How do you ever buy a horse???

[GrandMasterFlash]

Admittedly, we haven't been trying ALL that long, but SO disheartened. It's been hard to get anyone to consider is as potential buyers. It's our first horse, for my daughter. She is only 12 years old, but is 5'9" already. She is currently on 15.3hh and so we are looking at 16hh to buy. She has been riding for 8 years and has had a share/part loan previously.

Eventually we found one that was advertised as a confidence giver/for novice to progress. Did 8 hour round trip. Horse took off with her in gallop and dumped her on the floor!

Have had promising text conversations about a few others, but then ghosted mid-conversation. Sounds like internet dating!!

I am not sure what we should even be looking for anymore...'family horse'? We have established that we want a 'safe ride'. But she definitely doesn't want a plod. She wants to do EVERYTHING! Which is why we want to buy. So she has freedom to hack, go to shows. She like jumping, and interested in dressage and liberty work also. Would we be daft to look at something a bit 'green', that she can school/train with direction of instructor??

We will be using assisted/part livery at least until we are more confident). I have experience, but from years ago, so not confident yet, to go DIY

Anyway, what was my point???..how long does it generally take to find a horse? Any tips/advice?

This is DCs cob, the dc is 5' 11" too, jumping 80 cm as what i would describe as a reasonable novice dc.

I can't think of any 12 yos that are competent enough for a proper horse ( inc a kid I teach who is jumping 90cm double clears at Bs championship level), a decent biggish cob is def your way forward.
Also second other posters to take so eone else with you to buy said horse, to accept it will only last a year or so whilst your dd gains experience, and to possibly up your budget.

What i meant to add was that cobs can be fun ( and that is coming from mum who has been riding TBs only for the past 30 years)
She is reasonably quick off the leg, keen to please and has a decent technique. ( she is of course slow compared to my TBs, and has rather a short choppy stride)

I'm 5'8" pattern...I'm concerned because dd has got another couple of years of growing yet. And also, it's her legs!! Her legs are so long

flash I wouldn't worry too much about legs- she is only 65kg so not monster heavy which means you just shorten the stirrups. If she was all body then it would make her top heavy when she rides, but all leg just means you've got plenty to use if the horse needs it!

OP the seller of the horse you linked to is a very reputable dealer. Ironically, this is one of the horses I had seen when I mentioned a number of good 15.2hhs have come up recently. I have bought from her in the past and will not be selling the pony as he is fabulous, and even if I did he would never be advertised as I have a waiting list! Everything she has for sale will have been ridden by kids in a number of situations, and she is honest. She has a couple for sale atm and you could do worse than go and look. She's in the SW, with good trial facilities.

Actually, scrub that last! It's another coloured 15.2 horse called Charlie I've seen for sale! The one I was thinking of is about half the price, much closer to your original budget. It's been advertised on FB this week on The Hunting Noticeboard page.

If she has only been having lessons once a week then she is definitely not ready to have a horse that's green . They need someone extremely knowledgeable and who have brought horses on before . 16hh for a 12 year old is something many people would be wary of selling you . Especially as she has only been having lessons and never actually owned a horse of her own . I Think a starting horse for her should be a cob . They are good all rounders and can carry a good weight . Her being 65kg will be nothing for a cob . Honestly I can't agree with you buying her a 16hh all
Rounder because I personally feel you both will benefit from the good nature and confidence giving a cob will give you all . Please reconsider the 16hh horse and go and view some cobs. I promise they are not all plods or cart horses . Many are super ponies that love xc sj and make great hacks

Thanks box, I will have a look at that for Charlie

We have until recently had a part loan mum

An 8 year old has caught my eye. Seller says that she is berry safe. But mainly been used for hacking. And is green in the arena

You are going to overhorse her. You can't buy a horse for what she will grow into - well maybe you could, but that would be way way way more than £2k.
I personally think for what you need you budget needs to be higher, and you need to look at smaller. It doesn't matter how well she rides at a riding school - it is very different to owning your own horse.
And do not touch anything green.

I am not going to overhorse her Mrs

I mean this kindly, but with such a small budget for purchase, I don't see how you can actually afford a horse unless you are keeping it at grass, unshod, in a field at home.

Have you done your sums? Livery bills, plus insurance plus farrier, plus transport - your monthly bill averaged over the year is likely to be in the region of £400 +. If this isn't a problem, then my advice would be to put off buying for year, save the money you would have spent and add that to your current budget. By that time your DD will have improved her riding (and she does sound very novice-y) and you will have a decent budget and therefore more options.

