Realistic budget

[lastqueenofscotland]

Me and my sister are talking about getting a horse to share, I’ve only ever had straight off the track racehorses since I was 16 which won’t be appropriate for my sister who is a good rider but not hugely brave.

Fundamentally we need something with good breaks that doesn’t get strong.
Some quirks - bucking/napping/stuffiness not necessarily objected to and it can be green as they come. Sister had a horror fall from one that bolted so the breaks need to be PERFECT but otherwise doesn’t need to be a push button ride and can need work.

Doesn’t need to be a competition superstar. If it can pop a course of 60cm jumps/do an intro B test it would be fine.

Can be ugly as sin, we don’t show.

Basically a young horse that I could school up for her and then she could hack/do RC stuff in time and then I’ll come and steal it at weekends

Want to go looking with a sensible budget and I just don’t know where to start if I’m not buying a TB! But hopefully I’ll see the saving in vet bills

But what kind of height are you looking for? Are you both small adults who could ride one of the fabulous native ponies, or do you need a weight carrying cob?

I’m tallish (5ft 7ish) but fairly light (around 9 stone) sister is very small, 5ft 2 and around 7st

I don’t like welsh at all as I’ve spent nearly all my riding career either riding work on racehorses or doing ROR stuff and their way of going doesn’t suit me at all! Can’t do choppy and haven’t really researched natives further
A bigger native could be a goer

4k?

I'd go to Ireland and buy an overheight connie or connie x

Trewser that is a really good idea! Thank you. Not sure why we’d not thought of that

It's really fun and even if you get something not suitable you can sell on easily and usually make money! Brexit might stuff it though

How about a full up 14.2hh new forest? That's what I have, cost me £500 :)

Definitely a full up Connie. Super ponies. Brave, honest, easy doers.

Cob, fit for must jobs.

Look at new forest ponies, cheaper than Connemaras to buy and very cheap to keep. A good one should be very free moving, so just keep away from the choppy ones.

I think a pony would be too small. How about an ID .org ID cross if you like chunkier horses, or a WB is you want something more medium weight.

I’d say a budget of 4-2k is realistic depending on how quality you want the horse to be, how green you can deal with, etc.

Dd is just over 5 7 but slim and rides a 15.1 connie x. Works well.

I could deal with something unbacked quite happily. Sister wants something that’s at least been ridden under saddle in W/T/C as she wants to be sure the breaks are there.

Annoyingly I sold an ex racehorse about 5 years ago who’d be perfect as he was a flashy mover but had the brain of a 30 year old riding school cob and would carry the most nervous of riders.
Sadly his new owner also still thinks he’s the bees knees so he’s got a home for life there!

I think it's a tricky one as what you want could be found for £500 or £5000, it's all in the personality really. To an extent what you want is what everyone is after, a nice safe sound non-world beater RC type still commands a fair price on the 'normal' open market, particularly if young-ish and pretty-ish but there are ways and means to pick them up if you know where to look...

For what it's worth I wouldn't get too hung up on wanting a particular breed, all the suggestions on the thread are sensible but you can get bad examples of all those breeds too e.g. I know a few connies that are absolutely mad despite looking very pretty! As you well know you can also get TBs etc that are safe as houses, so breed really is unimportant. If you are on a limited budget and know what you are looking at/for, I think a trip over the Irish sea (brexit allowing!) could be a good idea, particularly if you have any contacts over there who could take you round to see lots over the course of a few days. This is what a lot of dealers do as their MO, they buy up very green 4/5 year olds who are well put together and generally nice people in Ireland for very little, put a few miles on the clock in UK and then sell for a premium, if you are prepared to do that work yourself you could save a lot. Just be wary of very bad feet (may be personal bias but I've seen lots of Irish fresh off the lorry, esp connies, who if they've ever seen a decent farrier at all he must have had his eyes shut!) and very very green ones which have 'hunted and done all PC activities' aged 3/4 with a child/teenage rider, this may not be technically a lie but what horsey Irish kids/teens are able to do with barely broken half-feral ponies does not always translate precisely to UK PC standards !

Why not go on the H&H website and see if you can find something similar to what you're after? classifieds.horseandhound.co.uk/horses-for-sale/

The trouble is, people always say they don't want a world beater, but any horse that is safe and sane, well put together and can jump 60cm can almost certainly jump 90cm. It's the crazy spooky ones that are cheap!!

There are definitely TBs who fit the description! My boy would fit, and so would another at the yard I’m on, both were being given away after racing so if you like the tb brain then I’d not discount them

I have never said I’m looking for a cheap horse?
I’m happy to spend very good money on the right horse I just asked for an oppinion as my background for several years has been racehorses who tend to go very cheaply out of racing

I also agree an OTTB would fit the bill but I’d probably have a hard time getting my sister on one.

Sorry OP I wasn't talking about you, just the millions of ads on my Facebook that say something similar but with a tiny budget.

You could get something nice for 2-4K. My yard owner had two cracking horses from Ireland recently paid 3.5k and sold them for 8k 6 weeks later. Super smart
I bought a 5 year old Connie from Ireland direct from the breeder for 1500 he'd have been 3 x that over here. He was just backed & the most straight forward one I've produced.

I'd go for something younger which is s blank canvas