Would you buy a 17 year old horse at the age of 55?

[Cherubneddy]

After a life long love of horses 2 things have happened to make me able to finally own my own horse; I’ve lost 6 stone in weight and have inherited some money.

I’m considering buying a 16.3h ISH. As I’m rusty I need a confidence giver, but all I want is a safe, happy hacker, which this horse appears to be. But she’s 17.

The reason her age bothers me is that I would hopefully get 5-10 years of riding out of her, all being well, which would take my age to 60-65. She will absolutely spend the rest of her days in pampered retirement with me. But I will need to buy another horse to ride, and that will be a massive financial strain right at the point when I’ll be thinking about retiring and money being tighter.

Thoughts?

You might get longer if you are both ready to wind down together. Particularly if you are slight build.

I do wonder if there’s an alternative like a loan or sharing arrangement that would let you ride regularly without spending what appears to be your only capital?

Not sure how you’ve come to the conclusion that this is my only capital? Anyway, I have been looking for a full loan, as most part loans want to stay on current yard when I would like a horse on my own land.

I absolutely would. I took on an 18yr old when i was very much younger. He was my "main" riding horse for 7 years, ridden regularly from 25 to 28 (3 times a week hacking/beach/woods) retired at 30. Lost at 34.

But - he was a small TB. Not sure how a 16.3 ish would compare.

If you got another older horse then the purchase cost would be virtually nothing or are you worried about having ongoing horse costs once you retire? Do you have other horses at home already? Presumably you’re not thinking of keeping this horse on its own…

Yes it’s more the ongoing costs. No, I wouldn’t be keeping the horse on its own, my friend keeps her 2 horses on our land .

My experiences over the last couple of years have made me think it’s pointless worrying about what might happen in the future - life’s too short. If you’ve always wanted a horse and this one seems perfect for you now, get the horse and worry about what you do in ten years’ time when it happens

Yes i absolutely would unless i wanted to do eventing/hunting or something. For happy hacking i imagine theres many miles left on the clock

I would follow your heart how exciting to get a horse!

Completely agree with this. If you think the horse is right for you go for it and enjoy. You might buy a 10 year old and it could injure itself in the first year or your 17 year old could go on and on.

I guess it depends on how tall and heavy you are, BUT I wouldn't go for a 17 y.o. 16.3hh ISH.

1. Its a very big horse. As you get older you may find it more difficult to reach up and put on a bridle (especially if they do a giraffe impression. Also, more difficult to mount, especially if you need to dismount mid-hack for whatever reason.
2. Bigger horses don't tend to age as well as cob types. They have more strain on their legs and are more prone to injuries.
3. Bigger horses are more difficult to fit for tack and rugs. This may get pricey.

Honestly, for a confidence giving happy hack for a rusty older rider, I would stick with a cob. They tend to be solid, cheaper and easier to keep.

I more or less did this, I was 48 and I bought a 15 year old done it all 15hh cob. Worked really well, I rode her for 12 years, hacking and very low level stressage. She had a couple years retired doing bugger all until she collicked and I made the call. 😥Still miss her, but my hips won't let me ride anymore.

As pp have said a tall horse can be a problem as you get older, think of the late Queen riding her Fell pony in her later years. So maybe a something a bit smaller would be worth thinking about later on when big girl is a bit past it. Especially as you have your own land, if I had paddocks I'd still have unridden rescues just because I love them, and miss them dreadfully.

Thanks all, some really helpful things to consider there. And I do totally agree with the poster who said about not knowing what the future holds. Maybe I’m over thinking this. I’m very nervous about taking the leap due to the massive commitment, emotional, time and financial commitment.

For those asking, I’m 5ft 9 and a bit of a heavy weight at 14st 7. Hence why I’ve been looking at bigger horses. Although I expect I could get away with a 15.2 cob, which I agree would be a much more sensible option. (Although a 15.2 safe cob seems to be ££££££ as everyone wants them!) However, my personal preference would be something like a well boned ISH /TB rather than a cob. This will probably be the only horse I will ever own and I’ve waited 40 years for this, so I’m reluctant to compromise TOO much.

Oh, and I was very keen on getting back into riding at riding schools first, to get the feel of riding lots of different horses before taking the leap. But after 18 months and losing 6 stone I am STILL not light enough to ride at any of the schools around here. Even one where they have Clydesdales! I do get it, their riding school horses have to put up with a high volume of unbalanced riders. It just doesn’t help me. I don’t want to wait another year plus until I’ve lost more weight, considering my age now. I have been very lucky in that I can ride my friend’s TB occasionally, but only very gentle hacks as I do think I’m a bit too heavy for him, he’s 15 3 but a well boned TB.

No offence intended but I wouldn’t sell a horse to somebody who hadn’t at least regularly been riding and I think you’d be better off losing a bit more weight and riding regularly at riding school before you jump in . This will also open up a wider choice of horse for you potentially within 2 years . When was the last time that you rode regularly and how long ago was that ? In regards to the horse you are currently looking at what is he used to carrying now as you + tack will be about 15 st 7 lb ?

We have someone at our yard who's a similar weight and built to what you describe and she has a massive 17" Belgian Drought X who is gorgeous and they look good together. But she's been riding quite seriously since she was a kid and is a very balanced rider.

No offence taken. I’m coming to the same conclusion, would be better to lose more weight and ride a bit more before taking the plunge.

The other thing is @Cherubneddy is that if you have some lessons you may decide that you want to buy a horse that can do some novice dressage or jumping rather than just hack . If you want a horse to make a fuss of now you could always look to adopt from a rescue , I’ve just seen a post from the Cinammon trust about a 19 yr old semi retired horse that needs a long term foster home .