreasonable for a decent safe competition horse...

I think she's a hunter really. I can dig about and ask if you like

DHorse was for sale for about 6 months before I got him. His price was going down and down. His previous owner lost confidence in him and he is the sort who likes things to be black and white and very clear. The longer he was for sale, and placed on various dealing yards, the more confused and upset he got by the whole situation. And when he's confused and upset he comes across as a bolshy sod. For some reason though we just clicked. I'm not a dominant rider at all but because at the time he needed someone to be very firm with him I was.

We've grown from there. I've learned where I need to give him really clear instruction and he's learned that I trust him and he is allowed to think for himself and he can do. Just not on the road when there's a lorry coming, that situation is mine to deal with. Tricky moorland tracks are his to sort out.

She might still be for sale because there's a massive problem but it could just be that the right person hasn't come along for her. I wish I had book marked it in some way but there was a FB post by an event rider giving information about an eventer he had for sale and how tired he was with people who wanted the moon on a stick for £3k when he had an excellent horse who was worth that bit more. I think she's worth a look at least.

NB I know you're realistic in your expectations and budget OP, it's just that many buyers aren't!

This guy is some quality horse for not much money in my Area
Horsequest Advert: www.horsequest.co.uk/advertisment/146483

And this one is a bit young but used to move cattle, so definitely not shy! In Exeter www.horsequest.co.uk/advertisment/131023

Thank you nags - second link not working for some reason? First guy sounds nice but 2 hours from me and poss too much horse for me - plus am nervous of dealers. Haven't yet had a nice interaction with one...

If you search this ref number it comes up. See also photo attached

131023 ref no.!

Oh she does sound fabulous. V young for someone less experienced though do you think?

I think you need to find out her birthday. If she's just turned 5 this spring, yes perhaps too young. But if she foaled January or earlier (pref 2015), I think kind nature, experience at shows, well schooled and a loving family will actually give you a better start than a horse that has had a hard life, pushed from pillar to post and gone through dealers' yards. Plus she is likely to pass the vet! And she has been done by A young girl means she has been ridden by an imperfect (though I'm sure very decent) rider who will be more of your level than, say, a professional event rider/sj.

Also best if you are inexperienced to buy a lady's horse. I worked for a male pro and he could make a horse do what he wanted In a way that I just couldn't (he was 6'4 and an incredibly precise and exacting as well as powerful rider). He was good a temporarily fixing a horse but when it was sold on or went back to the owner, the horse would behave for 3-6 weeks until it started realise that boundaries were no longer in place and then things would fall apart.

The girl in the pic is not a perfect rider giving that a horse a spot on round, so the horse is used to some mistakes. It may be a good balance between "over ridden/sour ex-riding school" and "always ridden by a brilliant pro rider and freaks when errors are made". Or it may be too green and you will feel uncomfortable. But worth a call, definitely.

I will call them thanks nags

I think some horses are just sensible and have an old head on young shoulders whereas others act like they're about 3 when they're 17. She's been out and about so you wouldn't be taking her to her first shows.

I don't like sharing horses with strong male riders either. I find the horse gets used to a certain amount of strength and then I get on board and they can get a bit "hahaha no." One of the things that convinced me to get Dhorse was that he would listen to very slight aids from my core and didn't expect me to have much arm or chest strength. In fact I think he preferred it that I didn't.

Also, the girl is riding a 4/5 year old with no air jacket and no neck strap. This is a good sign.

The German's baby photos are all of me clinging to a neck strap as jumped everything about 6 feet in the air and then bronced on landing.

Me Holding on tight to the German! This is what a stupid 5 Yro looks like, compared to what looks like a sensible mare in the ad not fussing about life.

I've looked at the vids on YouTube and she is rather green jumping, but she was jumping clear and was perfectly happy going in a big spooky arena. Plus in one vid the mare and rider completely missed their stride and she jumps anyway and carries on. And she's happy coming back to a trot and tiddling around corners, which yes is part of being green, but also nice for you if she can just take it steadier. The vid of her herding cattle is v cute.

She may be too much for what you are looking for, but then you said about your loan horse that she could be sharp, but def no harm in calling and possibly trying if she sounds all right.

I haven't heard anything bad about Shane Walsh? I know a few who have bought off him and when I phoned him a couple of months ago looking for a friend, I described what I was looking for and he had the honesty to say he didn't have anything suitable at the time.

Facebook groups are useful.

Be cynical about everyone's reason for selling. "Owner off to uni" could be legit or sounds a lot better than "can buck higher than the sun/lethal on the road/prefers the rider to jump the fence flying solo".

Just to add my two cents. I feel like most of the horses you are looking at or being suggested are competition horses. Yes, some are slowing down but the fact remains they have been used to that lifestyle. Personally I think you don't need anything like that. Why buy an ex even tee that will have all those additional miles on its legs when you don't want to event? I certainly wouldn't be looking at a young horse or a pure tb. Yes you get nice ones but why not stack the odds in you favour and look at something like a connixtb that has only ever done rc/pc. Then you aren't needing to get something so old you can stick around 8-12.