Buy a horse ?

[MrsRusselBrand]

Honest answers pls - all you horse owners !
DD13 has been riding since she was 3 , lessons 2/3 times a week , played polocrosse . Also competed with the riding school inter centre comps and some unaffiliated jumping at a local riding school . She has done the helpers course , rosette courses , pony club badges etc . We have loaned a pony for around a year , which has sadly come to an end . For the 3 days a week we did everything from bringing in from field , haynets , water , feed , grooming , lunging and of course riding and my daughter had some lessons on him too.
I have no experience with horses before all this , I do feel I have learned a lot over the years but not from a horsey background .
So - we are thinking of buying a horse , I have done the maths and I think I can afford it . My real worry is do we have the skills between us to properly look after a horse . Like I say , DD has been around horses most of her life , so by proxy so have I , but I don't have all the experience that others have when I hear them talking at the yard . I am a good listener tho and I always ask when I don't understand or look it up .
I really want to do this for her , she is totally ready and I know she is committed . As the responsible adult , I just don't want to undertake something I am not qualified for . I am quite a risk averse person and I am not impulsive , I have been mulling this over for several months now !!
Should I just do it ? Is this the only wait to learn ? Or am I missing a vital step in the route to owning a horse ?

It really does sound like you're both ready, and great that you've found a workable yard.

I absolutely wouldn't buy an ex racer, or a TB at This stage. I LOVE tbs, have owned several and worked with many, but would never recommemd them to someone starting out.

The costs with a TB will often be higher, they may not cope without shoes, and are generally less hardy than many other lovy horses you could buy.

I would be looking for something that could happily live out if need be, go shoeless, and is a good doer. One ifvthe larger native ponies or a cross breed would be a good starting point.

Obviously some tbs will fit that bill, but many won't.

Sorry OP, I just properly read your post about being put off. That's a real shame.

I haven't bought a horse for a while now but have been looking fur a friend recently and been pretty horrified at the prices, they are absolutely bonkers. For that reason alone you will struggle on your budget, even though 2.5k should be enough to get you a nice all rounder.

Wow just thought I'd look at prices for connemaras, think I might sell mine and make a massive profit 😅 crazy money!

Sorry to hear you've stopped your search OP, the right horse will be out there one day :)

Thank you all - truly !
Yep many have said about the crazy prices , good time to sell but maybe not a good time to buy !!!
It's given me good perspective tho and I think I will just take stock and keep one ear to the ground but be patient !!

Aww OP sorry didn't mean to be negative or put you off. It's absolutely not a reflection on you or that I think you sound not ready or anything so don't feel knocked back. Perhaps I should have said that personally I have taken the gamble on 2 very cheap young/green/problem ponies (one was actually given to me for free!) - a number of years down the line, in one case it worked out and she's proved a nice useful fun all rounder (although still not easy/totally straight forward), in the other not so much and she may have to be retired or used for only light hacking in the future due to a not entirely surprising health problem.

So it can work out well and be overall rewarding to 'do it yourself'. But in both cases it took a long time and I've had to put in an awful lot of work, far far more than I expected, plus a huge financial and emotional toll (I needed a lot of professional input of one kind or another plus literal blood sweat and tears!). A lot more than just love, care and patience for sure. Not saying you are trivialising the process or implying that's all you think there is to it, but I truly underestimated it myself when I hadn't been through it even though I've been riding/had horses all my life. It honestly would have been so so much easier and cheaper to just save up and buy a more suitable, already experienced horse. I say this only because looking back I think I had a weird romanticised notion that it was somehow better or more worthy to bring a horse along myself than just to buy one where someone else had put the effort it, or perhaps I thought that I would have a much better bond or relationship with the horse at the end of it - I don't really feel that's the case even with the pony that's going well now, she actually goes better and seems happier ridden by others . If I ever do have another horse of my own I am going to try and force myself into the sensible option and just buy a school master or something I can go out and have fun on straight away - that's probably a better way of building a bond anyway than years of struggles to do the basics successfully. Maybe I'm jaded or cynical now but particularly where it's a horse for you and your young DD I think you are doing the right thing to wait until you can buy something that's right, frustrating as it may be - best of luck to you!

That's exactly what we want - we are prepared to have lessons and put the ground work in , not expecting at all to just walk straight into a well schooled horse with no behavioural quirks .

For me one of the things I could not sacrifice was taking a horse that had an injury , and assuming they were sound to ride ( as the seller and sellers vet said ) , but then adding to that injury and who knows where that could lead . I don't have the heart for that . I still feel like he was the right horse for us , just wish that old injury wasn't there !!!

Sounds to me like when you find the right one you're going to find it a real joy with that mindset. 👍. So don't be put off!

Genuinely thank you all . Every single post has given me something to think about and I have taken so much from what has been said.

I think I need to just not be fixated on TBs ( even tho I have a soft spot for them ) , and be open to other breeds that may foot the bill . I need to be prepared to wait , and if that means I can spend a little more then that's a good thing too . I know the right horse is out there for us .

