Buying a horse that's right for you.

Thank you they are kind of the cutest couple in the world
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I have to admit, I got lucky. I can ride green broke and started horses but I learned the hard way that getting them there is NOT for me. When I purchased my two most recent horses, a 2 year old and a 3 year old, I knew that I was going to send them out for training. I found a great trainer and I now have two great horses. The 3 year old especially is a joy. But all of my success I owe strictly to working closely with a trainer who has forgotten more about horses than most people know.

Sometimes the wrong choice in a horse works out.I'm a beginner rider and first time horse owner. My trainer picked this horse for me! All was good as long as Santana was stabled at his place. I paid for riding lessons/ boarding/ training for the horse.
I brought Santana home. He had pasture to run on. He started to become a differend horse, pushy, disrespectful, started bucking under saddle. At this time I'm already in love with this horse and not willing to give up on him. I had a trainer come to the house twice a week to train me how to respond to my horse when he misbehaves. It took one year of training for the both of us. Now we have a great relationship with each other. I agree, make sure you buy the right horse.

Well said :)

Most people do not really cold heartedly horse shop. Horses touch the heart as well as the eye and all logic seems to vanish.
Also in some areas there are not that many horses to chose from so the "perfect" horse is hard to find and harder to afford if you do find it. You often have to decide what traits you think you can fix or live with.

IMO.. Never go with intent to buy at first look.. If you get there horse tacked up ready to go.. Well prob good reason for it
Ask them to ride first so you can watch horse under saddle.. Then ride.. Then show up extra early catch the horse yourself tack up yourself ride.. I also think you should insist in meeting then liading the horse onto a trailer and riding somewhere away from home.. That way you have seen the horse in all atmospheres and can make a better judgement to what your getting.. Look at a few horses in same worth same methods so you have something to compare it too
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For a first time owner, I lucked out and bought an older calm TB gelding. My guy is pretty experienced, and probably due to his age, has some opinions of how things should be done. However, as great as he is under saddle and on the ground, he's taught me he needs me to demonstrate strong leadership. He still challenges me out on the trail, but in the end we agree that I'm in charge. I try and always set him up for success (mine too), moving forward consistently even if its little steps.

I totally agree with everything. I also think there is a huge factor in personality mesh. My absolute love was a OTTB who had been thrown away. He was chargy, he had a weird limp, and was just ugly. We loved each other. I still regret selling him to this day and always call his current owner to see if she will sell him back. All those vids of people riding bridle-less or bareback with a halter, that can happen to anyone if they find the right horse and have a good connection.

This is a most interesting thread - I do agree that it is very important to know what kind of horse you are looking for, and I think the most important thing is that the chemistry between human and horse is good. I think a lot of horses work well with one person, but with the next one they are totally different, especially the strong and independent horses, and I think this is often underestimated - it hurts my soul to think about how often horses have to change ownership and their whole life is turned upside down - new human, new stable, new mates, new food, new care. And they are totally depending on us - if they are lucky things are good and the stay good, but if not, they might end up miserable and used. Strangely enough there is quite a fashin in buying and selling your horse, because it has become too small, too fat, too lazy, too boring, too ugly, too expensive, too hard to handle or whatever, or simply because we need excitement and it is always exciting to start up with a new one, end perhaps we will then do better in the next show....do you know what I am talking about??? I think we should think much more about the horses in this 'game', and we should make sure that the horse is really fitting before we buy (just as the original post suggests) and I personally think we ought to go into the human-horse relation like into a marriage - admitted, it can be cancelled, but not just for fun. It is no fun for the horse - it is its life!!! And we should also teach our children that taking care of living beings means commitment, until they are dead or we really can ensure that they are cared for by others (that also counts for all other animals - including the ones we want to eat finally).

Personally I was very fortunate, because my last horse I bred on a mare I had owned for many years (they are both long gone :(). And the foal - a he - turned out to fit perfectly to me - he was a pure Pilgrim and it suited my personality wonderfully - but perhaps he also partly developed into a Pilgrim because he was with me since he was born - who knows - I think that might be possible to some extend. Surely I did a lot of mistakes during his life and it was not allways working, but I was lucky enough to come accross the books (and a course) with Klaus Hempfling before I had messed him up too much.

Actually the book 'What horses reval' by Hempfling was very helpful exactly in finding out what kind of horse he really was and in which way I could approach him best. One of my friends even had some Horseprofiles done by 'the master himself' when she wanted to buy a horse - she got really good advice and ended up finding her true soul-mate :). Unfortunately I think KFH doesn't do these horseprofiles anymore, because they are really good - but if we are lucky soon his new teachers will be ready to do things like that! At least if possible I will have that done when I start looking for a new horse for myself some day - or try by myself with the book if I can figure out, though it is admittedly not so easy since some horses have 2 or more characters in them.

I really think this original post was well written. Although a logical,person, I seemed to have gotten myself into a bit of a mess with a horse that isn't for me....unfortunately. Just reading the post has finally made me decide that sending her back to her original owner is the best option for both of us.....I just needed someone outside the situation to help me see things in a clearer light, and although not specifically written to me....I heard you loud and clear! Getting hurt by an untrustworthy, high spirited horse is not what I signed up for.....unfortunately a coworker talked me into taking her....


Don't you think that sometimes we are meant to read or come across certain things to help with our decisions? I do!

Thanks for posting!