Re the budget. I have never paid more than £400 for a horse or pony. This doesn't mean I can't afford to keep them. I had an elderly to until recently which cost me around £400 pcm not including vet bills.

The OP said they could pay £3-4000.

Yes, finances all calculated, thanks

I understand I was being optimistic with £2k. I don't believe that I won't get what We need for £4-5k

BTW I wasn't suggesting you pay £400 op, but that I can't afford to pay thousands because I keep my horses well and can't afford to save up . Also, I tend to take on 'problem' horses and ponies, hence cheap.

I thi

It is very difficult. My daughter is now 16, she had a loan pony at 12 from a PC family which gave her loads of confidence and once that pony was outgrown we decided to buy or LWVTB. Nightmare. My advice is to try and get a month's trial if you can (not all owners will agree to this) and definitely get the horse vetted. We had several that on paper looked perfect - 10-14 years old, done everything etc. one almost killed my daughter, another failed the vetting with a longstanding problem that had been hidden by the owner. In the end we bought from a dealer 3 hours away, we went to see the horse twice, once at the yard and once competing. As a novice owner I had a much better experience with dealers (ask for word of mouth recommendations) than with private owners. It all took a very long time, and lots of money to find the perfect horse but it was worth it in the end. Good luck!!

Try horsemart or horse and hound, If she has a instructor or someone you trust ask then to keep a eye out. X

Dont buy a fat hairy cob

You will get something for 4/5k

I think 16hh is fine if she is 5.11!

Ask your local pony club. Also look for loans.

Echo everyone saying do not get a Welsh cob. Far too much horse for relative novices to handle. Cob does not have to mean fat stuffy plod. Always under horse rather than over horse, especially with a 12 year old. It doesn't matter that she's tall - she's still 12 and needs to build her confidence, not have it destroyed with a firecracker! Buying horses is a minefield. One of the most trusted dealers around is CnG equine. Based in Staffordshire. They have exactly what you're looking for at the right price but their horses get sold within hours and have a long wait list, so it's really hard to buy from them.

I guess at 5:11 then 16 hh will be a good size . The reason I suggested a cob was because they are relatively easy going and can do all activities . They are not all lazy fat plods . My daughter has a wonderful palomino mate that stands 13.3hh she is an Irish sports pony x cob and is an absolute showjumping legend . She goes hunting and does xc but showjumping is where she excels . She is fast as foook and jumps anything . She is by no means a no I e ride and can get very excitable so my daughter has had to really bond with her and they have learnt together and win everything they attend . My daughter had a welsh section A from two years old then got a lovely bat cob that brought her on from Leif rein to riding alone . He was a brilliant pony and gave her the confidence to be able to cope with the pony she has now . In the beginning I thought I'd been stupid buying her such a (crazy ) fast , excitable pony but honestly they learnt together and my daughter and her pony literally have such an incredible bond now and at shows they whizz round and often get placed first . The pony loves hunting and will hunt all day and still be jumping around with excitement after 8 hrs hunting . I don't know where she gets her energy haha 😂 to look at her int he field she is not the finest of breeds and is quite stocky that people often think that she will be a plod along . Then boom my daughter and her enter the ring and people are aghast at her craziness and speed . She is a very good hack also and I completely trust the pony to behave . We are farmers so have plenty land to ride on but she is also brilliant in traffic . She is 17 now but still acts like a 2 year old . She has many more miles left in her and will be passed down to my younger daughters once they are ready . She is brilliant on the lunge with my 5 year old and doesn't act all crazy . It's like she knows that she has a small person on her back therefor she must behave . She is a lovely natured pony . She ain't the prettiest but my god she is fantastic

Feel free to use the wording for a wanted add, hope it helps.

I wouldn't look at anything described as green. Green means 'doesn't know what it's doing and the rider has to teach it'. With all due respect to your DD who I am sure is a lovely rider, riding well on an established horse and teaching a green horse are two different things.

You need a horse that has an unaffiliated competition record, I.e. the owner should have dressage test sheets, photos, rosettes, etc to prove the horse has been out and about. The coloured cob you linked to looks promisingly but I can't see the whole advert.

I don't know these dealers, do some digging on them (google phone number, check FB pages on dodgy dealers) but if they seem honest how about

www.horsemart.co.uk/-gorgeous-quality-connemara-who-has-been-there-and-done-ever/Horses/515553

Or this one from a private owner

www.horsemart.co.uk/stunning-15-2-13yr-old-appaloosa-x/Horses/516048

This one sounds forward going and fun if your DD is OK with that, but do a thorough trial ride to check she isn't not too scary for your DD.

www.horsemart.co.uk/15-3hh-11y-o-ish-mare/Horses/515024