@maxelly I am 100% with you on that romanticised notion of the finding that diamond in the rough and learning and growing together !! I think I need to recognise that hardly ever happens ...

Hi OP, I think it sounds like you are ready for a horse but I think you are totally on the wrong track with the type. TBs and the breedier end of ISH are likely to be, too big, too powerful and too sharp for a 13 year older. Especially an inexperienced one. Might work on a bigger budget / more experienced horse and there is chance you could have a fairytale ending, but a bigger chance things could go horribly wrong.

For 2.5k I think you need to compromise on things like looks, sex, age?? You could maybe get a 15h/15.2 cob x in their early teens? Maybe not a looker or a world beater but would be safe and good experience for a first horse.

Absolutely typical for people to have the 'Lets get this big pretty horse with problems and we can Learn together' attitude. Disaster waiting to happen!! Part of being a good horse person is understanding your own capabilities.

I think you could do it but you need to be realistic about what would be a sensible purchase.

Are you open to a full loan (I may have misunderstood, but it sounds like you had a partloan/share before, 3 days a week?).
You might find something where, for example, the owner has gone to uni and wants to loan their horse out while they are studying? It feels like you might get a safer, more suitable horse that way... Maybe I'm just skeptical from seeing yard friends buy horses that were missold though!
I agree with previous comments about not overhorsing your DD - you don't want to knock her confidence, you want something she can handle even on a fresh spring day, rather than spending a hour lunging to wear it out first...

I would definitely get a full loan if I was you. I’ve had a couple of crackers on full loan both of which I eventually bought. Stick an ad up and see what happens.

Just an update - we now have a wonderful ( older ) haflinger boy on part loan in a yard with amazing facilities . I don't think the time is right to buy in terms of my limited budget , and I was just very nervous about TB / ex racers even though my heart was telling me ( and dd ) they are right for us . I am quite a risk averse person so will take the safe route for now , get her out doing some low level comps and re group early next year maybe . Thank you all for your contributions , I did listen and take them on board ( even tho it wasn't what I wanted to hear )

And just to add , my dd is not inexperienced . She has ridden and placed at pony club champs , local comps , jumped up to 1m (unaffiliated) , plays polocrosse and is part of our area competition team competing in regional shows , also helps breaking in new horses for friends as she is small and light . me who is the inexperienced one!

OP honestly good for you for listening to advise that wasn’t what you wanted to hear. I’ve seen many many many a rider take on an ex racer for the romance of “fixing” something and getting really really hurt or having their confidence destroyed or both.

That's great news OP, I have a haflinger mare, they're brilliant horses that can turn a hoof to anything and have the most loving natures. They aren't known as the golden horse with the golden heart for nothing

Glad you have something sorted. If you do decide to look to buy again, for a first horse I'd always go on the slightly under-horsing her, rather than over-horsing - with one that is sensible, sane and a bit green, she will only add value, so once she's worked on it, schooled it, tidied it up and given it some experience, she could always sell it on, increase her budget and go to the next - it's a great way for her to learn how to ride very different ponies, and to teach a pony too. If you buy one that is too forward, too 'much' for her, then often you end up down-valuing the horse (as they may get into some bad habits caused by incompatibility and / or poor communication between them) which then makes it harder to sell. My daughter and I have been through both scenarios, she's now really enjoying bringing on youngsters for others

I think you and your daughter sound ready and I like your attitude and willingness to learn. I'd sell you a horse! (If I had one for sale, which I don't at the moment.)

The only problem is the budget, with the current crazy prices. However I'm convinced these will be dropping at some point so if you can sit on that money and not spend it on anything else, while your daughter gains experience riding other people's horses, you should eventually be in a realistic position to buy.

Personally I am a huge fan of Standardbreds aka trotters and you should be able to get a good one in your price range. They are super genuine horses, very trainable, and much hardier than their fancier racing cousins the Thoroughbreds. A lot of people will put you off them (generally people who have never had a lot to do with them) because they usually have an extra gait - pacing - which makes them unfashionable and will certainly complicate any attempt to do dressage. However they are truly wonderful horses and you soon get used to the pacing. If they've raced they can be quite strong or quite sharp, but they will also be very well handled and you're unlikely to have problems with shoeing, loading, washing etc. Not all of them are suitable for a teenager as their first horse - but many of them are. It depends on the horse and the rider. I bought my first Standardbred at 15, as a 'second pony' after 5 years of not owning my own due to family circumstances, and he was wonderful. He was sharp and strong but never dangerous or scary as far as I was concerned. I'm on my third Standardbred now and she's just as great as the first two were. I also have one on loan for my 13-year-old 'apprentice' who has only been riding for 2 years. They are a perfect match. Don't buy one from anybody who claims it is 100 (or more)% bombproof though. No horse is. Some people buy Standardbreds and end up badly overhorsed so trust your judgement but don't rule them out because of the pacing. They are nowhere near as flighty as Thoroughbreds and tend to have nice sensible heads. I really love them. The nice thing about them is they will rev up, like any horse, but tend to come back down to earth within a few minutes, whereas a TB or Welsh Section D has one fright and needs 24 hours to return to normal.